The thing is he is stuck on having a "black" room. I don't really want his room to be dark, though. Otherwise I think I'd pick up that grey in the border and go with that.

Maybe one wall dark navy and the rest that neutral gray of the trim? If they ever finish installing my @#&*(@#& washer and dryer I can get out and get more samples this afternoon. The new bed arrives next week so hoping to paint this weekend...!!

This is the bedding, but we have the duvet instead of the quilt.

The duvet is the smaller print, right? In which case, you have a lot of white there and in your trim. I think you could go all navy and have enough white and color to keep it from getting too dark, but if you can get him interested in the idea of having a big wall decal(s) on the walls, you can either break up the black with colorful superheroes or soften the background and add some interest and make it only partially black with a skyline or this skyline. Maybe the black can be the design instead of the wall color? Some of the photos I came up with when I searched superhero themed bedroom included some of these stickers but you can see other ideas as well.

Here's a link to an article with some other fun ideas.

I think picking up the grey border is a great idea :)

Well, black and not too dark are kind of on opposite ends. Worst case scenario, you repaint one wall in a year. However, I also like the idea of the skyline. Maybe show him that. Or dark navy/black with glow in the dark stars?

I am completely baffled. This is a kids room, not a moody teens. It's just an opinion, but navy and black are too adult and really not appropriate for a young kid. Young kids need colors that are happier and more energetic to stimulate their brains and bring their moods up. You said yourself that you would prefer a lighter color. Well, it's time to put your big girl pants on and be the Mommy. If you do bring in the navy, I would put it on one wall only. Or do alternating stripes of a couple of the bedding colors. The other point is that the darker colors are also a real b*tch to paint over. :c)

Oh goodness. Yes, we've discussed this before. My parenting choices are not up for discussion :)

I sampled 6 more colors. I really like the SW Naval and think it looks good with the bedding. I don't know if he's going to think it's black enough. SW Outerspace looks nice too. The closest gray to the bedding border is SW Earl Gray, I think, though I'll wait for the paint to dry.

Lasca - he would love those superhero decals. He was looking over my shoulder as I opened the link and said "wow, cool!!...do they have any villains??" Ah, but we won't be getting villains on the wall, he would probably get scared of them at night. I do love some of the ideas in that Buzzfeed article. I followed some of the links. Batman curtain tie backs!! :)

Right now I'm leaning towards just going for it and painting the room all Naval. Just to spite those of you who think I shouldn't :-p

Do you do the painting yourself? If so I would give him one black wall. Then you could explain to him that black takes the light out of the room so other walls have to be a light color.

Another option: Use the SW color visualizer and show him what his room might look like, either with Naval or Black. Then I'd start with one wall. I'd involve him and let him decide. Or ask him whether he'd like one wall like night, and the other walls like day.

You won't hear anything from me. I think that with cartoon colors, you have to embrace a certain degree of bold, whether the wall color is black, white or anywhere in between.

Did he like the skylines at all? Could the kid in the cartoon one be him being a superhero too? I just had an idea -- what it the skyline decal was put on a painted board (foam board -- could be in sections) with sutouts where the windows are and you put Christmas lights behind it? Built in nightlight. I'm good at creating work for other people, aren't I? Sorry -- kids rooms are so much fun and you only get to do them once or maybe twice per kid. I had ideas we never got to and it's still fun to imagine.

Commercial just came on the TV..... any chance he will change his mind and want minions after seeing the new movie? LOL

Can you do a black chalkboard wall of the dark grey and then the lighter gray? I actually like both colors. I let both my kids pick their colors, my son (6) choose a dark grey/blue and it's a little dark so the fan light is always left on at night (dimmer). He loves that he picked it:).

When our boys were young they had a great looking room with dark navy paint below a border and wallpaper with vertical stripes in navy, white and kelly green above the border. It looked great but our guys played in their room and after not too long I noticed that the the dark blue paint showed marks, dents etc. far more than any other colour in our home. For that reason alone I would not choose dark paint on the bottom of walls in a kids room, even though navy is one of my favourite colours. Maybe consider a lighter bottom colour, and a chair rail, border, colour blocking etc with the darker colour farther up the wall?

Great choice! Whole room SW Naval will be smashing!! Please post back when done. Good luck!

