I was just thinking about the mess we used to get on our tan house in Colorado in the fall when the huge flocks of geese heading South flew over. I can't even imagine what a black house would look like after that!

I like it better black. There is a medspa in the next town that has always been black. I think it is striking. Jojo you might recognize it :)

And so much fun this season!

Sometimes it works and it is fabulous, other times not so much. I like black and other very dark colors when they are done well, on the right house. As you all know, it depends on the style of the house and the landscaping, but it is amazing how many people do not see the whole. Hoping it does not become too trendy, as a black/dark paint on the wrong house is harder to look at than most other colors.

Just don't paint stone! So many houses here now have painted stone and it makes me cry.

Just reading the subject, my instant reaction was "ugh". But I don't really hate the pictures posted above.

There are a few new builds here with that color scheme. They are very somber. And I can't imagine the cooling bills for a black house in an open field in North Carolina.

i’ve seen navy. Dark colors start fading though so it doesn’t seem practical.

I have seen a few black homes. I love the look.

It's been a trend where I live, but it seems to be on the way out now. Sometimes I like the look, most of the time I don't.

Black houses in Florida? Sure. Makes sense.

The success of any color on a house is based on lots of factors, architecture, location, materials, climate, etc.

It is all in the execution, location, materials, etc...

I have seen some I loved and some WTFs. 😄

@bpath I think that's the most important part: don't paint stone! At least this version didn't.

I don't actually like the tan color (and unfortunately have a similar color on my house), but the black seems just too dark on this one to me.

It’s not uncommon here, especially out east on Long Island. Here’s a remodeled black house we very briefly considered, and I was more concerned about the effect on cooling costs than the look itself.

A lot of ”box” houses are black, but other contemporary builds as well.

I’ve seen a few. Not many here in Alabama. A neighbor of DD did a significant remodel of a bungalow and painted it a deep sage green and used stained wood trim. It is really quite nice. I agree that certain style houses are fine being black. I cannot see black being used much in Florida.

They're an example of what happens when a person (including pros) with overly enthusiastic but common sense defying "design" intentions does something really dumb.

In the building science world, new roofing approaches and materials have been developed that substantially reduce the amount of heat gain transmitted into the house on a sunny day. The application of the findings and use thereof have skyrocketed in sunshine states. This is the real "trend".

The "cool roof" approach requires nothing more than using specially manufactured shingle or flat roof materials. They're not much more costly than standard materials. They "work" in several different ways but one of which has to do with simple energy absorption or non-absorption. The roofs tend to be in one tone area. Multiple choice, you can guess they are:

1) Light shades or even near white (flat roofs), or

2) Dark shades

The same applies to exterior colors as far as light vs dark tones and the effect on heat absorption.

I drive by houses in my area (which is mild to warmish but not desert-like) and see new dark roofs being put on houses and can only shake my head. (use of the word "shake" is an unintended pun).

With the right house, in the right environment (neighbourhood, lot, landscaping), it might be really good. The devil is always in the details.

It is not trending where I live in Southern California. 2 houses on my street painted in the last 3 years went with the white w/black trim look.

I love the old 1600 and 1700 houses in New England, which are often painted black. I don't see a lot around here, but on HGTV have seen a charcoal grey color used, which was nice. Around here, so many are painting white houses with black trim on doors and windows. I'm way ahead of the game since 30 years ago my white house, which has remained white for 184 years(thanks, former owners), also had white window trim on its 40 windows, which I changed to a chalky reddish pink. It's a soft colonial color, which ironically was a Sears paint.

" white w/black trim look. "

That's the colour scheme of my house......it was (and still is) white board and batten, and when I had all the windows replaced I went with black trim. I wasn't sure when it was recommended to me, but I love the way it looks.

Architectural Digest posted this on Instagram today. It’s in San Francisco:

I like it. So does this bunch:

There’s a 1990s brick house in a neighborhood near mine that was recently painted black, I don’t think it looks good. I really liked the original brick colors (a lovely Chicago brick) and feel like they’ve ruined the house. There are no shade trees near it, so our Texas summers should be a fun time.

I like the AD house, but would maybe do a colored door.

This small home in Venice was painted black prior to listing for sale. As meh as it might look now, it was much worse before. The alley view is included, but a coat of paint doesn’t disguise a 1921 garage now ADU — although most of the existing garages of that time still have wood siding, not stucco. Same for the main house.

This is a place I frequently pass on my neighborhood walks through the Venice pedestrian streets.

We don’t have hot summers this close to the ocean.

The best part of a black house is the way greenery pops against it. Fantastic landscaping backdrop.

Black has been a trend for a while on old houses. For a house as ugly as the one posted, I'm glad for it to be swallowed by a black hole. Those details are nothing I want to see. I approve.

When painted black, unfortunately many of the features disappear and the house looks basic.

