Black furniture offers home decorators a wide variety of options. If you’re matching black upholstery fabric, take a look at the sheen.
As a general rule, fabrics with a nap such as velvet, corduroy and suede are a blue-based black, while matte finish leather items are dyed with a yellow-based black.
Painted furniture tends to feature a more balanced black. However, if your dining room table features a weathered finish with natural wood peeking through, be aware that the color will read warmer, or lean towards yellow.
Glossy finishes tend to be quite stable and balanced.
Here is a list of wall color options to match with black furniture.
- Ivory – Medici Yellow
- Pale Gray – Silver Half Dollar
- Smoky Teal – Silken Peacock
- Classic Burgundy
- Violet – Mythical
- Red – Rapture
- Yellow – Springtime
- Rose – Countryside Pink
- Naive Peach
- Greenhow Blue
- Charcoal – Cloak Gray
1) Ivory – Medici Yellow
Shades of ivory are generally based on yellow. Warm black tones, such as matte-finish leather, will look terrific against yellow.
A black suede sofa may read navy blue against a wall with too much yellow.
As you plan your color choices around your black furniture, take time to view it in full sunlight. Because sunlight tends to be yellow in color, your blue-based black items will stand out crisp and sharp.
A warmer black fabric will appear slightly chalky. Neither are necessarily a problem, but your warm black furniture will hold color against an ivory such as Medici Yellow by Sherwin-Williams.
2) Pale Gray – Silver Half Dollar
Benjamin Moore’s Silver Half Dollar is a gorgeous background for a nicely balanced black. It will also pair well with a clean, crisp white trim.
Do take care not to pair this color with ivory as yellow tones will not do this color any favors.
Fans of silver, nickel and chrome will love how this gray and their black furniture work together. Even better, this color is light enough to serve as a trim color in a semi-gloss sheen.
To get even more glow out of Silver Half Dollar, put a rich green with a hint of blue to work in the space.
3) Smoky Teal – Silken Peacock
Silken Peacock from Sherwin-Williams is an ideal background for black furniture. It offers some sootiness, so black furniture will appear elegant rather than stark against this color.
Shades of green are quite forgiving to many darker colors, particularly black. Silken Peacock offers the additional bonus of being fairly light reflective despite the pigment saturation.
It would be a terrific choice for an accent wall in a white and black room.
4) Classic Burgundy
If you’re looking for a color that will offer old-world elegance, consider Classic Burgundy from Benjamin Moore. This color will be especially suitable if your black furniture is on the glossy side.
Burgundy has long been a color associated with wealth and even royal blood. As you consider putting this on the walls of your home, look for ways to incorporate warm reflective surfaces.
Bright brass wall sconces will look terrific against this color and add a glow to the black furniture in the space.
Even if you’re just starting out and are decorating around black pressboard furniture, burgundy can add a feeling of wealth.
5) Violet – Mythical
If you are sure that your black furniture leans blue, or if it has a glossy finish, try out Mythical from Sherwin-Williams. I love the flexibility of this smoky purple shade.
For those who have black furniture in their family room, putting Mythical on the walls will give you a cheery, purple spot to watch movies together.
Put it on the walls of your bedroom and keep the lights low, you have a velvety gray on the walls that will help you cocoon in comfortable darkness.
As you light this color, keep things cool. Warm or amber light will turn this grayish purple into a muddy mess. Use indirect, cool or blue spectrum light bulbs to get the most out of this color.
6) Red – Rapture
As with any strong color, red is a big commitment. However, if your office needs a pop of color to wake things up, Benjamin Moore’s Rapture is a high-energy choice.
Be very careful about your trim color choices in this particular combination. If you have black furniture and one red wall, a strip of white trim can work.
If you paint the whole room in Rapture red and use white trim on doors, baseboards and windows, you have just painted a visual stop sign.
Against that much contrast, your black furniture may appear stark or even rickety. Try it on one wall until you’re sure it’s the shade for you.
7) Yellow – Springtime
Sherwin-Williams has a lovely line of green and yellow crossover colors. If you love yellow and you love your black furniture, try out Springtime.
While trying to visualize yellow and black together often brings up an image of a bumblebee, this yellow offers other benefits.
For example, if you are keen on plants, Springtime will serve as a terrific backdrop for everything from glossy green to pale olive.
If you enjoy changing out pillows and throws on your black furniture, you can branch into pastel shades with the help of this calm, slightly sooty yellow.
8) Rose – Countryside Pink
Black furniture can be a beautiful foil for pastels. If you love a more delicate touch or are a fan of Victorian style, check out Countryside Pink from Benjamin Moore.
This warm pink offers a gorgeous shadow color that will keep your black furniture from turning cartoonish against your walls.
Use that shadow color to your benefit. If you have black bookcases for display, put this color on the back panels.
You can even pair Countryside Pink with black semi-gloss trim in a bedroom or a child’s room.
In low light, this color will offer a comfortable, velvety feel. In bright light, you may find it energizing enough to use it in an office or creative studio.
9) Naive Peach
Fans of raw muslin, unbleached canvas and natural baskets will love Naive Peach from Sherwin-Williams. This pretty pastel is also light enough to work well with black furniture.
As ever, it’s a good idea to consider seasonal color choices before you paint. Red and green are nice together, but they also scream “Christmas!” White and red either mean “Stop!” or maybe “barn”.
Orange and black generally means Halloween. Whether or not you celebrate the holiday, living in a permanent state of decoration related to the end of October may not be suitable.
However, Naive Peach is actually a very pale shade of rust. Your black furniture will glow against this shade, as will your houseplants and your wood flooring.
10) Greenhow Blue
Pairing blue with black is tricky, because, as noted above, black can have a blue shade in the base color. Luckily, Benjamin Moore took this worry away by creating Greenhow Blue.
This lovely shade of pastel blue has just enough green blended in to be casual. If your black furniture has a blue tinted base, it will not be visually jarring.
If your black furniture has a dull or yellow base, it will blend well with the wall color.
Let this color shine, just as it is. If you can use simple white sheers or plain white blinds, you can build a beautiful cottage style that will work wonders with your black furniture.
This pretty blue will also make room for pastel shades if you want to lighten up the space.
11) Charcoal – Cloak Gray
Sometimes you just need a space that is visually restful. Cloak Gray from Sherwin-Williams is actually a very dark and sooty shade of purple.
Since purple is a combination of pure blue and pure red, this blended shade should work with any black color in your home unless you’re dealing with high-nap velour or a blue-black suede.
If you were ever going to paint a large sample, this is the time. Invest in a big canvas and paint yourself a huge swatch.
When it’s dry, lean it against your largest black piece of furniture in full daylight.
Step back and ask yourself 2 questions:
- Is the gray still gray, or does it lean towards plum?
- Does the black piece of furniture still appear black, or does it look navy blue?
Rich, intense colors are a ton of fun to visualize. However, once you put them on your walls, they will require multiple coats.
They also may take a color-blocking primer and more paint to cover if you change your mind. If you love how Cloak Gray looks against your black furniture, go for it!
