Revitalize a bathroom with a luxe coat of black paint
I’d like to update the bathroom with a coat of black paint. Our bathroom is white, but dingy. There’s a clawfoot tub and original tiles in good condition. I’ve collected photos of black bathrooms, but haven’t made the move. Any advice? I’ve been given an estimate of $900 to paint the room.
A coat of black paint will give your bathroom a luxe look and will help to hide some of the imperfections, like cracks or uneven walls.
There are definitely some tips and tricks when it comes to painting a bathroom black.
You may have seen the inspiration photo of Emma Reddington’s black bathroom on Pinterest (Emma has more than four million followers). Emma is also the designer and editor of top blog The Marion House Book ( themarionhousebook.com) and has recently become the home editor of Chatelaine magazine.
Definitely an early adopter of the paint-your-bathroom-black movement, Emma has inspired many to be fearless of inky black paint. She painted her small space black in 2008 to make “the bathroom look contemporary even though most of the fixtures and mouldings were historical.”
Like yours, the claw-foot tub was original. You may want to follow her lead and paint the exterior of your tub black to work with the walls and make it look brand new.
When it comes to the shade, Emma suggests your black paint have some blue in it. “A straight black can look harsh while a blue-black has depth and moodiness,” she says.
Try After Midnight CSP-630 from Benjamin Moore, Off Black No. 57 from Farrow and Ball or Twilight Sky P5156-85D from Para. There are several types of paint on the market that will fare better in rooms where there is a lot of moisture.
When choosing a paint, be sure to ask which type of paint will work best and whether your room requires any special prep. You can test whether your existing paint is oil by using rubbing alcohol; latex will rub off, oil will not. Don’t paint latex over oil.
When I asked Emma to describe what the paint did for her bathroom, this was her reply: “A simple change of paint colour turned the whole room on its head. Suddenly the white floor and fixtures popped and the room came to life.” I had to share Emma’s answer because it sounds like your bathroom needs a shakeup, too, and in the world of decorating and design, some passionate advice is all it takes to inspire us to move forward with a gutsy project.