I’ve noticed a great deal of homes with dark exteriors lately. Some have been made together with all the shou-sugi-ban technique, which creates a protective charred layer that ends in a dark exterior. Others resemble stealth aircraft, eliminating detail in favor of a nearly total darkness. As has been explored elsewhere on , black and coal-gray exteriors have an indisputable wow factor and make any colors integrated pop.
What interests me about black exteriors is not always their form, which I equate with suspenseful films — maybe not in a bad way, but in the sense that films taken in the dark let our imaginations take hold. Dark exteriors allow the exact same to happen in how the interiors relate to the outsides. What I notice the most is the powerful contrast between the exteriors (dark) and interiors (light).
Birdseye Design
The Cantilever House has a second-floor quantity in black propped beneath a concrete foundation. This black-over-gray composition inverts our anticipated notion of light over thick. It’s very conspicuous in the dark soffit over the walkway at the bottom of the stair.
Birdseye Design
Inside white surfaces abound, and the large windows frame the water and trees. The thin exterior skin usually means the black is only subtly glimpsed.
Kariouk Associates
Echo House is a remodeled Victorian home with formerly dark interiors. The architects put the dark on the outside, moving from orange brick into a dark gray shade. The cantilevered quantity adds some square footage into the compact footprint.
Kariouk Associates
What was dark and compartmentalized indoors is now spacious, bright and full of surprises, particularly the mezzanine over the kitchen.
BattersbyHowat Architects
The Whistler Residence is covered partly in shadowy shingles, that accentuate the concrete which breaks up the form and the wood which can be observed through the large opening.
BattersbyHowat Architects
The concrete, glass and wood combine to create a bright and airy interior, where the wood joists and ceiling produce a strong sense of enclosure.
2fORM Architecture
This remodel’s stained cedar exterior is a fit inside the context.
2fORM Architecture
Inside the residence is bright and white, with windows and skylights that give views of the trees and skies.
Spry Architecture
The aptly named Black House is a renovation which strives to stand out amongst the “pink home fabric of suburban Phoenix,” as the architect describes it.
Spry Architecture
Nevertheless the black and the heat are kept from the interior, which is white with some gems.
David Vandervort Architects
Black exteriors are particularly striking at night, when they appear even darker and the lights glow from inside like a lantern, like in the Flowing Lake Residence.
David Vandervort Architects
Some black from the exterior is carried through to the interior (wood wall on the left and window frames), but this home is another example where white and light prevail.
Peter A. Sellar – Architectural Photographer
Here is another project where the interior glow is highlighted by the dark exterior; the massive glass walls arising from the modern layout (and having all the lights for the photo shoot) accentuate the effect.
Peter A. Sellar – Architectural Photographer
The interior is very bright, thanks to the glass walls and white surfaces but also the double-height space cut between the living room and kitchen.
Bates Masi Architects LLC
Last is the Robins Way home, which combines dark brick and wood on the exterior. The light color of grout provides some relief into the dark colors out.
Bates Masi Architects LLC
Inside it’s white walls, a light wooden floor plus a distinguishing ceiling of pure rope. The dark exterior is visible through the clerestory and other windows, but it does not overshadow the bright interior.
More: On Trend: Bold and Black Exterior House Color