Thanks, everyone, for your input. We spent the last few days with these same friends. We poured over the magazines (Domino Magazine has quite a few black/gray painted rooms featured and they look beautiful!) She's still not sure. I made the suggestion if she was hesitant about doing the bedroom black, do her master bath black. It has skylights and windows, so it wouldn't be a "black hole." Black really can look glamorous, if done right.....I love people who think "outside the box." Our home is predominantly SW's Blonde. I love it, but not exactly the most unique color in the world. I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

I did just what you describe and I'm tickled pink with it. In my case it WAS a load-bearing wall, but that just meant I had to header off the opening. I created about a four-foot archway between the two sections of the (now one)room - making one section the bed area and one the sitting/dressing area. I can't tell you what it costs since I did it myself, but I really don't think it would be that bad, depending on what needs to be done. I had to move a electrical box and add another (to stay up to code) but it was mostly a framing/drywall job. I would say the most important thing is visualizing the feel/scale of the new room as well as new traffic patterns and usage patterns to come up with a good design. In may case I created a couple of new walk-in closets to keep the scale of the resulting room comfortable. I know I've been in several "de-partition" rooms that feel just like that - two rooms with a wall knocked down.

I like my first idea best as far as use of space. I know people say not to put toilets on an outside wall. We had one in our last house in Iowa, but we had 2X6 construction. I don't know how high your window is, but I'm guessing the toilet would fit under there. The shower would be 5 feet long or shorter if you want a wider space to get to the toilet. (kind of tight the way I have drawn). You could do a 5 and half foot long shower and do an angled door at the left end to allow room between the shower and toilet. The vanity would be about 7 feet long, unless you do a 60 inch vanity with a linen cabinet at the door. I would reverse entry door swing if you do that.. The second top right could work and you would still have a small closet. The bottom left plan would require waterproofing your front window. Hopefully someone will give you other ideas. The bottom right plan is bigger, but no closet. Each square equals 1 foot.

Yes, I think pink is a beautiful color for a master bedroom! The trick is picking the right pink and then balancing it with other elements that are not overly feminine. I love pink and brown together, or black. When choosing a grownup ink go to the brown section in your color deck. As you move up to the lighter colors you will see what I refer to as dirty pinks. These are softer, more pleasing pinks that men can love.