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6 Tips For Using Dark Paint Colors In Small Rooms

Paint dark for small room success.
6 Tips For Using Dark Paint Colors In Small Rooms
Tom Greenspan
Updated 
December 21, 2022

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You have possibly always been told that dark colors in a small room are a big no, a faux pas with a magnitude so great that you will probably be sucked into a vortex of darkness and never be seen again. Fortunately, like so many misconceptions, nothing will happen if you paint a dark accent wall in a room other than you will be astonished at the results and revel in the incredulous notion that dark colors make a room appear smaller than its dimensions.

This article will give you the insight required to take the bold step of painting with dark colors in a small room, revealing the awe-inspiring depths of color and its effects on small spaces that make your home beautiful.

Let's dive in and explore dark colors in small rooms and learn:

Can you use a dark Color in a small room?

Yes, absolutely, and you can achieve excellent results, adding depth to the small room. Of course, some guidelines should always be followed to achieve the very best results.

Dark walls work incredibly well, despite what might seem paradoxical. You can make a small room appear larger when appropriately used. Dark hues visually recede, deceiving the eyes into thinking the walls are farther away than they are, which causes this effect.

Here are a few tips to whet your appetite:

  • Choose the right paint finish; it is trendy now to use glossy finishes reflecting light. This could be the wrong choice for darker paint tones, so keep in mind that you are trying to make the room appear bigger by using a color that will create an optical illusion of receding color.
  • Natural light is your best friend. Use it to its full advantage to illuminate the room, which will showcase the darker accent wall superbly.
  • Paint the suitable surface, and select the accent wall, which will not always be the longest wall in the room, for the most significant visual impact.
  • Know what contrasts are and use them to the best effect. Use a color wheel to select contrasting colors. There are many free color wheels online.
  • Use colors that match your furniture or that are forgiving of colors, such as charcoal.

Let's get into it.

1. Size doesn't matter, honest

Introducing a dark wall into a small room will be bold, but the results will be spectacular if you have contrasting accessories and furnishings. 

Some of you may view black paint as a somber color, a color that should not be on the walls of your home, But the reason for these thoughts are misconceptions that you have absorbed over years of accepting that traditional decor is the only way to have a beautiful home.

The black paint in this bedroom is a marvelous style and decor design achievement. Its enveloping warmth gives the bedroom a classy look, and the darkness of the black shade is diametrically opposed to the brilliant white color of the adjacent walls and ceiling.

Black is classed as a shade, not a color, as is white! However, having a black accent wall further opens the possibilities of decor choices because black can work with vibrant outlandish colors or the classic lines of creams and ivory to create a beautiful modern room despite its challenging dimensions.

How to create this look?

Select the accent wall carefully, and it is not necessarily the wall with the largest expanse. Typically, an accent wall is a wall you see when you walk into a room, but it can be a shorter wall if needed that adds character and depth to a small room.

How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish, this room is a 5.

It is a simple room to decorate. However, adding a black accent wall or a wall with a dark hue can be challenging if the wall is not flat and has other anomalies. You will need to prepare the wall so it is as good as it can be to prevent undulations and anomalies from showing through the black paint.

2. Dark blue

Dark blue is a similar proposition to using black as an accent wall. It has the same feeling but is potentially more acceptable to those of you who refuse to use black accent walls.

Dark blue is the perfect accent for a sitting room, a place of relaxation and comfort will benefit from this color.

Suppose you look at the psychology of dark blue. In that case, it is said to give a feeling of security and integrity together with power and seriousness, but for most folks, it is a tranquil color that can masterfully adorn your walls.

Of course, contrasts need to be used to appreciate dark blue as a color, so obvious color choices are neutral tones and whites that complement dark blue perfectly. However, if you have a gregarious streak, then dark blue can be paired with vivid colors like the bright yellow cushions on the couch.

If you wish to create classic lines, pair dark blue with brilliant white. It's a marriage of colors made in heaven.

How to create this look?

Select a dark blue that you like. Imagine the dark blue ocean on a sunny day; it is a fabulous look. Again it's to paint an accent wall to add the illusion of depth and size to a small room in your home, like black and dark blue benefits enormously from natural light.

Accessories are easy with dark blue; it is a color that is accepting of many contrasts from vibrant bright colors to neutral colors and other colors from nature such as the foliage of the plants.

