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How to Use Black in Interior Painting | Bay Area House Painting Tips

How to Use Black in Interior Painting | Bay Area House Painting Tips

You may have noticed a new trend popping up in stylish houses here in the San Francisco Bay area – black interior paint! While neutral colors have been a decided trend for many years, black has been the neutral no one talked about. However, San Franciscans are seeing the light (if we can say that about black), and this bold paint hue has become a great way to make a statement in your home interior.

Where to Use Black Paint in My Home?

If you’re just getting your feet wet in this black-interior-paint trend, a good place to start is by painting your interior doors black. This is a good combination of bold and striking, yet very limited and defined in scope. You won’t overwhelm anyone with a couple of black interior doors, but it can be extremely eye-catching and attractive.

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Another way to use black in a moderate way is with an accent wall. This is definitely an attention-grabbing way to create a focal point in a room, and it offers a host of possibilities for contrasting furniture or art.

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Photo by Dayka Robinson Designs - Look for bedroom design inspiration

In a room with attractive moldings, you might want to consider painting your trim black. If it was just the baseboards, that would feel a bit off-balance, but if you also have chair rail and/or crown moldings, black could provide a very attractive frame for your walls.

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Photo by McCroskey Interiors - Look for home office design inspiration

Finally, there’s the all-out option: paint the whole room black! This can be done very attractively, especially if you have large windows, or light-colored furniture. You probably want to avoid doing this in a smaller room, as it could tend to feel claustrophobic. Before you commit to this, look for pictures of black interior rooms to see if you can find an example similar to your proposed black space. What tricks did they use to make it look good?

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Photo by Kathleen Ramsey, Allied ASID - Look for dining room pictures

Which Black Paint Should I Use?

First, let’s talk about the sheen. For interior doors and trim, semi-gloss is generally the best answer. For walls, most people would choose a satin or eggshell finish. However, if you have a painting company who can pull it off, a glossy black wall would be spectacular! It takes expert surface preparation and paint application to make it work well, so only try this with a quality Bay-area painting contractor.

Next, the color. There are tons of wonderful options to choose from, including blacks with blue undertones, or a slate-like feel, or deep gray hints. The best way to choose your black is probably to request some samples and see how they actually look when painted on a small area of your wall (or door, or trim).

What Colors Go with Black Interior Paint?

Most people who use black paint in their San Francisco homes tend to pair it mainly with white. This provides a needed balance, and a wonderful contrast. However, don’t stop with that!

Once you have your black and white as the main colors, spice up the room with bold accents that will shout for attention in all the right ways! This is the time for bright oranges, or a lime green, a showy yellow or a brilliant blue (of course, not all at once!). The thing that makes neutrals so easy to work with as your main wall colors is that hardly anything looks bad with them.

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Photo by McCroskey Interiors - Discover bedroom design inspiration

Interior Painting Company for the San Francisco Bay Area

If you are thinking about a bold change with the paint in your home, MB Jessee Painting would love to serve you. We can help you with color selection, and many other services as well, including wallpaper removal, decorative finishes, drywall and plaster repair, exterior painting, wood staining, kitchen cabinet painting, and more!

With more than 20 years of history serving homeowners in this community, MB Jessee is well-established and reputable, a name synonymous with quality painting. We serve Hillsborough, Oakland Hills, Pacific Heights, Piedmont, and the greater San Francisco region.

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Customer Reviews

“The finish on my kitchen cabinets had failed, becoming tacky and grimy around the handles. M B Jessee gave me a reasonable quote, far below some others, and did an outstanding job, striping the original varnish and refinishing with a new lacquer finish. The cabinets look like new. Work was done 1 day faster than estimated. The crew was extremely hard-working, considerate, and neat. Highly recommend M B Jessee.”

— Thama B.
San Francisco, CA

“Hello Matt,Just another notice of thanks to your wonderful crew, Rigoberto, Javier and John. They did fantastic work, with Rigo providing meticulous and conscientious attention to the details and excellent woodwork finishing, as evidenced by the beautiful fireplace. Javier did a fantastic job in the bathroom especially, it looks "brand new," and John always does quality work, both with the interior and exterior. I can tell they care about what they do. Rigo's "punch out" was very thorough, too. I will call again when I need some more work and will definitely recommend your company and fine crew. I also felt as a homeowner, I could leave my house in their good hands during the day and that took a lot of worry from me, they were honest, prompt and reliable. They were also very kind, respectful and clean in their work, very professional. Thank you.”

— Beth Marx & Melissa Kirsch
Oakland

“Just wanted to let you know that the crew was great to have around the house for the past two weeks. All three of them were professional, courteous, and attentive to my thoughts/concerns and were extremely knowledgeable. They paid great attention to the detail and it shows.”

— Mark & Roberta Gross

“High quality work from a pleasant and qualified staff. Thank you!”

— Paul Markovich

“Today I received a beautiful bouquet from your company. It was totally unexpected and very much appreciated--a lovely surprise. Also today, your crew finished my job. I am so pleased with all their fine work. Richard is absolutely amazing and a total delight to work with. He was also extremely helpful during the paint color process. The interior work in my home far exceeded my expectations. A big thank you to you and the crew for an outstanding job. Thank you, thank you for a terrific job!”

— Barbara
Piedmont

“Everyone I dealt with was nice, helpful, and very professional. The price was reasonable! (I didn't feel like I was getting the "San Francisco price." The attention to detail and work quality was excellent. They did what they said they would do in the exact timeframe they said they would do. Highly recommend!”

— Tim Tyson

“I highly recommend MB Jesse Painting to anyone looking for a professional team that does an impressive job. They are on time, efficient and clean up well each and every day they are on site. They pay attention to detail and listen to the needs of their clients. In addition, they give back to the community. A Five Star team all the way around.”

— Erin Troy

“Edy and crew are hard at work. They are doing a great job. Very professional outfit you have. Your crew is a delight. You may use me for a reference!”

— Heidi B
Walnut Creek

“My entire experience with MB Jesse was very professional. The crew were very friendly and super accommodating of my ridiculous schedule and geriatric pets in the house. The finished product, which was pretty much my entire house, far exceeds my expectations. Would definitely work with them again!”

— Heather Jordan

“MB Jessee just finished our exterior and we couldn't be happier with our experience. The foreman (Pedro) and lead painter (Ricardo) were incredible to work with: they communicated scheduling clearly, Ricardo was a joy to be around every day, the showed up early every day, were incredibly tidy and did great paint work. The final walk through experience was incredible. Pedro pointed out items I missed demonstrating a clear desire to complete another quality project. I highly recommend them. As others have noted they definitely aren't the cheapest but you quickly realize that you're getting what you pay for. The 3 year guarantee is also a nice touch since there are likely touch up items that will show up after the job is done.”

— Joshua Jansen

“The entire MB Jessee team is courteous, efficient and professional. From scheduling and estimating to the crew managers and crew, they all did an excellent job on a small (but complicated) two room project in my house. I'm already thinking about getting them scheduled for the next project in the spring.”

— Cari Cheney

“The kitchen looks NEW! You guys are amazing.”