I Regret Painting My Walls Black for a Surprisingly Disgusting Reason

When my husband and I bought our very first home years ago, I did something I never thought I would: I painted our bedroom black. Well, an accent wall in our bedroom anyway. I loved it, and Apartment Therapy readers did too. Our accent wall was reposted far and wide online as inspiration for others to embrace black paint and all of its possibilities — particularly the contrast it adds to most spaces.

But time tells all — and six years later, my outlook on black paint has completely changed. After actually living with dark, true black paint on my walls I know now that I will never use this color ever again. It’s not because of how it makes the space look or how difficult it will be to paint over if we ever choose to sell, though: It’s actually a maintenance issue that is driving me absolutely bonkers.

Dust is just something I have learned to deal with — and most people accept that it’s a natural part of living in any space. But honestly, I didn’t know just how dusty bedrooms actually were until I chose to paint the largest wall in my bedroom pitch black. Those fine, finicky dust particles? Turns out, they pop especially well against dark surfaces — and in what feels like high definition on matte ones. Which is why my jet black matte hue ended up becoming a dust magnet, as I wasn’t planning on routinely wiping down my walls alongside every other chore on my daily list. 

Worse than confronting my reality of having to dust regularly, though, was the realization that all my bedroom walls are indeed this dusty; I just couldn’t see it. Most of the walls in my home are probably covered in a thin layer of dust I’m just blissfully unaware of. I wish I could unlearn this horrific tidbit, but I’m now constantly haunted by the reality of just how dusty my interiors really are (even when my naked eye can’t see it!).

Upon realizing this, I was momentarily concerned that my husband and I must just be generating an unusual amount of dust — that this problem was unique to us. Why hadn’t I ever heard that dark paint in the bedroom could lead to this particular predicament? 

However, a quick Google search put my mind at ease. In most households, bedrooms tend to accumulate dust the fastest through a combination of human activity (shedding dead skin cells — ick) and the amount of textiles also losing small fibers thanks to daily use. If you’re anything like me and have plenty of cozy throws and upholstery in your bedroom, you may be susceptible to an even higher amount of dust than you’d think, according to cleaning experts who have previously been interviewed by Apartment Therapy.

While my predicament became clear to me shortly after my paint job was finished, I didn’t immediately think to throw in the towel. My husband and I were in the middle of countless DIY renovations and upgrades in the new house, after all. If you’re anything like me and would like to embrace a dark hue in one of your interiors (black, even!), you may choose to proactively tackle the cleanliness issue. That’s what I did initially: Fighting the dust back to acceptable levels until I could focus on redoing the bedroom again became my first priority. 

Painting your wall a dark hue doesn’t mean you have to live with visual crud if you don’t want to. There are a few things I did to reduce the dust in our bedroom overall, including the following:

• Adding an air purifier to the space. 
• Cleaning the ceiling fan blades regularly.
• Opening windows to air out the room as often as possible (weather permitting).
• Staying on top of vacuuming and sweeping.
• Dusting the wall with a microfiber cloth when I notice dust accumulation (still not a fan of doing this).

After six years of living with the black wall, I’m finally ready to turn my attention back to our bedroom for a totally new look. While I’m definitely not looking forward to painting over the black (I anticipate a couple coats of primer will be needed), I’m excited to switch up the space and give our primary bedroom a softer look. My plan is to repaint the space in a lighter neutral tone and give my white baseboards and trim a fresh coat of paint in a darker hue for some contrast. I will also be swapping out the matte black light fixtures for fixtures in brass or brushed gold, as they also tend to show dust too easily for my liking. 

I’m excited for the new look, but ultimately I’m also glad I tried something I never thought I would. I can surely confirm, though, that matte black paint is on my no-go list for the home from now on. Unless you enjoy regularly dusting your walls, I’d suggest it be on yours too.