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Dark Walls – Why It Pays To Be Brave With Colour

WRITTEN by CHRISSY, LAST UPDATED ON February 20, 2022

& FILED IN Home Decor & DIY 

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Today I wanted to turn the attention to styling your home, specifically with dark colour on the walls. It took me a while to be brave enough to use them – but I wouldn’t go back now, and I thought I’d share the inspiration in the hope that you too may be braver when you next pick some colours out for your own home…

Why it pays to be brave with colour when you paint walls dark in your home

When you think about decorating I’m sure you pretty much always want to create a spacious and bright room, and so are naturally drawn to the lighter paint shades when you go shopping, but I’d love you to stop and consider darker colours as well – because they may just shock you as being perfect…

Here’s why: –

  • Dark colours make it harder to see where walls end, and as such it gives the feel that room is larger than it is
  • Dark colours show less shadows on the walls than lighter paint colours
  • Dark colours are great for showcasing period features in a home – especially fireplaces and picture rails
  • Dark colours are a great backdrop for art / mirrors etc…
  • Dark colours can hide the TV better than light walls – TVs tend to be the big black rectangle in the corner of the room – but it blends away more when the wall behind it is darker

Don’t get me wrong – there are times when dark may not work as well – and I want to list those that I can think of as well for you as I’d hate to promote the wrong thing for your home – then it’s up to you to decide!

  • If you have a modern home without coving or a picture rail, then the dark wall colour hitting the light ceiling colour may look too harsh – there are some examples of when this works below – so see what you think!
  • If you have a lot of dark furniture and accessories – you won’t be able to see them as well in the room as they will blend in too much
  • If you have a room that gets no natural light – the dark colours may be too much

Dark can be a really scary prospect when it comes to painting one wall, let alone all of them in a space, and a picture speaks a thousand words as they say – so let me first show you some of the rooms in my own home that have dark walls – so you can be inspired (hopefully!)

#1 – Our Family Room With Dark Brown Walls

My husband luckily trusted me completely with the choice of paint for our family room but had to take a second glance at the colour when I showed him the sample!

Family room dark walls - little greene paint company purple brown colour - dark paint interior design home style ideas

Paint sourced from Little Greene Paint Company – Purple Brown Number 8 – can be bought direct or from Designer Paint

This room has such a great feel to it and is a lovely showcase for the picture wall and the white furniture – whereas the large brown sofa blends into the background so feels less imposing.

#2 – Our Bedroom With Dark Grey Walls

The deep grey has metal tones in the pattern as well which helps to brighten it up quite a lot (and looks lovely when the sun shines on it), and the whole room is lightened by the bedding and shutters: –

Dark grey wallpaper on walls in Master Bedroom - interior Design - Home Styling - John Lewis Birch Wallpaper

Wallpaper sourced from John Lewis – Birch range 

#3 – Our Smallest Bedroom With Dark Blue Walls

This was a very recent project I did with the smallest room of the house so you can only get a glimpse at the moment!. You would naturally think that a lighter colour would be best in such a small room, but we all feel that the darker blue has completely made the room feel more spacious – weird hey!

Small room with dark walls - dark blue painted walls in bedroom - Interior Design - Home styling - bedroom blue walls - B&Q paint Deep Blue Sea

Paint sourced from B&Q – Deep Blue Sea (a kitchen paint!)

#4 – Our Guest Bedroom With Dark Red Walls

Another project I have yet to unveil properly – so another glimpse (I’m all for these glimpses today – keep the suspense going!).

The dark aubergine coloured walls look amazing and really cosy at night too – and did you notice that I’ve gone away from my usual white bedding in this room – one set is white and the other is this amazing set I couldn’t resist…

Little Greene paint company Adventurer paint - Dark bedroom walls - Aubergine coloured walls in bedroom - interior design - bedroom design

Paint sourced from Little Greene Paint Company – Adventurer No. 7 – can be bought direct or from Designer Paint

What If Painting Dark Walls Feels Too Much?

Lastly – if you’re not sold on painting every wall – why not do a feature wall?

It gives you a little impact, and it’s a great way to test the waters. You will probably get the dark wall – bug after you’ve done one wall…. I know I did!

Dark walls for painting - interior design inspiration - examples of how dark colours work really well for decor - using deep colours in a room - home style - home design

So now you can see how amazing darker walls can look – have I got you thinking about your own home now?

Is there a room that would be perfect for a makeover?

P.S. In the meantime – if you want even more interior design advice – why not check out THIS POST next…

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