i think it's magnificent! your husband did a super job. and i love that hooker piece---if the room is big enough, and it looks to be, i think it will be wonderful. it will need dramatic lighting for the best effect. what will you put on the shelves?

Death Star!!! LOL!

No WAY -- it will look wonderful! :)

The key is to create visual balance -- that is -- to add MORE black around the WHOLE space.

Angle the sofa set into the far corner -- consider adding black end tables. Perhaps "weighty" black metal lamps?

Move the shelves -- and consider a larger artwork with some black in it. (as well as the browns, red etc.) I've included a link to some EXAMPLES (just some examples!!) of artworks with deeper richer colors that would add visual balance.

Jan

Here is a link that might be useful: art.com Philip Craig artworks

Yum-yum! A beautiful job by your DH!!! Is he hire-able?

Seriously, I agree with your darth-vader friend. Your yummy sofa and beautiful rug speaks brown or dark wood stain to me. Think it would feel richer in your setting. And, you might be able to save yourself the trouble of painting the walls since I feel you'll like the overall effect when you have the Entertainment center stained/painted.

I think that black paint will take away from the wonderful workmanship in that piece.
You'll not see all the lovely details.

I don't know what you mean by "beadboard" backing. I do not see any beadboard. Are you adding it?

You want to paint the exterior black and keep the interior stained natural wood?

I think that would look great.

I would not do the doors half and half like the inspiration piece. That may look too jumbled with this particular style once you get your items on the shelves.

Beautiful!!

Do you mean that this piece won't take stain? Because, if you could stain it very dark (dark walnut perhaps) it would just be lovely. You could always try that and then, go to paint later if it doesn't look right with stain. I love black pieces and have several, but for this, I might try staining first.

Red

I imagine that the beadboard is going to be added behind the shelves?

Deathstar... hahahahaha ha ha...

Having named it, you will never be able to paint it black now.

Don't paint it black. It will be overpowering -- especially with that big black TV screen. It will be a big black, hulking presence...

AND -- once it's black, you will never be able to go back and stain it.

Which I think you should do. Your husband did such a fabulous job with the wood -- why hide it?

If you must paint it, I would rather see it white... your trim is white already.

I don't feel the black goes with the wall color which by the way I love. For some reason I can only see the middle picture and I actually like the very light color of the wood in that room. I'm assuming that's the actual piece you'll have in the room. I'm not sure I like the idea of a brown stain with the color of the wall but on the other hand would hate for you to change the wall color. I hope I haven't added to your confusion.

Thank you for so many responses. DH spent a lot of time working on the project, thus my paranoia in getting the finish right. The room is 24 x18 and right now the unit by no means overwhelms the space. Although, the wall the unit is on is more like 20' due to a door opening which makes the room a little off center. We originally thought to stain the doors and inside of the bookcases (i.e. shelves, interior sides and back. The back is 1" bead board (the detail is lost in the photo). I wanted 3" but husband couldn't find it and didn't have the tools to make it. The rest of the unit would be a distressed black with hints of red/gold rub thru if that makes sense.

My husband built the unit with various types of wood (birch and poplar-paint grade the main body and trim differ)since we were painting. To be honest, neither one of us realized what a good job he would do. From my basic research, it appears that staining would produce very uneven results. This is why hindsight is 20/20 because if I could do it over - I would go stain grade all the way (a $700 cost difference at the time).

DH spent approx. $1K building this unit with a portion going to a new tool. Compared to the >$7K for the Hooker piece he is feeling quite the man. I just can't goof up the finish so I really appreciate the feedback. Any thoughts are appreciated!!

Ingrid vc... yes this is the room the piece will go in. I also love the color and really don't want to change it unless I have to. The other option I have to paint the unit similar to my kitchen cabinets which are Sherwin Williams Divine White with Van Dyke Brown glaze. I guess I was hoping for something with more "umph" since that room sits alone from the rest of the home (i.e. not open to other rooms).

Your DH did a fantastic job!! It looks great!

