Dark Bedroom Wall Ideas that Banish White Once and For All

Today I’m serving up a jumbo helping of dark bedroom wall ideas. And the reason is simple: I am so over white walls. I mean seriously, if I see one more home with all-white walls I think I’ll fall asleep on the spot.

Now I’m not saying white walls don’t look nice. It’s just that everyone seems to have them. They’re considered safe and ‘goes with anything’ – I totally get the appeal. But I do think about 80% of the population is missing out on the joy darker walls can being to a home.

So today I thought, let’s do a showcase of some of my fave dark wall moments! Because as you’ll see, contrary to popular belief, they don’t make a room feel small. They also don’t make it feel masculine. In fact, the dark bedroom wall ideas in this post all bring mood to a space that white walls simply couldn’t.

So if you’re tinkering with the idea of painting a wall dark (or even better: dark wallpaper or timber panels), I hope this showcase gets you over the line! And on a quick sidenote, this post here showcases black and white wallpaper if you do want to give that a look over (the link will open up in a new window so you can read it after this).

Dark Bedroom Wall Ideas from my Mates

I should kick of this post by telling you that all of the images in this post come from my mates at Metricon. Good Lord do I love me some Metricon. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve been working with them as a presenter for a few years now. And if you’ve ever stepped foot into their display homes you’ll understand how forward-thinking their design team is when it comes to colour.

If you can’t get yourself into a Metricon display home to look at their dark bedroom wall ideas, fear not. They have a gallery section on their website (you can click here to check it out) that it chock full of interior design goodness. It’s not just dark walls either. They split the page up into rooms so you can hone in on a particular space of your home you want to make amazing and then soak up the inspiration from there.

And if you’re eager to go dark in your bedroom and make it super sophisticated, click here to see my tips on creating a master bedroom retreat you can escape to. I worked on this in conjunction with Metricon and there’s a cool video you can watch of how to put a luxe bedroom together.

But anyway, enough of me banging on. Let’s explore some dreamy dark bedroom ideas!

1. Consider Dark Timber Panels: You’ll Love ‘Em!

If you’ve not considered installing some timber panels in your bedroom and then painting them dark, you’ve not truly lived. The ones above bring such a depth and maturity to this master bedroom, don’t you think? It makes the space feel like a high end hotel.

Just imagine for a second that this wall had no panels. Then imagine if it was white. I can guarantee you 100% that this room would feel completely different to be in. It would feel less elegant. Less luxe. Less moody.

This is one of my fave dark bedroom wall ideas, which is why it’s at the top of the list. And you know what? Installing tongue and groove panelling isn’t as hard as you think. Bunnings sells them here if you want to explore some options for your place.

I’m actually doing black tongue and groove panelling on a client’s living and dining room wall in a few weeks and I am SO pumped. Will show you the results as soon as I can.

2. Give Charcoal a Go: Great for a Teen Bedroom

We must not forget about those teenagers. They deserve a lush room as well. OK, maybe their current behaviour is not putting them in your good books, but that’s no reason not to let your dark bedroom wall ideas run wild in their space too.

Sidenote: I have dedicated posts on nailing teen bedrooms for boys here, and for girls here.

If black walls feel a step too far for you, consider a mid or dark-tone grey (as seen below). It’s fast becoming the new neutral. Everyone is well over beige walls (thank the decor gods for that!) and so dark grey walls are becoming quite popular. Totally on-trend, but not as overdone as white. So get all over grey walls now I say!

This is also a nice colour option for a guest bedroom or your master.

“Feature walls have made a comeback, so don’t be afraid to paint the wall behind your bed a dark colour. Just be aware that the other walls in the space need to work with it, so consider painting the other walls the same colour, but quite a few shades lighter. The image above it a great illustration of this approach in action”.

3. Paint Effects and Wallpaper are Also a Goer!

Paint effects are coming back around. Don’t reach for the sponge just yet though. In fact, let’s agree to never sponge our walls again. That said, there are some great dark bedroom wall ideas using paint techniques like concrete effect.

Dulux has a concrete effect paint tutorial here which I’ve posted above if you wanna check it out. I love the look of it, but there is a little work involved to get it looking gorgeous. Totally worth it in my books, but just want to make you’re aware that it takes a little while to complete.

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of a dark wall with a paint effect, I highly recommend dark cloth wallpaper as an alternative. It brings such a warmth to the room because of the texture of the cloth. The image below is from Metricon’s Bayville display and the dark well behind the bed is a cloth. I used the exact same cloth in a client’s living room and it looked amaaaaazing!

4. Even the Lightest Greys are Worthy!

OK so you’re not feeling confident enough to commit to black. Not keen on dark brown. And cannot cope with charcoal. I’m still with you and we’re still friends. But, I do want you to consider a soft grey like in the image above. Because hello: take a look at it. It’s gorg-o-rama to the max.

A soft grey like this one keeps the bedroom feeling clean, crisp and contemporary. And it feels miles warmer and more inviting than stark white. Because if you haven’t clued on by now, let me make it clear: I am begging you to cover your white walls with a darker hue. The room deserves it, and so do you.

OK one more image to show you in the hopes it gets you over the line.

5. Maybe Caramel Tones are your Dream Colour

I’ve spent most of this post banging on about black and charcoal, but there are a million shades of brown that can also bring a real depth to your bedroom. The image above proves that brown looks divine, but also that it can feel really modern.

Brown tones like the one above also work with loads of colours, so don’t think that brown walls means the room is suddenly going to feel like porridge. I mean, I love me some oats in the morning but not in the bedroom. Above they mix with red, blue, green, white and black. And don’t they play so nicely together.

The colour above is soft and soothing enough that you could actually cover all the walls in your bedroom with it, rather than just a feature wall. Dark bedroom wall ideas don’t have to be restricted to just one panel behind the bed after all.

Have I Twisted your Arm?

Go on, admit it: you’re loving dark walls something shocking but you don’t want to admit it. It’s all good, I will just assume I’ve won you over. Unless you’d like to drop me a comment below and lemme know what you thought of all these glorious dark bedroom wall ideas.

I’d also love you to sign up to my weekly newsletter if you’re keen. It hits your inbox each Friday morning and is packed with designer inspo and insights – from my home to yours!

Happy decorating.

This post includes images and/or videos of Metricon display homes and events, reproduced with permission.  © Metricon Homes Pty Ltd 2016.