I have been a fan of deep, dark jewel tones for a long time. Actually, one of the first projects my dad and I ever worked on together in my house was simply painting our wood-paneled moody foyer a deep eggplant color. His favorite color is purple, and he is also great at painting, so it was a win-win for us.
During phase one of our remodel, which is just about wrapped up, we replaced the windows and doors in the living room and entryway. This included a new front door and new windows beside it. Our entryway houses original 60’s wood paneling, but I decided that the texture was something I really wanted to keep – so we ended up simply painting the entire room.
We also added a thick 7″ baseboard, and a chunky crown molding from Metrie. Selecting the paint was enough to send me over the edge. I have told you about my love affair with Bistro White enough times to make your head spin, but I’m not sure if you remember that I didn’t even test it before we slapped it onto our walls? I am not one to be fussy about paint, really, I don’t think it makes much sense to pull your hair out over. However, selecting the paint for our foyer was a different story.
I wanted something ultra-chic and moody, but something that would also flow with the rest of the house. I ended up selecting black (much to my dad’s avail, he isn’t a fan of black or white). But picking out the right black was harder than picking out a solid white.
We ended up going with Midnight Stroll. I wasn’t sold on the color even when they were painting the room, because I wasn’t sure if it was going to be dark enough (#drama), but we had already bought the paint, and the guys were already painting, so I distracted myself with weeding and hoped for the best. The results were fantastic and exceeded my expectations. The color is the perfect depth, and I am so happy with it.
One thing I might mention to you about black paint: it’s like a black car. Fingerprints, smudges, dust, dirt, etc… are prevalent. I don’t even have children yet, and I find myself wiping this room down constantly. It doesn’t really bother me, because I enjoy looking at all the beautiful molding, but if you have small kids rubbing their hands up and down walls all day, you might want to get rid of them before you paint your foyer black.
moody foyer before & after
Primarily shown is the new front door, windows, paint, and moldings.
Something else I haven’t mentioned is that all of the furniture in our moody foyer was found in a storage unit in our backyard. The chairs, the table, and the mirror were covered in dust and pigeon poop – since I didn’t have anything to put in this room, we cleaned everything up, and here it has sat since we moved in. Eventually, I think I’d like to get a nice bench with hooks; however, my furniture budget is a big goose egg at the moment, so I am making what I found work.
I happen to really love the gilt mirror in this space, it adds so much drama to the black walls. If I ever replace the table with a bench, I think I will leave the mirror there. I also want to mention the small piece of artwork hanging above the rubber boots… While we were renovating the kitchen, I decided to frame the “Likely Phone Book” which had been taped to the inside of a cabinet above the phone for years and years. Greg’s grandmother added to it and edited it over the years, and her handwriting all over the page is so special. Most of the numbers are only 4 digits, and still to this day, people will recite another’s phone number by saying that last four digits rather than all seven.
I think a meaningful piece of art like this adds so much soul to a space, and is much more meaningful than a cheap painting from Homegoods. If, like me, you are pinching pennies when it comes to decorating, you can always find ways to add something special to a room just by looking around your house and sourcing something seemingly unusable…like a page from the phonebook with handwriting on it. ;)
I hope you have enjoyed reading about our new moody foyer – the black paint is well loved and the perfect shade!
As always, thank you for stopping by!
Since I’m a huge lover of black, with my own black wall in the dining room, I can’t tell you how much I love this area. I think it is so right and elegant and just simply beautiful!!! I love it and wouldn’t change a thing.
Jo, thank you so much!!! I bet your dining room is so beautiful! I am thinking of going with a deep emerald green for our dining room – or at least some velvet window treatments. I love working with moody colors! Thanks so much for stopping by!!!
Oh wow! I’m always hesitant when it comes to dark walls but you have so much light in the room, it works perfectly! And you found all that beautiful furniture?? Love it!!
I was nervous about this color because the sample was much lighter when I first tried it. My girlfriend convinced me it would be dark enough, and I am so glad I trusted her judgement. With the amount of light, the walls came out perfectly! The afternoon light it really pretty when it hits the black!
Chloe!!!! That deep dark color is so inspiring. One of my friends has said for the past 6 months to paint my living room wall a deep navy. Scared to do it…but I just might :-) It’s all so lovely!
Hi Ly, sending hugs to you! I want to see photos of the space! I am sure if would be beautiful – there’s something so rich about using a dark color on walls. Do you have a lot of natural light?
How beautiful! I love dark, moody spaces too and I’ve been trying to decide if I can make something like that work in our new house. I will probably go white to begin with, but like you, I don’t stress over paint. It’s an easy and inexpensive enough fix if I want to change it down the road. And that furniture is so fantastic, what an awesome find! The whole thing turned out super great :)
Thank you so much! Yes, I was so happy to find all of these pieces! I think going with white to begin with and then seeing what flows well with your textiles etc.. is a great idea!
Chloe, I’m in LOVE! This is stunning! I love the dark, rich color. I’ve been so afraid to try it in my own home but I think you’ve given me a little encouragement :).
We really love it!! The only downside is that fingerprints really show up! I would recommend a high gloss paint so that you can clean it easily!
Hi Chloe! Can you tell me where that flush mount fixture in the entry is from? <3
Sure! It is from restoration hardware! We love it! https://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod3020020&categoryId=cat10160015
Love this! I can’t believe the table was storage unit pigeon "selected", I would have sworn it was restoration hardware. Love all of this!
Your foyer is stunning! I love the black… who is the maker of Midnight Stroll? I have been leaning on BM’s Iron Ore for a Master bath re-do… but I love the depth of Midnight Stroll.
Your foyer is stunning! I love the black… who is the maker of Midnight Stroll? I have been leaning on BM’s Iron Ore for a Master bath re-do… but I love the depth of Midnight Stroll.
Your foyer is absolutely beautiful! The 1960’s paneling reminds me of the first house my husband and I purchased, a year after we were married. Every wall in the house was completely covered, or at least half way up, with dark paneling. When I told my husband, and my father to paint the walls, they thought I was just a little crazy. It turned out beautiful!! The home I live in now is much newer, but I have sure been thinking of putting up paneling, and painting it to give the home a just a little more character. Maybe one of these days……..
Chloe, I LOVE your foyer- the black paint is perfect!
Everything you do is so meaningful and great.
Hi Glenda, thank you so much :) your comment it too kind!
Hi! I found this image on Pinterest trying to find inspo for my 60s paneled basement. It’s SUCH a beautiful space! My basement paneling is faux wood so I’m not sure how it’s going to look if I paint it. Did you have real or faux wood paneling under the paint? Thank you! Glad I found your blog!