My Aunt has a big black ET in a large room & it is not overwhelming at all. It looks like your room can handle it. Maybe try staining the beadboard in the back of the shelves. If the stain doesn't look right you can always paint over it.
Since this is a media/tv room you can get dark/cozy with it....draperies for the windows - move the shelves over the sofa like suggested above with darker art - maybe you could put them on each side of the window with b/w photos - black tray on ottomans - or floor lamps with black shades.

Smiles:)

Hi Mustangs! (and greetings from Hubby as well)

Your Hubby did a wonderful job with the entertainment center, and I for one, don't think it would look bad in black at all. Your room has such a nice scale and the wall color is not too light --

We have a large entertainment center in Hubby's office that has a black body and maple doors -- I'll post a picture later -- and it's not at all overwhelming. So IMO, a mix of paint and stain can be very attractive. Stained interior, painted exterior -- maybe a rich cherry stain?

One other important consideration. When you view the piece from the side, there won't be a 'wall' of black as it'll only be the profile you see. When you view the entertainment center head-on, yes - the lower doors would be black, and the TV would be black (in any case). But the largest sections - the 'open' sections on both sides would be the color of the items you put in there - books, A/V items, decorative tings, etc. -- so only as 'black' as you make them.

How about a brown black? One of those dark espresso colors? It would be a little softer and still dark and sophisticated.

What an amamzing job your DH did! He's a keeper, for sure!

I would do an undercoating of a rusty red, then do a rub-through black finish on top. Not shiny black, but somewhere between a matte and satin finish.

Add some artwork on the walls in black frames, some lighting with black shades or black in the body of the lamps, and you should be all set!

Otherwise, as suggested, consider a wenge finish (brown-black) but again, not shiny.

The nice thing about going with the black or dark black/brown is that the tv will sort of meld into the piece and feel less imposing.

I am guessing you will have lights in the bookcases and shelves above the tv space. I would also consider changing out the shelving to glass with wood trim on the fronts. It will allow lights in the top of the cabinets to shine through and make the piece feel less heavy.

I think if you paint it like the hooker piece it will be great! I wouldn't try to stain paint grade wood. Go with your first instincts.And kudos to your DH! Great job!Meticulous work.

First, I have to say your husband did an amazing job. Did he create plans or drawings your could post? Even measurements? I need to do something similar in my great room.

Personally, I would paint it white and maybe add a heavier baseboard around the room to connect it all together.

Absolutely gorgeous. You have a very talented husband. If you stain it, I vote for Mahogany.

First, can you husband come to my house? Bravo Mr Talented.
Secondly, I would paint it. Two tone dull black on the outside and a dark sand color on the inside. If you paint it I think I would paint the two shelves on the opposite side of the room a dark sand too.

If you think you'd like to stain, MinWax has a perfectly beautiful, relatively new stain called English Chestnut...it is the perfect rich, warm brown...none of the red of mahogany, or the orange of cherry, or the gray or gold of some of the others. Worth a look. We used it on the wood floors and some very ordinary wood louvre doors in our basement remodel, and it make the whole space look far more elegant than it deserved!

Then you might consider a trick I like to use with antique china cabinets and armoires, which can lighten and warm the interior of the upper shelves...cover a piece of foam core cut to fit each of the back walls with a creamy jacquard/damask, and stick it behind the shelves. Put pieces on the side walls as well. It looks wonderful, and lightens the weight while calling attention to the beautiful details of that lovely thing.

A rich dark stain to go with leather couch, not black paint, paint will cheapen it, a rich stain will add value..

I think it will look great black. As long as it is not shiny.

Your husband did an amazing job!

Thanks for all the kudos on DH's hard work. He is loving the comments!

Sue36, I know he has drawings. I will see if the neighbor can scan them in later. DH is an engineer... so he has lots of details. :) I like the idea of the heavier baseboard. Ours is currently partially removed anyway to secure the unit to the wall.

