via Bo Bedre
Well, SHOULD YOU? Sorry, that was aggressive…kind of like a black house? Ever since writing A-Frame Houses Are Back In, and my Scandinavian Design post, black houses keep following me around the internet. Spoilers: black A-frame houses are the best houses. So today, I’m finally giving them the attention they deserve, bringing me to the question: should you paint your house black?
It’s a tricky question; I get it. If you read my How Interior Design Affects Your Mood post, you’ll know I tend to sway towards light and airy versus dark and moody. But somehow, I think I could live in a house with a black exterior. So what is it about black exteriors that makes them so great?
They…
- highlight architectural detail
- pop against the surroundings
- look ultra modern and sleek
- give an instant “newer” facelift
- hide dirt and staining
If you want your home to look super modern, thus making you a really cool homeowner, you can’t go wrong with painting your exterior black. However, only certain homes can get away with it. What I mean by that is the architecture of your home will dictate whether or not you should paint your house black. As you’ll see in the images, a black house looks best if the home has architectural detail or is minimal in its design. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to just throw some paint on any style home. See for yourself!
Should You Paint Your House Black?
via Homey Oh My
I’m just going to say it, this house is sexy. Pairing a black exterior with other natural elements such as pale wood and concrete is a recipe for success every.single.time. THIS is how it’s done; throw in some minimalist chairs with cool detailing, and you’ve got yourself the best porch on the block. For real.
via Apartment Therapy
Here you can read all about how Victoria from SF Girl by Bay painted the exterior of her home! It looks so, so good. She took a run of the mill white exterior and added molding and black paint for a phenomenal design. A black exterior would work really well in an urban environment or a city like Philly, NYC, Boston, LA where the homes are right on top of one another. That’s the best way to really make your house stand out from the crowd. Victoria lives in LA, so painting her house black was a great idea. Similarly, Emily Henderson painted her previous LA home a beautiful blue to stand out from the other homes on the hill.
via Homey Oh My
via Illinois Home
Should you paint your house black if you live in the suburbs? Only if the architecture allows it. This is a great example of letting the home’s architecture dictate your painting strategy. This looks like a normal suburban home, so painting it entirely black would look creepy like the house you skip on Halloween. Adding white softens the dramatic exterior and looks much more welcoming. You have to be careful when painting the entire home black if you live in a suburb; you don’t want Gru’s house from Despicable Me to be where you live.
via Door Sixteen
See what I mean about letting the architecture dictate the color scheme? This home works because of its simplicity. Again, this is a great example of painting an urban home so it stands out from all the other homes on the block. Dare to be different, always. And bonus! It will be so easy giving directions if your house stands out automatically. Your Uber rating will instantly jump to 5 stars (probably).
via Contemporist
via Dwell
Honestly, I have like 10 of these images pinned on Pinterest. I love the idea of painting the back of your home black. In some historic cities, you are limited to what you can change on the front exterior, so a cool color on the back exterior helps you jazz up your home, without breaking any city rules. There are a lot of awesome brownstones in Brooklyn with black exteriors in the back and my I hope to live in one someday (hahahahahahaha yeah right)! My favorite thing is combining traditional with modern, and these black exteriors do just that.
So, have you decided? Should you paint your house black? If your home is already painted black, I would love to see it so tag me please!
-Kristen
