Nope, we’re not cooking in the bedroom, that’s the name of our new paint color…
You’ve actually seen it already in this post about the color palette that we’re leaning towards for this house and we’re so dang happy with it. It was between Sparrow, Knoxville Gray, Sea Star, and Black Pepper for our master, and when we held up the swatches it took the lead for having depth along with a cool faded feeling. It feels fresh, yet also could be one of those “historical colors” which we think is the sweet spot for our house.
Since it’s a large room full of light furnishings and crisp white trim and doors, we thought it could handle something deeper than the soft blues, grays, tans, and browns in our palette above – especially since we love enveloping colors in the bedroom. Oh but of course we’re just getting started in here so ignore things like:
- the missing window treatments
- the art-less walls
- the bare ceiling (paint or even painted textured wallpaper like this might be fun eventually)
- the lack of a ceiling fixture (can’t wait to add one)
- the furniture placement (it’s just plopped down where it’s been since we moved, except for our new dresser – although that’s not in it’s final resting place either)
- those benches at the foot of the bed (we’d love to get a single bench, hopefully from a secondhand shop that we can reupholster)
- the two off centered windows on the wall to the right of the bed (more on the plan for those in a minute)
Black Pepper is definitely not as dark as a black tone would be, and actually has a lot of navy undertones but almost looks flatter and more faded. It feels really really sophisticated in person. Might be our favorite dark color to date. Here it is with a bunch of other swatches since that seems to help show undertones and values better online (somehow comparing it to nearby colors gives it context instead of just seeing that color in a vacuum).
To prep the room, we just pushed everything into the center of the room and covered it with a protective drop cloth. We have been painting with hardwood floors for ages, but if you’re worried about dripping on those you can cover those as well. We’ve found that when we wipe up a rogue drip right away it comes right up, and even if we miss it and it dries we can “pop” it up with our nail, so that helps.
After prepping, we did one coat of tinted primer first, just to help us with coverage, cover those lines that were on the walls from spraying the doors before we installed our floors, and to make sure the color would look as true and rich as possible. We went for a no-VOC primer called Kilz Premium from Home Depot (they tinted it for us knowing we’d be painting with a dark blue-gray color). The primer definitely wasn’t as sophisticated looking in person as this photo (it looks less chalky and little-boy-room-ish here) but in person we couldn’t wait to get some paint over that primer.
Here’s the difference in the tinted primer and the real color going on:
We only needed one coat of the Black Pepper (we used no-VOC Natura paint by Benjamin Moore) for full coverage, which is pretty rare for us since we usually need at least two but I’m sure the primer made the difference. Although the three twelve-paned glass windows in here took five coats applied by hand (two of primer and three of paint) along with a razor-scraping session at the end to clean them up, so this bedroom is a prime case of you win some, you lose some.
We went with an eggshell sheen which is nice for a deep color. It’s pretty matte looking which I think adds to the chic-ness of it. I like that it’s bold and that it’s a color, but not anything too crazy. It falls back and lets the headboard and the rugs and the pillows do their thing without feeling too meek or invisible. It sort of straddles the line between “dark neutral” and “still makes a statement” if that makes sense.
As for the plans in here other than dealing with the bare windows and artless walls and replacing those benches next to the bed… did somebody say built-ins? We’d love to create an entire wall of built-ins behind the bed like this (complete with a window seat like this for the window on that wall). Then we’ll move our new dresser to the wall opposite the bed so I can wake up everyday and gaze at it. We’ll also gain tons of storage and display space and the bed would have that cozy tucked-in feeling of sleeping in a nook (we loved that about our first house’s bedroom).
We came to that solution when we were thinking about how it’s a bummer that those two windows on the back wall aren’t centered – but we realized that if we added some built-ins along the wall with the bed on it, they suddenly would be centered and the whole room would have a lot more function and balance.
So that’s on the agenda down the line in here. In the meantime we’re just enjoying the moodier wall color and how it makes all of the crown and trim pop. It’s amazing how much of a difference some fresh flooring and paint can make. Even though we still have a big ol’ to-do list in here…
Anyone else making friends with a new paint color?
Hey Sherry, what do you think about using this color to whitewash a red brick fireplace? I’ve been trying to decide on a color, and I was leaning towards a khaki/beige/griege until I saw this post. Any thoughts on if it might work or not?
Ooh I think it sounds intriguing! I think I’d buy a few spare bricks that are similar in tone and test it out to see how it looks. I bet it’s a cool and moody look that’s surprisingly neutral (it would probably match more than red brick does!).
xo
s
Is this the twilight zone? I JUST painted our master bedroom this color on Labor Day. After a month of having several blues on the wall, I declared BP the winner. Tuesday I head to work, quickly checking my favorite blogs after a glorious night of rest in my newly painted bedroom and BAM. Black Pepper, which btw, I’ve never seen a black pepper pebble that stunning, I love it and I hope you guys enjoy it too. Very weird though.
