Charcoal Painted Walls in my Dining Room
Let’s take a look at my charcoal dining room wall color! It really makes the farmhouse decor look great!
Yesterday I did a deep dive into this new wall color I painted in my dining room: Kendall Charcoal. And today I’m sharing the full reveal of it on the walls of my dining room.
If you remember the before photo when we moved in, the wall color was a wild shade of pistachio. 🤷🏼♀️ And it wasn’t doing anything for the room, in my opinion. And since it’s one of the first rooms you see when you walk into my home, I know I had to change it ASAP.
And this above photo is my view from my office, which was depressing me to the max. Ha!
I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to use this deep, neutral color in my home. Ever since I saw Kendall Charcoal on the cabinets in The Inspired Room’s old kitchen, I tucked it away in my “colors I’d like to use someday file.” Since then I’ve seen it painted in a variety of dining rooms with white trim on the lower half of the room. And I LOVED it even more.
New House, New Colors
And yes, I had wainscoting on the bottom half of my walls in my old dining room, as seen here. But that color was Wythe Blue, which I loved. So, I never changed it. And while I never wanted to change that old color in my old house, I knew I wanted to try something new and bold in the new house. New House, New Colors. 😂
I even contemplated painting everything – trim and all – in Kendall Charcoal. But in the end decided to play it safe and just paint the top half. (I’m glad I listened to my gut!)
I’m so glad I did, because I think it’s gorgeous!! It’s one of my favorite rooms in the house right now. I’m so glad I get to look at it while I work every day.
While I’m not quite ready to share my full plans for the room, I’m so happy with how it’s turned out so far just with paint! All of this furniture came with me from the old house. And I dare say the brass chandelier that I was dying to replace even works in the space now!
I still plan on replacing it down the road, but will probably stick with something in the gold-tone family, because it looks so good with that dark charcoal backdrop.
Come see the dining room makeover reveal, including the new chandelier!
Gray Walls DO Work in a Dining Room
I even love how the wood tones pop against the background. A while back, I read a post by a popular decorator and paint color specialist that you shouldn’t paint your dining room gray. I even commented years ago about how Wythe Blue was my perfect dining room color.
But I would beg to argue that gray DOES work in a dining room. The right gray with the right furniture and accents and lighting make it pop. Try it! You might like it, too. ☺️
I can’t wait to bring some pops of color in here that I know will look so pretty with the charcoal back there. I have some really pretty artwork in mind for the large wall across from the windows. But again, I’m not quite ready to share the full plans yet. In time, in time! (For example, I have a rug just sitting in my cart, but the budget has to recover from so many other purchases first. Patience in decorating can be very hard.)
I’m trying to do one room at a time, so I have to wait until my office is finished before moving on to this room. But until then, I’ll be enjoying these charcoal walls and the pretty decor that is already here!
Have you ever painted a bold, dark color on the walls of your home?
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Just happened upon this article. I have used Kendall Charcoal on several of my projects. Love it. I am about to use it in my own apartment on an accent wall. What is the name of your white paint. It is a perfect companion to Kendall Charcoal. TIA
Debra Jo
Hi Debra Jo,
The white trim paint was original to the house; however, I would look at Benjamin Moore Simply White or White Dove. Good luck!
Love this! Where did you find that mirror 😍
Hi there! The mirror is from Pottery Barn and is no longer available. Sorry about that! Here is a post that has other options though 🙂 https://theturquoisehome.com/large-round-mirrors/
Thank you for the inspiration! Kendall Charcoal is a beautiful, rich color and looks cozy in your dining room! I’m thinking of doing the same…thanks for sharing!
wow! so nice to look at! Really nice !! what color white did you use and please tell me the color you used in the next room. looking into the dining room, is it gray owl?
Hi Laura,
I really like your buffet in your dining room. Could you please tell me who it is made by?
Thank you for all you share. It’s a joy to follow along with you!
Jan
Hi Jan! I made it! 🙂 You’ll find the plans here: https://theturquoisehome.com/diy-farmhouse-media-console-table/
Can you tell me the color white you used??? I’m in the middle of trying to decide on repose gray or your kendallton … for my dining room. It’s on the south side so I think I COULD go with something dark.
I love it! My dining room is also charcoal with white wainscoting. It is my favorite room in our home.
This color looks fabulous in your dinning room. A few years back I painted our dinning room these exact same color.I did not like the way it looked, I guess because our dinning room do not have much sunlight. You nailed a beautiful color for your space. Thanks for sharing.
Can you share where you got your beautiful mirror?
Hi Nancy, unfortunately it’s an old Pottery Barn find that hasn’t been sold in years. I put together a round up of similar-ish large round mirrors a while back! https://theturquoisehome.com/large-round-mirrors/
I love thes new color! Very sophisticated! Do you mind sharing where you got the bench you use at your dining table? It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. Thanks!
Thank you, Sandy! I made the bench (and the table and the buffet)! The tutorial is here: https://theturquoisehome.com/diy-farmhouse-bench/
It is beautiful with the white! I love it. Can’t wait to see what else you do in the room. Good choice!
Thanks Doris! I can’t wait to finish it this year!
Love it! It’s beautiful. You’re so talented. Love following you.
Aww, thank you Nancy! Made my day!! xo, Laura
This is absolutely beautiful. It really makes the trim and molding stand out, star features of the room! Our dining room used to be a deep blue and I loved it, but then went the other way and settled on a light shade of sage. Now I am thinking it might be time to switch back to a deep color like this. Thank you for the inspiration!
Haha! That’s the best thing about paint! You can change it fairly easily and it transforms the room!
So glad you left the trim white; it looks beautiful with the charcoal. Excited to see the room when it’s completed!
Love it!!!
Thank you, Karen!!
It’s beautiful. The crown molding and all of the trim work is beautiful in your home. Was that already part of the good bones? If so, they really make it shine.
Hi Melanie, thank you!! It WAS already part of the home. The whole house has beautiful trim, which I love!
Stunning!!
I’ve been on a black, charcoal and navy blue kick myself!! And, I love it!!
I’m loving them all!
Glad you chose to keep the wainscoting white with the very rich and elegant darker color. Just love it but don’t think I can be that brave!
You could totally do it, Kim!! 🙂
Beautiful!
Love this!
Thank you, Bethann!! Have a great Friday! xo, Laura
It looks really good with the white woodwork! I had a deep dark red on my dining room walls for years that I loved, but I just repainted this past summer with a much lighter brighter greenish/blueish/gray that I love! Sorry can’t remember the name, but yes, you can paint your dining room walls gray!
Thank you, Melanie!!