apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

If you can convince your son to go this route, might I also suggest using a layer of magnetic paint? My mother was beside herself after I was done hanging all my posters with THUMB TACKS. Magnets are much more forgiving.

I love this room. I think it looks very nice, yet totally like a teenage boy would be thrilled to call it his.

This room is very nice - and masculine too. Hopefully (for your sake) something like this would be amenable to your son! :)

I say, let him. I think black rooms can look fantastic. I really do. But teens' rooms usually look like disaster zones (mine did anyway), so I can understand your hesitation.

Black to me can have a beautiful historical look, a sophisticated and almost glamourous look, or a graphic, bold, fun look depending on the direction you take.

I think the trick with black is the finishing details. Things like substantial base boards and crown moulding would help keep the room looking polished. And sophisticated or graphic/patterned bedding and a great light fixture would also go a long way. Putting a full-length mirror in there would help throw some light around, but it would also be useful. And hanging artwork would reduce the amount of black you see helping to lighten it up a bit. Artwork could be his own, or could even be posters, but would look best if framed. The Ribba frames from Ikea are inexpensive and big enough for posters.

But if you just can't do it, why not consider painting the wall behind the headboard black? The whole look could be quite polished. If you get him some sophisticated bedding, you could actually pull off something like a hotel chic look if you wanted to. And if you hang artwork above the bed, you'll reduce the weight of the black even further.

If that doesn't sound good, how about a compromise? Grey can be beautiful, sophisticated, preppy, or even glamourous (probably not what he's going for) depending on what the rest of the room looks like.

Wow. This got long. Sorry. Good luck!

I like the look of the room above. I'd say, "yes," but insist that he help prep and paint the room. Dark colors take multiple coats, and its a good lesson in home maintenance (and helps explain why so many apartments have white or beige walls).

While being a bit "overplayed" what about compromising on having him paint one of his walls black, aka "focal point wall" (or whatever it is called). And the wall to pain black would be the wall a visitor does not instantly see when he walks by the room, but your son is facing all the time, like the wall against which his compute desk or bed are. I think making the wall magnetic is an awesome idea, but chalk board wall might become too messy after three months. Oh yeah, and have him paint his wall himself, including taping it all up, covering the floor, passing your final critical inspection of his work before any paint even comes out of the can. Because the beauty of having a 14 year old paint a wall black himself is having him realize how long it will take to paint the entire room - for a good solid black from a light base should take 3-5 coats, which of course will take time drying, too. Oh yeah, and don't forget the pink primer layer, either. I say after he kills his entire Saturday painting one wall he will be proud of his accomplishment and cooled off on the idea of the entire room being black :)

you could compromise and go w/one wall black (behind his bed) and go w/a gray (as suggested above). i think the blackboard is a terrific idea.... but i dunno if a teenager is going to be as interested in that. i also think it's great to compromise w/your son.... gives you good bargaining power in the future & gives him something to appreciate. plus you can always pull the "i let you paint it black, you promised to keep it clean".... that's gotta be worth it's weight in black gold!!! hahah

I painted my office black with grey accents. I have very modern furniture so the look was sleek. It turned out really well! Everyone thought I was crazy until they saw the results. I say let him do it and the worse that can happen is that you have to paint over it.

that's gotta be worth it's weight in black gold!!!

Hee! I love a good/bad pun!

I say have him give you a detailed pricing proposal, including quotes from different painters, price for materials (including enough paint for extra coats as well as primer), estimated completion schedule, and a note on price for primer, paint, & labor for repainting in a neutral color for when he goes to make his own way in the world and you get your room back ... and then make him pay for it. Then let him go for it. :o)

We painted our master Black with acid-green accents. Were I teenager again it would be a layer of chalkboard over magnetic paint - the best of both worlds in my opinion.

I say let him. It's only paint. You could also make it HIS project: You want it black, You paint it. Protect the floors and furniture. Have fun. And when it's time to repaint, that's all you again. And yes, now that it's black it needs to be clean. :-) (I LOVE that one. Totally planning on using it in the future.)

Not the best photo of our master, but you get the point:

http://embritadesign.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-to-do-list.html

Black is cool, but maybe you can convince him to do just a small patch. It will take about 7 coats of paint just to cover up a black wall. Figure at least 3 more coats if you want to paint a light color. You could use some low-stick wall paper with a matte finish then paint black over that. Then in 3-4 years when he is off to college and you spend 8-9 months alone with those walls you might not have a hard time removing the wall paper.

I find myself incapable of appreciating why an easily-changed decorative choice in a room someone is barely ever in anyway would bother them - but the tips here are all nice.

My mom nixed my I-want-my-walls-black-not-this-terrible-pink desires when I was thirteen. She lay down three rules: No yellow, No black, and no navy blue (the color of her room when she was in high school, which was coincidentally the very same room, as I grew up in the house she grew up in). So I chose a terrible lime green. And I loved it so much I've painted two rooms of other places I've lived since that same nearly neon green. It goes with purple, it goes with black, it goes with everything I love! If you're not into black, have him pick out another color. He might pick out something to spite you, and love it for years to come!