Bigger Than the Three of Us

All About Painting Windows Black in the Interior

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See the difference in painting windows black and learn how to paint your own interior windows. Plus, details for painting vinyl windows, too.

painting windows black

Our backstory on painting the window trim black

For the first five years of living in our dated 70s house, we were on a shoestring budget for house projects. Honestly, a tight budget can put you in the right mindset for creativity so it’s not the worst thing in the world.

Thrifting to make my house feel more like us and very inexpensive hacks were pretty much all I was doing when it came to decor. My style, of course, has evolved now but a few of those decor projects are still around such as the feather art and the $5 wood frame hack.

As far as renovation projects, I mostly stuck to using paint to transform spaces or things. I still remember loving the difference on the candle sleeve project as well as the sunroom! Both of those projects were totally different but they drastically changed what I had originally.

So, when I was stuck with what I had in our eat-in kitchen, I turned to paint. I had the idea of changing our white windows to black windows and thought that would help give the space a focal point. Honestly, nowadays, I wouldn’t want my black trim windows to be called the focal point. To me, now, they are a layer to my design but, back then, there wasn’t much design cohesiveness going on. I needed something to be excited about and help inspire me for future design decisions (as budget allowed) in that space.

So, I grabbed some paint and went to painting my interior windows and the door in my space. Let’s get to the before photo then the how-to and I’ll explain the process.

Dated eat-in kitchen BEFORE adding dark window paint

white kitchen before painting the windows black

Not the prettiest of before photos, right? I always like to share these to encourage you (and me) that everyone has to start somewhere!

Ok, so before we jump right in to the paint for windows, supplies, etc., I want to share that we have ALL WOOD windows. Our windows are original (early 70s) and so this tutorial is for wood trim. At the end of this post, I will include a few other tutorials and one specifically meant for painting vinyl windows. Ok, here we go!

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Supplies needed for painting window trim

*Personally, I think Benjamin Moore Advance is the paint to buy for wood projects. This was recommended to me years ago at a speciality paint store and we’ve had really good experiences with it. It’s pricier than other paint but, in my opinion, for anything wood-related… definitely worth it.

Painting Windows Black How-To

  • Decide how much of the wood trim you want to paint.
  • Using a rag, follow instructions on deglosser bottle to degloss the original wood trim. Basically, this is wiping the solution on thoroughly to really clean the original wood to help prep it for paint.
  • Tape off windows and any walls.
  • Using a good primer and a paintbrush, prime the window trim.
  • Let dry.
  • Apply a light coat of your top coat paint.
  • Follow instructions for dry time (Benjamin Moore Advance has a longer dry-time, FYI).
  • Apply another light coat of paint.
  • Again, allow for the dry time.
  • Paint your final light coat of paint.

When I first did the black windows, it was at least 8 years ago. Here’s a photo of how the black window interior looked then:

DIY Black Trim In Kitchen

I’m really happy to say that it’s 2023 now and I still love having the dark interior windows! I’m not sure if you can tell but our trim isn’t pure black. We used Cracked Pepper by Behr (but color-matched to Benjamin Moore advance) on both our windows and door.

We loved the look of the interior windows so much that we did the same window paint treatment in our dining room. I feel like it just gives the whole space a collective warm feel.

black window trim in dining room

If you’ve been hesitant to paint your window frames but love the look, I want to encourage you to go for it! It’s just paint and you can always paint the window trim back to their original color if you don’t like it!

I know there will be a few more questions on painting windows black that I’ve found are better answered elsewhere. Let me chat about spray paint and vinyl window trim for a second and point you to some resources to help with questions.

Can you spray paint windows black?

Spray painting indoors can be messy but it definitely can be done. If you want to learn how to spray paint interior windows, check out this post on getting modern window frames with spray paint.

How do I paint vinyl windows?

Painting vinyl windows requires a bit more research, but you can do it. There’s vinyl safe colors that don’t use black pigment which is what causes a bunch of peeling and issues. Here’s a great post on how to paint vinyl windows that will walk you through the tutorial on what to do and what to use.