How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish, this room is a 3.

It's a dark accent wall. What could go wrong? With any dark color, wall preparation is crucial to the final outcome, so spend time making the surface to be painted free from indents and undulations to get the best paint finish possible.

3. Bathrooms are small!

Probably the smallest room in your home is the bathroom which is a perfect room to paint in a dark color for you to appreciate just how wonderful dark colors are in small rooms.

If you go the whole hog in your bathroom, then be sure there is a lot of daylight. If not, stick to the concept of accent walls for the best results.

This small room will look incredibly painted in charcoal gray with bright white bathroom furnishings and metallic faucets. Charcoal gray is dark, but it has some beautiful hues that can only be found in charcoal. It has hints of blues and brown, just to mention a couple of colors that make the magnificence of charcoal gray.

Of course, the white of the bathtub and hand basin contrast perfectly despite their opposition, but this is found with dark colors. You can almost mix and match any color with good results.

How to create this look?

It's a case of painting an accent wall to the whole bathroom with charcoal gray. Paint the ceiling white together with the door and kickboards for an elite contrast of color.

You can accessorize with a shower curtain or keep the theme flowing for an awe-inspiring small bathroom.

How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish, this room is a 6.

Adding the paint to the bathroom walls is a simple job, but the complexity of the small room is higher due to the fiddly areas you will need to paint, like the back of the basin. It's a time-consuming job.

4. Go dark with wallpaper

Wallpaper is trending right now, and you can find some glorious dark shades of wallpaper with texture and patterns to make a small room look and feel spectacular.

The same principles apply when using dark wallpaper, choose an accent wall and make this the focal point of the small room. The dark tones will work the same way, but the texture and a light pattern will add a new dimension of interest to the accent wall in the small room.

Depending on the dark color of the wallpaper, you can select accessories accordingly to contrast and complement the wallpapered accent wall.

This dark blue wallpaper is perfectly contrasted with its modern, delicate pattern and the natural tones of the wood lampstand with a white lampshade.

How to create this look?

Select a dark color you like and buy sufficient wallpaper for your accent wall. The wallpaper shown in the image has a lot of patterns to be matched, creating waste once the wallpaper is applied to the accent wall, accessories with suitable items, and items of interest like the bleached animal skull.

How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish, this room is a 7.

Wallpaper is fantastic but tricky to hang, especially with a tight pattern that needs to be matched perfectly. You could opt for a free-style textured wallpaper. Freestyle wallpaper does not have a repeating pattern making wallpaper hanging much more manageable.

5. Deep red

Deep red is not a color many of you would consider for the accent wall of your bedroom. Still, in reality, it is a stunning color that adds passion to the bedroom with a touch of class and Je Ne Sais Quoi (an indefinable thing associated with beauty).

Again deep red is accepting of contrasting colors. The triad of greens, blue and natural brown are direct matches from a color wheel. Still, the overwhelming sensuality this color brings to the bedroom is one of particular overt passion and allure.

When using colors with such evocative tones, it's helpful to have a color wheel for selecting complementary colors, the color will seem a little odd, but it is a tried and tested process.

How to create this look?

Take a deep breath and be brave, and you can make a small room something quite unique if you are prepared to push the boundaries of modern decor for small rooms. 

This color would work well in a relaxing sitting room or even a dining room with some awesome monochrome images hanging on the wall.

How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish, this room is a 4.

Painting an accent wall is not a complex process. Paint in layers waiting for the previous layer to dry completely before proceeding to the finish coat.

6. The smallest room in your home

You will have learned through your life, maybe from your parents, to always paint the smallest room in your home white or cream. It's a great lesson and creates a clean-looking toilet without a doubt.

However, the assumption of painting the smallest room white or a light color is baseless. This small toilet, with its charcoal gray accent wall, has depth and beauty as the gray brings balance and harmony to what could have been a complete whiteout.

The charcoal gray showcases the white toilet furniture perfectly and adds richness to the small room by showing the brass fittings are an essential part of the decor. 

Add a variegated foliage plant, and the scene is set for pomp and circumstance as you contemplate the world while using the smallest room in the house.

How to create this look?

It's so easy, charcoal paint behind the toilet, add green foliage, and the small room is gloriously complete.

How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish, this room is a 2.

Quick, simple, and excellent, Just add paint, and you are done.