The Back Room is Black!

I have been lusting after a black room for ages.  I have been threatening to paint out the back room (my room) all black for a while.  I started small by painting out one wall.  Then I started to timidly brush on some black on the other walls. Things stayed that way for a couple of months and it probably would have stayed that way for a lot longer.  However, our house was to be featured in the Passyunk Square Civic Association House Tour and the weekend before the tour Scott and I decided that we just had to paint the room. Scott wasn't sure about the black but decided that anything was better than black streaks on all the pale pink walls!

This room is off the kitchen and tiny.  I was sure that if I painted out the walls, ceiling, moldings and the radiator in  black it would make the boundaries disappear and make the room look larger.  Well...mission accomplished.

 

I love the way the room looks (Scott does too).  It is super cozy and all the bright colors pop against the black.  I used Benjamin Moore Studio Finishes Chalkboard paint because nothing else looks as matte as this paint.  This tiny room has bookshelves, a day bed, a desk a filing cabinet, a chair and two side tables! It definitely does not look tiny anymore. 

Kiran and I painted the old lamp found in Scott's grandmother's attic a few years ago.  I designed the lampshades at Fenchel Shades to fit the lamp.  The rug is a cheap kilim found on eBay and the curtains are from Urban outfitters.  I am considering painting one wall in our bedroom black as well...

Here's what the room looked like when we bought the house:

And this is what it looked like after we renovated it:

Office Room Update.

The office room is finally a great organized space for us to work in.  I generally use this room when I work from home.  I love the sunlight streaming in from the south facing window.  I need to find another location for the printer which is currently taking up a lot of space on the desk. 

I moved some of the non cold hardy plants from outside into this room.  These tropical plants love the heat and the sun.  Most of my flowering tropical plants continue to flower through the winter in this room.

I spend a lot of time in this chair reading/writing and working: 

My view from the chair:

The nude drawing are by Scott's mother and we found a bunch of them in the attic at his Dad's house.  The lamp base is vintage that we bought at a thrift store in Dallas.  I designed and ordered the lamp shade at Fenchel Shades. 

The only thing left to do in this room is to install some shelves in the nook over the radiator.  I am hoping that when  Scott is off from work during Christmas he'll have the time to install the shelves.