How to Paint Window Trim Black

black window trim in dining room

See the difference of painting windows black and learn how to paint your own interior windows. Plus, details for painting vinyl windows, too.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Active Time 2 hours
Additional Time 4 days
Total Time 4 days 2 hours 10 minutes
Difficulty Easy

Materials

  • Liquid Sander Deglosser
  • Painter's Tape
  • Kilz (or other good primer)
  • *Benjamin Moore Advance paint (we had this color-matched to Cracked Pepper by Behr)

Tools

  • Paint Brush

Instructions

    1. Decide how much of the wood trim you want to paint.
    2. Using a rag, follow instructions on deglosser bottle to degloss the original wood trim. Basically, this is wiping the solution on thoroughly to really clean the original wood to help prep it for paint.
    3. Tape off windows and walls.
    4. Using a good primer and a paintbrush, prime the window trim.
    5. Let dry.
    6. Apply a light coat of your regular paint.
    7. Follow instructions for dry time (Benjamin Moore Advance has a longer dry-time, fyi).
    8. Keep applying light coats of paint until covered, allowing for dry time between coats.

Notes

*Personally, I think Benjamin Moore Advance is the paint to buy for wood projects. This was recommended to me years ago at a speciality paint store and we’ve had really good experiences with it. It’s pricier than other paint but, in my opinion, for anything wood-related… definitely worth it.

© Ashley Mayes
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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.

Reader Interactions



Comments

  1. Charlotte W

    Oooo I LOVE it! I remember I said I wouldn’t do the windows, but I’m so glad you did, it really ties it together. Doing just the inside gives it a great little pop! Oh, and I love that table. What a great find.

    Reply

    • Ashley Mayes

      yay! I did the door first and just kinda looked at it. It just felt off to me without the windows, but I think doing the chunky part of the trim dark would have been a mistake. Thanks Char!

      Reply

    • Ashley Mayes

      Thanks! I had used the charcoal on a dresser and a metal cabinet last year and just loved it, so that’s the only reason I knew it wouldn’t read black. They are tricky though, because when I was picking it out last year I had like 20 different samples!

      Reply

  7. Laura Irion // Avery Street Design

    You SO made the right decision!! It looks amazing…the whole space feels totally updated with this one simple difference. I’ve been toying for a while about doing black window trim in our playroom and I think you just convinced me! (Though, yeah, it will probably be years still before I pick up that brush. I may have you beat for project completion slowness. We should actually put this to a test sometime, that would be hilarious. Totally boring for our blog readers, obviously, but hilarious none the less!) LOVE it!

    Reply

  8. KaSonndra Leigh

    Looks fantastic! I prefer darker shades myself, but the way you’ve effortlessly incorporated the elements of this design into your layout works wonders for this space. It almost makes me want to convert to cottage style decoration. lol 😀

    Reply

  9. Kristi

    WOW!!! SUCH a transformation Ashley! I LOVE it! Definitely pinning and sharing! Thanks so much for linking up the the Frugal Crafty Blog Hop my friend!

    Reply

  12. Christine

    This looks fabulous! I’ve been toying with the idea of paining our interior doors black. Are you doing all of your doors and windows or just the ones in your nook? I’d be interested in seeing how the rest turn out if you do more.

    Great job!

    Reply

    • Ashley Mayes

      We did another window as well (there is one directly to the left in the kitchen). Our kitchen is in demo mode right now, so I didn’t show it but it does pull well together with the other ones. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  16. Lyndsey

    I was amazed by the door…I had to look like 50 times at the before and after on the trim! It looks great! Question about your door, though. How did you paint it??
    Thanks in advance!

    Reply

    • Ashley Mayes

      Thanks Lyndsey! I lightly sanded, rubbed on a deglosser, primed with a brush and rolled with a small roller and then repeated with two coats of charcoal paint. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  18. Luisa

    It really does look great! I’ve been struggling with the decision to do this too! Hopefully soon! Visiting from 36th AVE blog. Have a great weekend!

    Reply

  19. Eva

    I’ve been really loving dark trim and doors lately! If I didn’t have a rental, I’d definitely be adding it, too. Your’s turned out great. It adds such an interesting and unique look to that room. Great choice!

    Reply

  20. Leslie

    I never would have thought this would look so good. Love it! The gray really adds a beautiful depth to the windows and really makes them look “framed”.

    Reply

  25. Maria

    Wow what a difference just painting the trim makes! It’s crazy how seemingly “little” changes like that make such a big impact! Looks beautiful!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. […] Last year, I ripped all the wallpaper off the walls, painted the walls white and then painted the window trim black. When the One Room Challenge started this time around, I knew I wanted to put up a plank […]

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