Trendy dark paint: a cautionary tale.

[QuentinQuarantino]

1. Be very sure about the colour before you commit.

1. Paint for the house you actually have and not the house you have in your idle daydreams!

Am currently on coat number FOUR of matt white emulsion trying to cover up F&B Brinjal. Everything hurts and I'm convinced you can still see the darker colour .

It made my loft bedroom feel enclosed and depressing rather than the vintage-y and chic I had pictured. Don't know WHAT I was thinking 🤷🤦.

Empress That green is stunning 😍 And cupboards are less imposing than all four walls tbf!

I slept in DD's room last night and have just been in to my room with the morning sun coming in and I absolutely love it 🥰. The white looks so clean and calming and zen and the room looks SO much bigger. No regrets at all.

TooMinty No I'm not in Manchester, just up the M62 a bit!

I once saw a loft room in red and it was awful. My own loft bedrooms, of which there have been two, are always plain white, with wood floors. There is something about loft rooms specifically which don't look well with deep colour -the view out of them is of the sky, and they suit a more pared back aesthetic.

I think a coat of grey in between is meant to neutralise the colour a bit?make it easier to paint over

@Lurleene
I had the same thought.

We have navy paint in our dining room. It took many coats to get an even finish as it was on top of a light colour. I love it but I don't think I'd like it in a room I'm in lots.

I've just papered over dark green / blue feature wall in my bedroom .
I always hated it since I moved in but dreaded painting over it. I had the genius idea of using that thick white textured paper and painting it pale pink- what a difference , I love it!

brolly I'm really intrigued by that technique. Any chance of a pic of the finished wall?

Hi @QuentinQuarantino
I will try !!!

Ok here's my mum papering ( now on busted because I pretended I did it lol )

Hope this worked

The paint was still wet in that photo and once it dried I gave it another coat , but I hope that helps

One wall is ok, anymore simply is too much for ordinary sized houses

I've got Jonstones Cavalry on 3 walls in my lounge! I love it but am dreading having to try and redecorate. Its going to be tricky to cover!!

It's expensive but Zinsser paint is brilliant for covering dark colours. I'd say you could save 2 coats with it.

I like it , but only as a feature wall interior maybe! Not every wall.
( which are probably out of fashion now)

Try Benjamin Moore’s Fresh Start High-Hiding All Purpose Primer. It’s very good. We can buy it in the UK now. It only takes one coat.

I'm glad I clicked on this as I've now found out Stain Block exits.

DD1 15 has painted two walls in her bedroom a very similar colour - dosen't look too bad - large windo wand an entire wall of mirror wardrobe doors down one side of room - but will need to repaint at some point.

There’s a brand analyst somewhere trying to work out why F&B Brinjal has been Googled so much in the last few hours 🤣

Dark colours make your room look bigger because you lose the edges.
In much the same way as dark caves look huge as you can't see the way out. 😆
@Lurleene My first thought was that too!

I am learning from you OP as we are choosing colours atm but you are right, I don't have the right house for dark shades.

Eeek! I don't want to know! About to pain my DS's bedroom in dark blue F&B Stiffkey. Hoping his white furniture will lift it a bit

I quite like the aubergine but yes deep colours are a pain to get rid of. I've had lots of dark walls in the past but I'm re-doing my house soon in pastels-very pale pinks and lilacs, blues and greens, with textiles in deeper shades.
I think pale airy colours make me feel happier, and you can change around the soft furnishings to change the feel of the room.

@QuentinQuarantino
Love the name 👍
My house is all white
It makes life so easy and maximises light
I admire coloured walls..but they would get on my nerves very quickly
Like someone said, especially in summer.

We’ve just done a study in Hague blue with strong white furniture and dark walnut wood - looks amazing. A small north facing room and it works really well. I think with the pale bedding you were perhaps trying to lift the brinjal too much and it might have looked better with a pastel of the same colour as a throw on the bed? I love darks but also brights and my bedroom is all white - you need to work with the light. My south facing kitchen would look terrible as a dark room but looks lovely in slipper satin with pops of colour.

@Lurleene

I'm reminded of Adrian Mole having the opposite problem. He painted his bedroom walls black but the yellow bells on his Noddy wallpaper kept showing through.

😂 oh yes and didn’t he have to go over them all with a felt tip pen in the end?

The brinjal looked beautiful, @QuentinQuarantino but yes, deep, rich, heavily saturated colours are a sod to cover when you want a change.