Glossy black shutters and door but do not paint that brick and especially not black. Black is an accent color, sprinkle like pepper. you could paint the foundation to match brick but hopefully shrubs will hide it in time.

Our neighbors painted their Cape Cod black with crisp white trim & shutters. BRIGHT PINK & yellow flowers in their window boxes. By FAR THE MOST STUNNING HOUSE IN the neighborhood.

Having said that, I don't think your style is going to be that fantastic in black. But I can see indigo. With yellow flowers. Crisp white trim.

Very dark colors absorb so much heat. It will make your house very hot. My house is only a medium-dark brown but it gets so hot. The siding gets hot enough to burn skin if you touch it even quickly. I can't store bread in my pantry in the summer because it's on the exterior wall and it just gets too hot. I live in the PWN so it's not even that hot here and I don't have AC to help keep things cool.

I think you need to focus on your big beautiful portico first. Get the design done, with the cedar being a big part of it, then think about colors. Also,,consider using a designer, architect and/or a color consultant to help you. Black could be stunning, or it could
turn out to be a bomb. You don't want a bomb!

i disagree with the comments. i think it would rock in black.

we're currently cladding one of our homes in shou sugi ban and it's turning out amazingly!

I think black will be amazing I love black and cedar together but keep in mind this now will have a very contemporay feel so no shutters and ideally all the grills in the windows should also go and you wil need to paint the concrete or clad it in some stone . The material mentioned above is my dream cladding for a house it is burned wood and looks awesome.I would remove the trees that are taller next to the house they will grow too large for that placement so move them now while it is easy. I would use the same stone for the base of the portico as you use on the concrete and make the whole entry much larger and lose the round entry pad and the window trim needs to be black too IMO.

If you go this route I would look into corton steel for large planters along the walkway.

Paint brick black will be a nightmare in maintenance for the rest of your ownership. Resale will be questionable if even possible. Painting over interior black is horrible. Painting over exterior black will cost you a fortune. If you have a need for black do the trim, shutters etc. All that aside you have a gorgeous home there, if you have to paint over the brick which I don't recommend black is a very bad idea not just from a design standpoint but an economic one. Find another way to be a trend setter.

I advise against the black.

IF you end up painting the house black or dark gray, you should consider planting bushes and trees with light green foliage and bright flowers. Dark foliage will just disappear against dark paint.

thank you for your comments everyone. The house is actually stucco not brick. my husband did a quick Photoshop to show our idea. A lot of you are against black, if not black then what colour?

If you are not in an area that gets hot, dark blue is in, and dark green is coming next year, also terracotta.

My apologies, I thought I was seeing brick. Love the portico idea and the shutters. If you want to do something off trend go for a bright vivid color, nobody is using color now. If you want to stay in the darker range a royal blue would look lovely on that style home. So would Hunter green or even a pine green. I agree the nearly pink color it is now needs changing, it's dull and definitely a common color for stucco. If you want to think lighter apple green would be great with the cedar and black roof. So would a light plum. Neither one is something you'll find a lot of. BTW you a wonderful piece of property, I would love puttering with it.

Your idea looks ok, as long as you remove all those shutters -- the ones on the left are particularly silly (if closed, they'd barely cover half the window!). Agree that all the little squares in the window need to come down too.

Interesting use of the cedar beams and door -- going in a much more cabin direction than I had imagined, rather than strictly modern. Maybe window boxes would dress your window more naturally than the shutters.

I like your idea. Here's a black or maybe dark gray house in my neighborhood that everyone loves. Hope this helps!

i think the lower basement windows need to be less obvious - maybe paint them a color that will fade them into the background?

Agree with acm, no shutters. We painted our house a dark grey and love it.

I hate to be the one to disagree on the subject. Though without shutters it will look like a blank slate, literally so if painted black. The shutters are decorative. Gladly they are no long used to close out a storm. That's why we have double pane windows and glazing. The shutters especially in cedar add visual interest to an otherwise naked house. Not all decorative items have to have a function was well so are just there because the owner enjoys them. I do like the addition of window boxes though. That would be a pretty be a addition on this home.

They don't have to function (most are immovable on the wall), but if they don't at least look like they *could* function, they just look like you don't know what you're doing/why they exist. That big window can't have 'em, doesn't need 'em.

Hmm can't? It seems it can, because it does. Whether or not it needs them is again a personal taste opinion. As to why they exist , why does one where a necklace or earrings? To decorate themselves. Some people think false shutters , even those that don't fit are an attractive decoration. Just because you do not doesn't make it wrong, it makes it something you shouldn't do on your own home.

Some other shade in black would do it's work but difficult to figure it out.

Sorry the shutters look tacky this color is not traditional on this style of home and I strongly say no shutters and just before everyone has a fit I am entitled to an opinion .I think this house could be awesome but IMO the owner needs some pro help to make it work

I like the black paint but I would remove the shutters. Please post pics when you're finished.

I agree black would be a statement but functionally it wouldn't be a good choice. for maintenance, care, heat absorption and all of the above reasons, I agree to paint just the foundation black to match the shutters, and maybe look at painting the trim black as well. the door could stay black as you have it or find another colour to make it pop, brick is a beautiful finish and colour which matches the authority of the home.

@ Patricia I completely agree that you have the right your opinion. My point wasn't that her opinion wasn't allowed. My point was and still is that there is no need to be insulting. We are talking about someone's home here. While we all may find thing we disagree with. I do. I don't see any reason to be rude in our suggestions. I would hate to have someone pick my home apart in the same way. Even though I know it has things that most definitely need work. If I were to ask their advise which in fact I will in the future I would hope they can answer me without being insulting or demanding.

Do it...paint it just a bit lighter than the roof...just a tad. Paint all the trim the black of the roof, in a high gloss paint, so you can get some definition.

Don't forget the foundation...paint that the house color, too.

No shutters and when you replace the overhang, enlarge it...move it toward the living room window. You may have to change the steps to something wider, but it will enhance the house.

I lived across the street from a lovely black house for a long time. It was a long L shaped ranch style. On your house I think it would look like a little black gum drop. Not all houses are suited to black paint. Black is not a horrible idea but I think the house would look better in a lighter color. You also need to consider fading. BTW, everyone was disappointed when my neighbor, after many years, tired of the black. The new taupe was beautiful but routine.

Your house would look nice painted the color of the bottom stucco.

I had no idea there were so many black houses out there, how interesting.

Love the mock up your husband did. If you are looking for a country-ish feel, it works. I am generally not a fan of shutters at all, but I love the ones on the right. The ones on the left, not at all. Don't use them there but do build a long cedar flower box to balance the colors. Now that you've seen several versions of black or dark charcoal, you can see how the style of the house, the trim and the plantings make a huge difference to the final outcome. Keep working on it and don't listen to the naysayers!

Listen to the naysayers.