apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think this would work well in a sunny place like LA, but imagine it does nothing to alleviate the gloom of a UK winter day. I think large windows are a key element to the success of this room...

I personally like it. But I don't think I'll ever be able to do it my home unless I had a little reading nook or other small room.

So bold! I applaud the chutzpah. (

Very elegant. Maybe I'd consider using a dark blue, instead of black

I have a black office/art studio and I LOVE it. I have big windows, though and get an insane amount of sunlight, so it works.

I really like how it looks. I'm glad that my decorative tastes would suit black walls. Maybe someday I'll try it.

I second RJD about the dark inky blue. I actually painted three of the walls in my bedroom a dark purply blue and love it. Left the wall with two windows white. It IS dark and cavelike but that's exactly how I like my bedroom. :)

Actually, I thought this was a deep, dark, chocolate brown. It's elegant ... but it seems as if it would totally "swallow up" the corners of a room (you can't even see the corner that the chair is in). Not a bad effect, if you're going for womb-like and enveloping. (And yes, Ironsides, you did spell it right!)

: )

i was in an attorney's office the other day, old town victorian with lots of white molding and big windows and the matte black walls were great.

I love it! But I definitely think it's necessary for a room like that to get a lot of light or be very well-lit.

I'd prefer brown or navy to black.

I love living with almost-black walls - it makes them recede to where you almost can't tell where the room ends...

if there is good daylight, black walls look great, and make people look great, kind of luminescent (or maybe it's just in the attic apartment of a photographer friend i know, the photos turn out well and there's something special about the light in there).

I love it. However, alot of elements in that room balance the black walls . . . the white molding, white fireplace, white floors, large open windows with alot of light coming in, light colored furniture and fixtures. So, the black walls make for a wonderful back-drop, but they need to be accessorized properly.

Jane, the cool thing is, in a small room, black does "eat the corners" so the room doesn't seem small and boxy. It's a great effect. As bepsf points out.

There is a lot of light - and light colored stuff in there. Great room.

I think it's great. It really makes everything pop.

Well, I think you'd have to have a lot of light-colored furnishings to break it up, and you'd have to figure on a LOT more lighting fixtures than normal if you plan on using the room at night. A shiny black might help keep it from absorbing so much light. Some years ago I sewed something out of black velour and I just could not get enough light on that fabric to see what I was doing--the combination of color and texture just swallowed it all up.

Looks very attractive and I like the chair too.

I painted 2 walls of my son's nursery black, and it is great -- really makes things pop, and ironically, is not dark at all. Brave the criticism (should have heard my husband, or seen the looks!), and try it.

the decorator's showhouse at the washington, dc, design center last year featured kelly proxmire's black bedroom. you can see some images at her site, w w w dot kelleyinteriordesign dot com

see photos of 'bedroom, sleek summer suite.'

i went to see it. the idea was that you were entering a calm sanctuary. the effect was perfectly achieved, i felt. there were textures, such as raffia and natural floorcovering. the crisp whites, with coral touches, really felt like fresh air against the black walls.

bonus--the bed linens hid the tv. but the black walls really made the room. so inviting.

i really like it

I don't know about the walls but I do LOVE the chair.