Haha! So funny Alison! Maybe Labor Day has some sort of secret Black Pepper hypnosis drawing power and the whole world will slowly paint itself Black Pepper every year on that date…
xo
s
I am so impressed with the after picture followed by the before. How you can walk through a room in that condition and see what can be done – and do it – to change “ugh” to “fabulous” amazes me.
Thanks Trish! Here’s a post we wrote about that for ya. Hope it helps!
xo
s
We just moved from a charming (though tiny) 1950’s cape cod (our first home!) to a 5-year-old colonial… although it has great light, wood floors, and a clean, open layout, there is a lot of “builder beige” in it that we’re not used to. We just did our master last week in a very similar color, Benjamin Moore’s Gibraltar Cliffs (, and with crisp white bedding & long linen curtains flanking the huge windows, it is the best paint choice we’ve made yet. Not as ho-hum as a straight gray might be in a bedroom, and not a country-traditional blue. We have a long way to go with wall decor and accessories, but this color is the perfect backdrop for lively & crisp during the day, and moody and cozy at night.
Making friends with the cabinet paint (Martha Stewart Seal matched to BM Advance thanks in large part to your tips!). So close to the finish line, yet so far away! The color is lovely, though!
Love the color choice! Can’t wait to see how the room continues to develop as you make more additions!
xx
youngmildandfree.wordpress.com
I can’t believe I didn’t think of trying a color on extra bricks before committing my whole fireplace! What would we do without ya, $herDog!? Well, looks like I’m off to the paint store for a tester of Black Pepper!!!
Haha, good luck Katie!
xo
s
Had to take advantage of the Labor Day paint sale! We moved into our house almost 1 yr ago and I have despised the dark red walls in the den! The floors are painted concrete (brown) and it just doesn’t go with any of our décor. Finally purchased Behr’s Bronze Green and will also be painting the ugly wood French doors a creamy white to match the trim. Now if it would just cool off I could get motivated!
Love the color! I’m like you guys and feel pretty brave painting near my wood floors (I have a baby wipe in my hand at all times to wipe up mistakes), but I’m delaying some upstairs painting projects because of the prep work I’d have to do in carpeted rooms!
This looks amazing! Perfection if I may add =)
Master is much smaller than yours we went with BM Silver Chain and it looks great. The guest house and bathroom are Palladian Blue (which I was obsessed with) all with simply White I love the way it looks but I’m happy we didn’t go with it in the master.
You can definitely see the blue tones in the zoomed out pictures! I really like it! Grey is one of my favorite colors to paint walls with and I’ve been itching to grey-ify a few rooms in my new casa!
I’ve been trying to decide on a shade for my bedroom for a while now, but knew I wanted a moody blue-grey. My room is not as big as yours, but I think this colour will work! My upholstered headboard is a neutral tweed with a great curvy shape and right now it just blends in with the wall. I need to cozy it up in there! Thanks for posting this, your room looks fantastic.
I love it! You guys make it look so easy!
My husband and I are in the middle of tackling our first ever room-painting. The first coat of primer took us 5 hours (there’s a dark brick wall on one side) even though the room is quite small but we’re loving what a difference it has made already. We’re being a little adventurous for first go and going with a darker grey. It’s a nursery with a grey/white/yellow theme so should look good. Fingers crossed!
Love the color!! Quick question…(and I apologize in advance if you have been asked it before and answered hundreds of times ????) just curious the size of your rug?? Such a great size for your space.
Thanks,
Julie
It’s a biggie… 10′ x 14′!
xo
s
Love the color! Also, some constructive critisism; I know you guys are all abour decorating on the cheap, but you should seriously consider investing in some good-quality home textile, as in bedding and curtains. The plain white duvet looks very amateur and blah.
Absolutely beautiful! That’s an amazing Before and After shot. I showed my 23 year old daughter your website to hopefully inspire her to consider thrifting for furnishing her new apartment. You make it look so cool and creative instead of just being poor or cheap ;o) Do you think you’ll repaint your ombre dresser to include the Black Pepper in color palate?
I actually wonder if that will end up in another room once we add the built ins and move the new dresser to the other wall (along with the chair and a floor length mirror we’ve been thinking about putting there). Should be fun to see where it ends up!
xo
s
I had picked up some Benjamin Moore swatches a while ago and Black Pepper was on one of them. This color is going to go in our basement office the swatch looked so amazing, thank you for sharing :) and helping me make a decision!
#paintingnoob
So glad!
xo
s
Love that color choice!
Just wondering what it looks like at night? I want to paint it for a friend’s living room/dining since it gets incredible natural light….but at night does it get deep enough to look more gray? Looking at the posts I will now check out Dior gray!
