Casey's Room

I have always loved black and white. I decorated my very first apartment in black and white. I couldn't paint the walls black because I was renting, but I had black lacquer furniture (It was the 80's) and black and white boldly striped living room furniture. I painted large, brightly colored graphic art for the walls. It was my modern period. My design tastes have long since gone away from stark modern, but I have never lost my love for black and white.

Black is my favorite color to wear, until they come up with something darker.

I have a few rooms painted black in my house. Several years ago I painted the whole laundry room with black chalk board paint. I painted the powder room and the rotunda leading into the master bedroom black too. I love the contrast with the white molding.

Contrary to what most people would think, it has been my experience that black makes the room look BIGGER! The walls fade into the background and the fabric and accessories become the star.

Last year I gave up my office and let the girls have their own rooms. They have shared a room for the past nine years.

This is Casey's room.

Casey loved the idea of a black and white room with splashes of hot pink and blue. I had a few raised eyebrows when I told people I was painting Casey's room black. I could see their minds questioning, is Casey turning goth? It's not goth, I would say it's classic and feminine. I continued the black paint on to the ceiling and cut in about 18". This painting technique highlights the molding and draws the eye up, making the room feel larger.

I did the molding myself. Much easier if you buy the corners pre-made. No mitering necessary for the long pieces. I borrowed my Dad's nail gun to make the molding job go faster.

This is a brass chandelier I picked up for cheap and painted it white. I have a chandelier fetish if you haven't noticed. I added the ceiling medallion and covered the chain in coordinating black and white fabric.



Cami's bedroom has a huge closet, so I made this closet into a computer desk area. My dad made the shelves for me. The drapes were purchased at Target and can be closed to hide the mess.



I added another piece of picture molding where the black and white ceiling paint meet.
I made the valances from the Target drapes. I could not have purchased fabric for less than what I paid at Target. Curtains and bedding purchased at discount stores is hard to beat on price and if you buy bedding, it comes in wider than 54" widths. The wider width is great for making slip covers slip.


This is a chair and a half that matches my living room couch. I made a slip cover with a bedspread quilt purchased from TJ Max. I buy just about everything on sale or at discount stores. One thing I don't go cheap on is paint. I always buy good quality paint. It covers better, with less coats, and last longer. My favorite paint is Benjamin Moore. This room is painted with Ralph Lauren Bone Black in eggshell.



I used the reverse side of the quilt for the bed and made bright pink and blue pillows for the bed and chair. The bulletin boards you see are covered in the Target drape fabric. The large bulletin board on the right hand side of the picture is made from 12" x 12" cork squares staple gunned to the wall. It's 3' x 4' and would have cost a good chunk of change to buy a bulletin board this large. I glued a 3' x 4' piece of fabric on top of the cork squares and added picture molding around the edges.




The pink bulletin boards are from Marshal's. Again covered with fabric to tie it all together.

I purchased the mirror for $10 at Big Lots and painted it white (it was gold). The picture above the bed is one of mine I painted. The dressers were mine when I was a kid. I'm currently looking for a bigger one on Craig's list that I can refinish for Casey. The book shelf is from a garage sale. It's oak and was stained brown. I painted it a distressed white. We already had the bed. This is one of the beds form a bunk bed set that we took apart. Cami has the other one in her room.

The great thing about the black and white color scheme is it's so easy to change the accent colors if Casey gets tired of the pink and blue.

Thanks for checking it out!