carol - hardie does have a charcoal "iron" tone in a few profiles but I'm not sure about this image - did you ask at the photo link itself? often, the builders who post these will answer there

It is 3” strips of Hardy Plank siding - flat (no wood grain) go onto vertical strapping first and then an overlay of 12” Hardy Plank is screwed on, like a reverse board and batten, then the screw holes are filled and all the horizontal lines calked and then painted with a flat black pain

What's your opinion of Hardie's "rough hewn cedar" plank texture vs. smooth?

The smooth gives you a more modern look and the
roughhewn cedar gives you a more rustic look. Each perform equally and I think
are the same cost.

Actually, there's a markup for the smooth. Though we had originally chosen the smooth for our mid-century modern home, my builder, who does alot of Hardie residing, highly recommends the rough hewn. He says the smooth is more likely to show imperfections in the wall. He also says it looks a lot more like painted cement.

By the way, we love what you've done with this home. Your use of textures and colors on the exterior materials is gorgeous. It's also clear why you wanted to use smooth in this case to complement the coarser textures of the beautiful stone and shakes.