At night it looks velvety and navy-ish. Definitely gray but there’s blue in there too!
xo
s
Wow, that dark colour looks amazing! I appreciate your courage, I probably wouldn’t have balls for that. Really awesome :-)
I really like the Black Pepper. My dad made us a built in unit for our bedroom… along the wall that our bed sits on, much like your inspiration photo. I L-O-V-E it. Favorite part of my bedroom. Only problem is that it was made to accommodate a queen size bed, and we just upgraded to a Cal King bed. I need to have dad re-fit the built in. :) Here is my blog post about it:
http://wisconsincomwsgomoo.blogspot.com/2012/03/bedroom-re-do.html
Wow, that’s gorgeous!
xo
s
I am LOVING the black pepper! I don’t think I would have had the you know whats to do choose it but now I can see how well it works. Thanks guys!
Lovely!
Loving the progress in this room. The middle is totally making sense. :)
I love the new wall color! Such a great choice. :). Do you read Better Homes and Gardens? They had an article this month (oct 2013) on pg 67 with a built in around the bed that sounds like what you are envisioning. If you haven’t already seen it, you should check it out. :)
Sounds awesome! I’ll have to check it out!
xo
s
Hi John and Sherry!
This room is coming along beautifully. Are there any tutorials for built-ins you would recommend? I’ve been eagerly awaiting that post because I’m about to attempt them in my living room.
We have done some built-ins in the office and some in the laundry room, but they tend to vary depending on the space and what you’re looking to build. For the bedroom we’ll probably use base cabinets and then build open shelving sitting above them (inset a bit like the inspiration pic). Should be fun! Of course when we do it we’ll share all the details!
xo
s
I love the color and the bedroom is gorgeous! I’ve had my eye on that wood tile set, it looks fabulous!!
What color paint did you use and/or recommend for the ceiling?
We have yet to paint the ceiling, but we like flat finish paint on the ceiling (it hides the most imperfections) and have done everything from a soft blue or pink ceiling to just a half-tone of the wall or white. We’ll probably just do white in here, but might add some interest up there by using tin-like 3-D wallpaper or some sort of slatted beadboard look before we paint.
xo
s
Hi John and Sherry! I love everything you’ve done with all your houses, I read all your posts and have now read back to the start I believe! I wanted to ask if you had any suggestions on where to buy contemporary bedding, we are due for new one for our master (still using what we got as a wedding present back in 2007). I would like some color in the bedding! I’ve looked at west elm, bb&b, pottery barn, overstock and so far nothing appeals to me. I’m waiting on this to paint our master, we did a major entire house reno this summer and it’s one of the rooms that is still a blank canvas! Please help!
Oh man I was going to say West Elm. Maybe try HomeGoods in person if you have one? Or Ikea? Good luck!
xo
s
Hey Sherry and John!
Could you tell me where you got your amazing bedside table? I’m in love!
Thanks!
Candice
That’s from West Elm :)
xo
s
Does your black pepper ever look purple at night with artificial light? We’re halfway through painting with it and I’m staring at it now freaking it looks purple! Of course my mind is racing and jumping to conclusions that it was mixed improperly or something scary! Ack!
So strange! I’d never describe it as purple, but maybe once it dries that’ll stop happening? Anyone else have theirs ever go purple before?
xo
s
Okay so good news is it’s finished and looks wonderful! I do still feel it can look purple when the lamp is up against it. Maybe the bulb?! We have an adjoining office/sitting room so I was initially concerned it would be too much dark, but there is a ton of white trim and a white tiered trey ceiling. It looks great! Thanks!
So glad it looks great! I bet it is the bulb. So smart! Something warmer might make it less purple?
xo
s
Hi y’all!
I love your new paint color! I just bought a my first house and have a huge master bedroom like yours except it has wood paneling I’m planning on painting it and the trim/doors a lighter color and white to brighten the room up but it’s so big.. I think my Queen size bed is going to get lost in there if I don’t ground it with a rug. What size rug would you suggest for a Queen bed?
I think a 9 x 12′ rug usually works well. You can tape it out on the floor to be sure!
xo
s
Oooo…I like it. I’m not sure there is something I don’t like about everything you touch. Seriously. I have Grey Clouds (SW 7658) in my bedroom. Creamy and smooth in the sunlight, sleepy and bluesy at night. I was pretty proud of myself for picking a color I love all by myself, and now I have bedroom envy :-/ Oh, and these end tables…why are we changing them??? I am on the hunt for a pair just like those! Were they thrift store finds? Maybe we could work a deal? Missouri isn’t that far away ;)
We like the dresser and that one night table, but we think it might be nice to have two of the same night table on either side of the bed (maybe just another one like the one on the right) and then we can move the dresser to another wall of the room. In my head it makes sense, but we’ll have to see how it turns out! The dresser is from West Elm and the one on the right is from Joss & Main :)
xo
s
Where is your nightstand/dresser from?
That’s from West Elm.
xo
s
Late to the party on this one…what do you think of painting a *smaller* room a similar tone? Our bedroom is something like 13×14 but I’m bored with the wall color and want something a little more dramatic. We have a bit of a “hotel luxe” vibe going on and I am wondering what a darker/dramatic color would do to a smaller room…
Yes, I think the wall color would be pretty in a smaller bedroom. Moody and cozy!
xo
s