Should I Paint My Windows Black?
When I announced to my husband that I was going to paint the inside of our bedroom sash windows black, his face dropped. “Urgh,” he unenthusiastically exclaimed, “It’s going to feel like I’m looking out of prison bars.” My decision to whack out the (off) black paint had been spurred on by the trend for darker window frames, which has been growing at an exponential rate for the past few years. It was a look that started in America and has grown in popularity in the UK as Crittall-style doors and windows have become the norm in the most stylish of homes. While I am usually confident in my paint colour choices, I couldn’t shake off my husband’s raised concerns. Do black windows really ‘work’ in our English homes? Or, is sticking to the traditional white/cream the better option? In my quest to convince myself that black was the only way to go, I went down a Pinterest hole looking for a whole range of ‘Before & After’ UK homes with painted black windows and doors…
The ‘before’ of blogger Lisa Dawson’s kitchen window. Image credit: Lisa Dawson.
Painting your internal windows a darker colour will instantly make them a feature of the room, rather than have them wash into the background. When you look at the ‘before’ picture, above, of interiors blogger Lisa Dawson’s kitchen, your eyes are instantly drawn to the tap or the decorative bowls as opposed to the window. However, after she gave her Georgian sash a couple of coats of Zoffany’s ‘Bone Black’, the window became a real focal point in the room:
Lisa’s kitchen after she painted the window in Zoffany ‘Bone Black’ acrylic paint.
Painting your window a dark hue can give an instant, contemporary update to a room and is a great weekend project! Check out Tracy from Hello Flora’s bathroom below:
Tracy’s bathroom ’before’.
By painting the bathroom window black, the room is more pulled together and feels a lot more modern. Tracy painted her wooden sash in ‘Off Black’ by Farrow & Ball.
Tracy’s bathroom ‘after’ with the window painted black.
It’s not just windows that work well painted black: patio doors, back doors and balcony doors all work well with this trend. The below picture was taken by interior designer Andrew Jonathan of a client’s house before he waved his magic wand over the space:
The ‘before’ of a property in Islington redesigned by Andrew Jonathan Design.
Andrew decided that the balcony doors and windows would benefit from being painted black; while also replacing the plain white roller blinds with ceiling to floor curtains which could be pulled right back to expose the black frames. The balcony doors and windows instantly become the focal, central point of the whole room. Andrew complements the black doors by bringing touches of black via the lamp base, rug and the soft furnishings to create a united decor scheme. I especially love the addition of mustard, blue and browns which warms up the space and stops the design from being too monochrome.
Design by Andrew Jonathan Design. Photographer: Chris Snook
While a conservatory can be a beautiful, light-filled addition to a home, they can feel a bit dated when the trend for Crittall or black aluminium is at the forefront of stylish design. Two people who have modernised their conservatories with black paint are Leoma from the blog Style The Clutter and Chelsea from The House That Black Built.
Leoma’s conservatory ‘before’. Image credit: Style The Clutter.
While Leoma’s Surrey conservatory was absolutely beautiful, she totally modernised it by sectioning off the doors and glass frames and painting them in Fusion Mineral Paint. Head on over to her blog post to read more about the process.
Leoma’s conservatory ‘after’. Image credit: Style The Clutter.
If your windows are doors are uPVC rather than wood, you’ll require a more specialist paint to get a great finish that doesn’t chip. The House That Black Built transformed her uPVC conservatory to something much more stylish with the help of Zinsser All Coat in a matt finish.
Chelsea’s conservatory ‘before’. Image credit: The House That Black Built
Chelsea covered up all the areas that were not to be painted, then used a paint sprayer to quickly cover her whole conservatory - inside and out - from white to black. She has written up a brilliantly detailed blog post on how she did it here.
Chelsea’s conservatory ‘after’. Image credit: The House That Black Built
The most influential images for me when deciding on going black in the bedroom came from Sawdust 2 Stitches - check out her ‘Before & After’ below!
Before by Sawdust 2 Stitches
After by Sawdust 2 Stitches
I knew that I wanted a very slimline look for my windows, so for that reason, I decided to paint the glass pane frames only and not the sill, the box frame or the window sashes. Instead, I would paint these the same colour as the walls.
I painted my windows in ‘Blackout’ by Mylands wood & metal paint in black.
I also knew that I didn’t want a glossy, harsh black. Instead, I used an off-black, matt paint for wood and metal by Mylands called ‘Blackout’. This black has a ‘shadow-black’ look, rather than a deep black, so feels softer and complemented the off-white that I used on the walls.
My windows were not in the best state, so I thought that painting them black would also hide the result of condensation that could often build up over the colder, wetter months. For a detailed guide on how to paint wooden sash windows click through to my blog post here, otherwise, I scrubbed and sanded the windows, taped up the pane frames and set to work!
Before
After one coat of Mylands ‘Blackout’.
You can see the end result below and I absolutely love the look! The black acts like a picture frame to the world outside, bordering the sky and the treetops. It is something I’d do elsewhere in my home in an instant and even my husband, with his deep reservations, thinks they look great!
Are you convinced? Have you painted your windows a darker hue? Let me know in the comments box below!
