Exterior Houses Painted Matte Black

Lilac

Lilac

Well-known Member
Location
Flyover Country
I've noticed at least 3 houses in various parts of town that have been painted black or partially black. In the fall they looked as they always did, but were painted just before it couldn't be done before the weather change. These houses are all different ages, sizes & styles It's not just a dark charcoal, but a flat matte black. I've seen bricks painted & they've looked really nice, sometimes better than the original brick when it's been a bad color.

One house is a single story ranch that was the 1960s yellow brick with a brown roof. The house is completely black, including the trim. The only accent color now are natural wood color shutters around the windows with tan roof.

The second house is a 1970s reddish brick with white & black wash Tudor style on the first story & above the 8' line was brown wood trim with cream on the plastered areas with a brown roof. Now everything above the 8' line is all black.

The last is a cream brick for the first story & all the wood above to the light brown roof is black. The window frame is white metal which is the only accent on it.

I haven't watched home remodeling shows for a while on TV, so I'm not sure if this is the next new trend or what. I know everyone has their idea as to what they like, but this house painting scheme leave something to be desired. Maybe it can be pulled off if it's done right, but to me these are missing something.

I'm not against painting brick. Some very old houses need it to protect the brick & others with dated brick color look better painted.

My impression is that the first story of a house is there & then a void of nothing with a roof floating overhead. The ranch is just a black hole with brown shutters with a floating roof. Yes, I know this is a strange description, but this is my perception of it. I pass these houses several times a week, but they really stand oddly out next to some very nice homes.

Would you paint your house like this or do you have another idea for painting brick houses?
 

Looks like the trend to darker exterior colors started a couple of years ago. I'm not a fan.

The 17 Best Exterior House Colors of 2022 | brick&batten

From the link:


44626-black-forest-green-a.jpg
 
A few years ago a house was built down the road that is charcoal gray with a black roof. They accented it with white & black. The building material is board & batten & gives some very nice texture to the house. When I was going past I was wondering how that combo would work out & it came out very nice.

It's not dark colors, but just the matte black that looks out of character. Maybe it can be pulled off with newer architecture, but these houses look out of place.
 
Iā€™ve seen houses finished like this. I personally think they look dull and on the drab side. Driftwood grey with turquoise accents, sandalwood with burgundy accents. Maybe itā€™s my depression speaking . For myself, itā€™s far too dismal.
 
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Pinky said:
I've seen new, modern architectural style homes which are painted black. They often have some natural wood accents. Personally, I like them.

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Based on the photo thatā€™s charcoal. I like that.

StarSong said:
Black houses will draw plenty of heat come summertime. Not good for my climate.
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My very first thought.

I do watch and read decorating sites and havenā€™t seen the solid black look - yet.
 
Lilac said:
I've noticed at least 3 houses in various parts of town that have been painted black or partially black. In the fall they looked as they always did, but were painted just before it couldn't be done before the weather change. These houses are all different ages, sizes & styles It's not just a dark charcoal, but a flat matte black. I've seen bricks painted & they've looked really nice, sometimes better than the original brick when it's been a bad color.

One house is a single story ranch that was the 1960s yellow brick with a brown roof. The house is completely black, including the trim. The only accent color now are natural wood color shutters around the windows with tan roof.

The second house is a 1970s reddish brick with white & black wash Tudor style on the first story & above the 8' line was brown wood trim with cream on the plastered areas with a brown roof. Now everything above the 8' line is all black.

The last is a cream brick for the first story & all the wood above to the light brown roof is black. The window frame is white metal which is the only accent on it.

I haven't watched home remodeling shows for a while on TV, so I'm not sure if this is the next new trend or what. I know everyone has their idea as to what they like, but this house painting scheme leave something to be desired. Maybe it can be pulled off if it's done right, but to me these are missing something.

I'm not against painting brick. Some very old houses need it to protect the brick & others with dated brick color look better painted.

My impression is that the first story of a house is there & then a void of nothing with a roof floating overhead. The ranch is just a black hole with brown shutters with a floating roof. Yes, I know this is a strange description, but this is my perception of it. I pass these houses several times a week, but they really stand oddly out next to some very nice homes.

Would you paint your house like this or do you have another idea for painting brick houses?
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Pictures! We want pictures.

I have never seen a black house, but I have seen a very dark gray house. It was very well done and surrounded by trees and lawn, so it looked architectually fashionable. Kind of disappeared into the greenery.

I have also seen a lavendar tract home surrounded by beige and terra cotta stucco tract homes and I LOVED it. It was a big middle finger to the beige and terra cotta world in which that city is encased. A Lavender Rebellion. I'm sure some of the neighbors hated it.
 
I haven't seen it either. On Fixer Upper they often paint brick white or cream. There is a surge of black on the inside especially with shower and sink faucets and knobs. I have sprayed a couple of odd pieces of furniture black with a couple of coats of polyurethane and they look good.
 
Alizerine said:
I haven't seen it either. On Fixer Upper they often paint brick white or cream. There is a surge of black on the inside especially with shower and sink faucets and knobs. I have sprayed a couple of odd pieces of furniture black with a couple of coats of polyurethane and they look good.
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I hate black inside homes. Can deal with black furniture, sometimes. But if someone puts black granite down for the kitchen countertops, I consider that a ruined kitchen. I don't like black & white bathrooms either. That's just me though - I know some people love those black countertops.
 
I've never even seen a black house IRL so I can't say. I don't think it would be practical in my area as we do get hot summers and black would draw and hold the heat. Gray is not the same. I lived in a gray house as a kid across the street from another gray house. We had lovely gardens and greenery and it didn't seem dark or dismal to me at all. The house across the street did have black trim while we had white and white shutters. I liked it.
 
The ones I have seen on TV I really like. Generally they have natural wood accents like the one Pinky posted. I think they would be great in the north where they would absorb heat and help keep the house warmer.

I like black accents on the inside of the house too. I remember reading one time that if you have something like a radiator heater you wish would "go away" you should just paint it black.
 
DebraMae said:
The ones I have seen on TV I really like. Generally they have natural wood accents like the one Pinky posted. I think they would be great in the north where they would absorb heat and help keep the house warmer.

I like black accents on the inside of the house too. I remember reading one time that if you have something like a radiator heater you wish would "go away" you should just paint it black.
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Last night on House Hunters they showed a really modern cabin situated in the Smokey mountain area of Tennessee that was painted that black matte color. It looked really nice. She ended up purchasing it.
 
I bet dark houses are warm in the summer (unless, of course, they have AC). I had a theory - maybe someone with more technical knowledge than I can invent paint and roofing that are white in the summer (to reflect sun), then turn dark in the winter (to absorb sun).
 
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