I personally feel that it is his room and he should get what he wants -- and I say this as a mom whose daughter's room is currently a rather frightening shade of near-neon-green. I know he's only in preschool but it seems like only yesterday that my daughter was in preschool and this fall she'll be starting high school. I can live with neon green for 4 more years because after that, she'll be gone and I can paint the room any color I want (sniff!). And really, once you get past the fact that it's *neon green*, it actuallly looks pretty cool -- she has a rug and comforter in the same bright colors (green, turquoise, orange and hot pink) and it ties it all together. Does it go with the rest of the house? No--but I can shut the door (which I would do anyway given the general level of cleanliness in that room, LOL!)

That said, I agree with using some chair rail or something to make it lighter on the bottom half. Or -- here's another suggestion -- my dining room is white on the bottom and I used regular black chalkboard paint on the top (I had visions of chalking something that looked like a floral wallpaper design when I painted it, but it has been 4 years now and the walls are still plain.) The reason I suggest the chalkboard paint is that after you are done, you have to prime it all by coating it with chalk then erasing it -- this gives it a dusky mottled look that is less harsh than black or even a solid dark gray. Also, if it gets any marks or fingerprints, another quick coating of chalk/erasing and they are gone. My dining room is also an office/playroom so it gets used a LOT and the walls are holding up better than anywhere else in the house because marks are less noticeable because of the faded mottled look of the chalkboard paint and because when I do notice something it is so easy to touch them up.

I do agree with those who said dark solid colors show marks -- our finished basement is a dark purple (SW Expressive Plum) and the every time I bump the walls carrying something down the stairs it leaves a spot.

I showed him the sample of naval this morning and he said he likes "that black" the best...

emmarene - that's a good idea. I will paint one wall and see what he thinks. 95% sure he will say keep painting though.

Lasca - he wasn't so sold on the skylines, unfortunately. I thought it would be fitting to do one of the city we just moved from, where he was born, but I don't think he gets it. And he does love minions! He would probably be happiest in a room filled with decals of superheros, teenage mutant ninja turtles, legos, minions, and his new love Baymax. I think I'll do the naval and see where we end up. He'll need something over his bed, maybe a big bright decal or I really liked those vintage superhero posters in the buzzfeed link - maybe with a light or bright colored matte and frame. The room does have a lot of windows and faces east, so I guess if I'm going to do a dark color, this would be the place. The dresser is opposite the wall of windows, so maybe if I put a big mirror above there that would reflect a lot of light into the room too.

lkplatow - chalkboard paint is a cool idea. I just worry about the mess of chalk.

My son wanted black (he was 9 at the time). I went dark gray, but insisted all the furniture/drapes/trim be white. The room is awesome, not moody at all. Did etsy framed larger scifi Art (had grandparents and family choose their favorites and used ikea ribba frames). He has an overhead fan/light and then 3 reading zones. I got him a remote which his 3 zones plug into and he adores controlling the lights from his bed. He's 13 now and still loving the room. Good luck, the dark color may help him sleep better :)

There you go. Pick "that black" and please post back.

"That black" ... would look really great. He's got good color sense, which some children reveal early.

Bring in a lot of white and bright primaries in the drapes and other stuff and it will be awesome.

My boys love Baymax too! I can't wait to see the finished room -- I think the fact that he loves the navy blue color, and you're combining it with other brights and whites, it will not be too dreary -- it might be very cozy and a comforting place to be.

naval looks pretty dull in comparison to the bedding... I would try to find a brighter navy- maybe color matched to the navy in the rug...

I know you (or your son) were originally thinking of a dark bat cave, but the light gray isn't close to black, so it sounds like you have managed to veer away from that idea. I would focus on finding a brighter and deeper color for all the walls at this point rather than painting an 'accent' wall a very deep color and keeping the rest light/neutral...

Baymax would be adorable over his bed -- what a protector to watch after him (even if there is a villan in there somewhere). ! And they just happen to have a large decal on Amazon for about $16. Woops -- if you hurry there is another one available for $8 with free shipping. The $16 one has good review - none on the $8 one. Who says you have to stick to one character or family of superheroes?

Now the rest of you let Butternut get at least one before you snap up the rest!

I look forward to seeing the Naval room!

I totally need to see the finished look. So excited. I stuck with revere pewter in ds's room and never did the navy stripes, and he kinda forgot about it.

He did choose most everything else though.

I do want to put up some green curtains which he is vetoing, but we'll see!

Mommys little helper :)

I am excited about this. In time his memory will change and he will believe that he painted it.

The only issue I can see is that his teacher may someday have trouble teaching him his colors! ;-)

Oh, no, that's a whole other discussion...

http://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/advice/a33035/advice-navy-blue-or-black-032713/

So cute. Look forward to seeing more.

