This room reveal has been a long time coming. Quite possibly the greatest design risk I took in our new home was to be brave enough to go all out BOLD and DRAMATIC and paint our dining room black. The result is breathtaking. If you’ve been following along through our building process, you may recall this post where I debated over paint colors for this room.
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Black can actually be a really tricky color to work with, especially if you are trying to avoid undertones of unwanted shades. Sometimes it can cast off a blue undertone or even a grayish-taupe. I wanted pure black. I pondered a gray color (for about 5 minutes) and then realized I better go with my love language color which is BLACK. It’s a color I feel really comfortable with both in interiors and fashion. You should see my wardrobe, about fifty shades of black. Obviously, I feel quite comfortable with it on the exterior of our home as well. You can see that paint color HERE. Our wall color is Tricorn Black by Sherwin Williams and we used a satin sheen.
We have 12 ft ceilings in this room and large windows that are south facing. The sun pours in here daily and casts the most beautiful haze against the black walls. Our trim carpenter did such an amazing job creating the millwork design I sketched out for him. The modern style of moulding details give a beautiful dimension to the black paint. I’m simply obsessed with this space and love all the drama it brings to our home. The good kind of drama!
As much as I wanted to show this room off, I’ve been very patient in getting a feel for how the remainder of the design should be with this much dramatic appeal. Over the past few months, I’ve thoughtfully made decisions on furniture that felt timeless, sophisticated, refined and inviting. Sometimes a room design can come together all at once, yet other times it can be so important to get one piece at a time to see what the next design move should be. That’s how I approached designing our dining room. I probably spent 30+ hours researching dining tables and I just kept going back to his one from RH. The reclaimed french oak planks resting on concrete slabs felt so right for the style of our home. It balanced out our french oak floors and didn’t fight against them. It’s 108″ long and will seat 10 people comfortably.
One thing I’d like to point out. It’s always much wiser to have your rug in place before the furniture is delivered. I had one of those enlightening “oops!” moments when the table was delivered and I realized how heavy it was. I had “commitment issues” when it came to choosing a rug. Would it be bold and colorful? Bursting with pattern? What style? I could go so many directions. A rug can make or break a room design. My rule of thumb in designing this home is that I should be able to take any piece of furniture, pillow, rug, etc and shift from room to room and it still look cohesive. I wanted this home to have a sense of unity in style and feel. A curated style where every room is in harmony. I’ll show you in a minute the rug I finally landed on. I’m really happy with it and it’s absolutely gorgeous! But first, getting the rug under the HEAVY table…sigh. Each concrete base is around 400 lbs and the wood top is extremely heavy. Thank goodness I have a very strong (and patient!) hubby, and our son was home for the weekend from college to help. They disassembled the table and wheeled it off into pieces in the next room so that the rug could be placed. Let’s just say I better LOVE this rug because it’s never ever getting moved out from under that table.
Are you ready to see the reveal? Just in time for the holiday season!! I hope you love our moody black dining room as much as I do. I’ve chosen to let all the moulding details on the wall be enough of a statement. No need for art or anything else on the walls. Maybe down the road, I’ll change my thoughts on that. Our dining chairs arrived last week and we will be having our very first family meal in here on Christmas day. I’m so looking forward to it!
My approach to holiday styling this season is minimal and simple. Garland that looks real with velvet emerald green ornament balls are enough to sense the Christmas spirit.
I simply tucked some frosted branches I’ve had for years into the oversized concrete bowl for a statement centerpiece.
The rug I chose is so beautiful with it’s thick wool texture. The color tones are dark charcoal and steel grey with almost a hint of blue undertone depending on the lighting and time of day.
Can we just have a moment for these grey mink chairs? I may have taken almost 5 months to realize what I wanted in here, but that just shows that patience is key to good design. I was able to see this chair at the store and try it out which is a bonus in helping make a wise decision.
The next phase of design will be window treatments. Long elegant drapes. I’ll share the update as it evolves.
Thanks for stopping by! In case you missed it, check out our Christmas Kitchen HERE. Also, you can tour our home, The Forest Modern, HERE. I’m slowly adding rooms as they are complete!
Concrete bowl – no longer available, but found similar HERE.
Candle holders – From Crate & Barrel but unfortunately no longer available
Faux Garland – Marshalls
Velvet ornaments – Hobby Lobby
Info on our windows can be found HERE.
Info on our hardwood floors can be found HERE.
LOVE the dining room! Black is my favorite color too!!
Thank you! So happy you love the black!
Gorgeous!!