Teacats - I spent at least 1.5hr last night on that web site. I didn't realize that was there. I was finding prints for my bedroom, the dining room... :)

I spoke to my painter to work up a brown finish. He should have them by mid next week. So I'm sure I will be back asking for more opinions then.

Thanks again for all the help!

That is fabulous, well done! Black will be wonderful and easy on the eyes when viewing tv, and isn't that the truest point? Have you considered backing the side cabinets in mirror with easy on/off lights? Did you hope to contrast the wood and stencil as in your inspirational piece? That looks do-able also.

I think a dark espresso brown would work best. Great piece of furniture that your DH made!!!

I think it would look nice either an off white with a glaze - sortof like a full wall of builtins.

But if you like the dark I'd paint it a dark dark brown and then use a brown or black glaze on it. It will make it look more like you stained it.

I am not feeling the black hooker piece in your room. It is so nice and airy feeling...but it is a beautiful piece so anyway you go will look great I'm sure. I do like the other suggestions of trying to stain it and then paint it if you don't like it. You could go with a very dark brown stain and then with a glaze it might cover up any paint quality wood flaws.

IMHO I would do something similar to what Les suggested. Paint an under layer of a barn red and then top with a black or brown black glaze. Perhaps something like the picture in this link shows:

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

I agree with someone above, go with your original intentions. It's easy to go off track in the middle of a project, I say see it through & paint it like the Hooker. good luck & great job DH!

I have a post on here asking about my office color. And your hooker piece is EXACTLY the one I am eyeing for my office..... in the same color way. Have you seen it IRL? It's not a solid black. It's rubbed with some reds and bronzes, etc. It's really beautiful, so those who suggested the rub have a great idea. That's the beauty of hooker... they do several "layers" and their pieces have so much dimension.
I love the piece your hubby made. It's beautiful! I wish he could whip one up for me, too. :o) ha, ha.
I vote for painting it like hooker. If you get the doors faux finished with the brown on the doors, that will pull in your leather sectional. And the black really doesn't look like a black hole IRL. Your photoshopped hooker piece isn't doing it justice. Seriously jaw-dropping in person. So I vote for the black.
I do see you are thinking espresso, and that would look good. But if you don't FLIP over the espresso, please consider the black rub. Have your painter do a few colors dry brushed onto the black. I think you'll love it!! :o)

Thanks for all your wonderful advise before. I'm back with samples. :)

My painter dropped off the sample boards with the wood stain faux finish. After, seeing these my husband said he liked faux stain much better than the black finish (still not sure about that one). Anyway, I'm curious what you guys think? We are debating between two samples. The darker cherry faux on the bottom of the big door (lighter finish on big door was ruled out) and the finish on the small door. The darker meshes really well with the furniture but there is a definite red tone that I'm not to sure about. Husband thinks the finish on the smaller door will bring out more details in the wood work. Finally, the painter does this with paint and glaze (no stain). Does it look "fake" to you?

Comparison of the Two:

Lighter Door:

Darker Door

Another comparison next to ottoman/paint

The piece doesn't have to match anything because it can be the star of the room. I would use a completely different color so it is an accent piece and I would highlight the rope trim by rubbing in a contrastng color, like umber over red or black over dark green. But then I am not a fan of brown; if you are, I think the faux stain is the way to go. Then perhaps you can add some accents in non-brown to the room.
Diane

Gosh I think the samples look fantastic and would have thought they were stained had you not told us it was paint! I like both colors, but I tend to like darker woods more - so if it were in my home I'd go with the darker wood.

Its a beautiful piece of furniture - you should give that DH a big hug for his creativity and hard work!

Wow, that's amazing. I don't know how it looks in person, but it doesn't look fake on my monitor. I'm honestly not sure which color I like the best, but I'm leaning towards the lighter one.

Laurie

Did you pick a color yet? I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Laurie

Laurie

DH ended up really wanting the smaller door color. The larger door looked more red at night. The base paint color is a brick red. The painter was going to start today but we are having an ice storm, so now he will begin Monday. Wish me luck.:) I'm just praying that the finished product looks as good as the doors did. I'll post pics of the finished product.