We got two coats on and we love it! So glad you guys convinced me to go for it. I think it needs a third coat, mainly cause I'm a spastic painter, maybe tomorrow or Monday. It doesn't feel that dark at 6:30 with no lights on so I think we will be just fine.

I had bought some drapes from ikea which are a darkish green. They were inexpensive and black put fabric. I can't decide whether to use them or buy some in a white canvas. I think the white canvas would be really striking against the naval but more $$$. Plus the trim is off white (comparable to BM linen white or SW Dover white) and most of the premade drapes (pbk, etc) are white white.

We have bamboo blinds on order and the bed set to arrive this week.

But here is a sneak peek :)

Butternut, it looks really good! Are you leaving the ceiling as is?

My trim is creamier than my cotton panel curtains and I think it looks fine, but I have an affinity for many shades of white in the same room. :)

Looking good:)

looks nice!

how about just adding some trim or a white band or something to the green curtains... with woven blinds, you/he'll probably appreciate blackout curtains...

Looking great!

Looks awesome!

Yay!!! Looks great!

I am really liking the wall paint and white trim. I know I woud like white curtains and agree that different shades of white usually play together well -- often more interesting than if they are exactly the same. The green could be great too -- having a hard time picturing them. If you do the mask tie back, will they work equally well with the green and white? Do you think you need the shades and curtains? Is that a street out the triple window? Oh, your kiddo might actually take naps -- blackout could be nice. My sons never did. I forget some moms get lucky. ;)

Really like the navy and white. Such a classic combination and something you can work with if he outgrows the bedding too.

Well......What does he have to say about it?

That picture is adorable of him painting, it's looking good, thanks for the visual.

Thanks!

Linelle - Yes, going to leave the ceiling white...may replace the ceiling fan though with a different light since we are not fan people.

Lasca - I think the tie backs would show up better on the white curtains. My thought with getting shades and curtains was for maximum light control on that big window (it is facing the street but one floor up). He is a guy who says "hey, I see the faint hint of the sun, it is time to GET UP!" When presented with options, he says he wants avengers, ninja turtles, minions, baymax, superhero squad, and something else I forgot. May have to pare down that list a little for available wall space :)

emmarene - he loves it, but I think he'll get it more once I get the furniture back in it's place.

Ok this may be a little hare brained...

What do you think of this painting? The background on it is that it was painted by my grandmother when she was in art school in 1969. She had it above her fireplace for ~45 years until she moved to a retirement condo last year at the age of 93. So it has sentimental value but it is tough to work with because it is so bright. It is also LARGE.

With the 8 ft ceilings in this room it would probably come halfway down the wall. And it would definitely take away wall space fr the baymax/ninja turtles/avengers posters. But the color is really nice.

WWYD?

I think it would be awesome in your son's room. Love the sentimentality. As long as he agrees ;) those preschoolers, so difficult!

Nice work!! As a kid I wanted a yellow room. Parents consented, but it was so diluted as to be unrecognizable as yellow.

I would work the painting in. Some of those sites with wall decals could make them any size -- maybe you could find a way to work in some smaller ones and just do one or two larger ones. Circle a mirror? Marching into or out of the closet door? radomly scattered or arranged in an action scene that is all his own. They could be positioned behind the arrows on the painting, but that would seem to beg for something in the center.....maybe that remains in the imagination. If the painting fit over the bed, maybe some super heroes are behind the arrows and all pointing to their hero who sleep in that bed? Just thinking out loud here. I would kjust kick around some ideas and figure out what works for you and your son, but the painting is too special and too right in terms of color and graphic quality not to try to use it.

I would prefer the white IKEA linen curtains, but then I wouldn't want a bat cave :)
What does junior say?

Love that navy blue. There's so many directions you can take it once the batman phase is over. Another idea is to replace the light with a ready-made lamp shade. You can even make it a batman shade.

It looks great! Well done. I'd definitely use the painting, it's a good fit, and special.

nosoccermom - great to know Ikea has white linen! Was planning a trip there tomorrow to pick up his mattress. And I love that shade idea!

And OMG I was looking for a shade like you posted and looked on etsy for Batman ceiling fan...and it turns out you can order the actual blades of the fan painted with superheros! Oh what fun :)

ETA: I haven't asked his opinion on curtains. I'm not sure he knows what a curtain is :)

After asking a few times, you do learn to be careful about when you ask -- or to limit the choices and then say which one. ;)

It is almost like that painting was done just for this purpose. Love it.

Great choices and the painting is perfect. How fun!