Thank you! Merry Christmas!
Omg it’s breathtaking I am in love you did a phenomenal job !!
Thank you Paloma! Merry Christmas!
Shauna,
I love your dining room design. I totally understand about Restoration Hardware. Once you see their item you always end up going back and picking theirs in the end. The table was well worth it though. It is absolutely stunning!. Enjoy this first year in your house and many more to come!
Jenn
Thank you Jennifer! I love RH but their prices not so much. Sometimes you just have to splurge, especially when it’s a piece you want to keep in the family for a very long time. Thanks so much for following along and Merry Christmas!
Gorgeous! I just read this like five times trying to find info on the light fixtures. Am I missing something?
Thank you! I’ve sourced the light fixtures at the bottom of the post. Just click on the item name (lamps, chandeliers). Let me know if you have any other trouble!
Oh! There it is. I was on my phone so maybe that was the problem. I’m on my laptop now so maybe it’s easier to scroll and see. Thanks so much for responding! One of those chandeliers would be perfect for the new house we’re building. Love all the inspiration I find here!
Another gorgeous reveal! So simple but it has such an impact! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Marcy!! Hope you’re having a wonderful December!
Beyond stunning!!! 🖤
Thank you Meridith! Happy holidays!
This is stunning! I’ve been waiting so patiently for this reveal since you gave a glimpse at the walls…and I’ve been dying for the source to your sideboard. Like you, it’s taken me almost 2 years to find the perfect piece for my vision and I think your sideboard is it!! Do you mind sharing which color you chose? The cognac or smoke shagreen?
Hi Kara! Thank you so much for the compliment! Our sideboard is smoke shagreen. It’s such a beautiful piece! I hope you’re just as happy with it! Merry Christmas!
Absolutely STUNNING! You nailed it. 🙂
Your dining room is so elegant! Amazing everything!
Oh Shauna, I just love everything about your home…by far my favorite home out there 🙂 Dining Room looks amazing…I love your floors so much, I think I would have been tempted not put a rug in the room but you nailed the rug..of course.
So, so beautiful!! I want to go right now and paint my dining room black! 🖤 And that table!!! It’s gorgeous. I thought I remembered when you were choosing that table, you posted other options somewhere (similar style but not RH). Where can I find that? Thanks so much! I love seeing the Forest Modern. Please keep the pics coming. Merry Christmas.
Stunning!!! I have a question about the paint. I know the walls are SW Tricorn Black in Satin. What sheen did you use for doors and moldings? I am going to paint the inside of my front door and a set of french doors in Tricorn Black but I am torn between going with satin or semi-gloss. Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Merry first Christmas in your beautiful new home to you and yours!
Hi Mary, I so appreciate your sweet compliments! Typically I paint interior and exterior doors and trim in Semi-gloss for durability, but we did all of our black in satin so it wasn’t too shiny. Merry Christmas!
I have to say this is simply gorgeous! And kudos to you for getting an extremely high end look on with your lighting at an affordable price! Your chandeliers are breathtaking! Lol could you share the source of that magnificent garland? It really is so real looking!
Thank you so much Denise! Those chandeliers are such a great price point! The garland is from Marshalls. If you have one nearby, I recommend checking them out to see if they have any! It’s so pretty and REAL looking!
Merry Christmas!
Your dining room reveal was worth waiting for. It’s striking! The mill work on the walls adds a lot of character to the room. I like your modern take and may use that design for my master bedroom. I can only imagine thus room at night with your gorgeous chandeliers shining upon the table. Take pictures at night for us, please!
Hi Joanna! Thank you so much for the sweet words! I hope to do a night time tour for Christmas soon! Stay tuned!
Absolutely stunning! I just love getting reveal, after reveal… a lot of hard work and time has gone into every detail. You do not disappoint friend. xo
Thank you so much Tana! Really would love for you to visit one day! Merry Christmas friend!
xoxo
Shauna, I can’t get enough of this space…especially styled for the Christmas holiday!! I hope you and your sweet family enjoy your first meal in here – how special will that be?!? And now I just need to fly back to have a meal in here with you as well!! xoxo
I would love for you to share a meal with us here Bree! Merry Christmas to you and your sweet family!
xoxo
I cannot pick my chin up off the floor! Absolutely gorgeous! I’ve been searching the internet for the faux garland because its beautiful and my son is allergic to all. So real looking! You had major score on that at Marshalls! The color of the walls, trim, floors, dining table, the rug! I want the chairs because they look so comfy..would never leave the table! Ha! Magazine worthy!