" With the right house, in the right environment (neighbourhood, lot, landscaping), it might be really good. "

So you're one of those "appearance trumps common sense" folks"? Or is the weather in the northern location where you live such that summertime heat gain isn't an issue?

Solar heat gain is a fact, not a decorator's opinion or taste to subjectively agree or disagree with. That's why in the old days, in places with warm summers, trees would be planted on the southern and western sides of houses. To block the sun's rays, keeping the structures cooler. .

@dedtired, I loved that black house in Maine. The "LR" was kinda funny (two chairs!) but I loved the juxtaposition of wood and black against all that white and light! And that black and gold armoire... swoon.

I am upset the steeple is gone, that ruins the house for me.

" So you're one of those "appearance trumps common sense" folks"? Or is the weather in the northern location where you live such that summertime heat gain isn't an issue? "

LOL. You can't help but look for a fight, can you? As I said, the devil is in the details and one size never fits all.

@chispa There is a new house (taller than wide) painted black we pass on the way to eat BBQ. Yes, in Florida. Nuts.

It can work - it can also fail spectacularly. There's a new house near me, on acreage, up on a hill that I would call less than successful largely due to architectural choices and exposed setting, but color alone does not make it a failure. Not far from there is a cottage on a wooded lot, largely shaded, with natural wood shutters, window trim, window boxes, porch posts and porch flooring that is cute as a button. That same cottage without the shade would look like a hot box in this climate. I've also seen a black cabin with vertical metal siding in mid-MI, natural wooded setting, natural wood window boxes and red door that is a successful use of black. I don't think there's a hard and fast call to be made either way.

Generally speaking not a fan. A few might look ok in the right circumstances, but those would be rare indeed.

I always thought this was dark brown, but apparently it's slate black...the house of 7 gables. I don't like it. I generally don't like the paint and trim to be the same color anyway. One neighbor did it on her antique colonial, and I had no idea the paint job was finished....I thought it was still all primer!

Maybe best for folks who always come home in daylight - or how would they know when they were home?

Not so hot for folks in the northern parts of Canada, where the sun doesn't come up at all for a month or so around Christmas.

Of minimal importance for me, who's lived for nearly a hundred years in family homes, university dorms, employer-owned (rent-free), or rented houses or apartments, sometimes shared - so next to no choice of exterior colours.

ole joyful

You'd probably get a higher AC bill, and the bird poop spots would stand out more. On the plus side the black mold and mildew wouldn't be obvious.

Not my taste. Homeowners near me replaced a weathered wood shake roof with slate-look-alike shingles. Unfortunately, here's no 'depth' to the shingles. The finished product looks like a black tar paper underlay, waiting for its shingles.

Painting stone or brick negates one of the great reasons to have such a durable material.

I like black houses. Or very dark navy. Or white. I don't like other paint colors. I love nice brick (think Chicago) but not that awful dark red brick or that yellow-ish brick. And I love gray shakers like you see in Cape Cod.

I always think it would hide that mildew that grows on one side of my house hours after being power washed. But the bird poop is a good point. Yuck.

I looked at the op pictures again and I think it's an improvement with the dark paint. The house is such a mish-mash of shapes and angles that the original 3 color paint job just highlights. With it all dark, the shape of the house is much more cohesive to me.

I agree that the black version in the OP is much more attractive.

For those who don't care what the exterior colour of their house is, you could always use the colour-changing paint, that is darker in colder weather and lighter in warmer weather.

We restored our 1910 Four Square 7 yrs ago with a new standing seam roof and removed the siding and restored the original Poplar wood. Painted Kendall Charcoal with white white trim so it matched the replacement full tilt windows the PO installed.

I love the Black and close variations. If I was in a dark green forest it would be my first choice . I won’t get another chance likely so this is as close as I can get. According to passersby it’s perfect.

^^ I like that a lot, Still Trailing. Very attractive house.

The oassersby are right, Trail. Its perfect.

C, I love your house and yard!

What a pretty home. I know you said the garden has changed but the pink flowers are so pretty with the house color.

Fabulous @Still trailing

Thank you. We rebuilt the porch , new brick footings / railings and new Black Locust porch ( the one that bumped my head- still have a lump 😵‍💫). Our contractor saved and restored the white pillars , everthing else is new.

The pink sedums are still there. I don’t take many pics anymore.

Y’all are very kind. 🙏

Gosh I bet it's been well over five years when I noticed all the downtown renovations were going black. Next I noticed homes so I would venture to guess given how long these extremes last the black trend is waning. It is a very sharp look on the OPs home. Love the brick being accentuated! It's only paint right? This too will pass and very fixable when it's no longer pleasing to the beholder.

I think it works on certain styles of homes like Victorians and other homes with character.. I actually like the one Annie posted. There is a small brick ranch on the other end of the neighborhood painted black and I think it just looks out of place on a ranch house. And I love black, so for me not to like it is something.

Also don’t like the look of the stark white with black trim. See a lot of that around here especially new construction. Even DH thinks it looks horrible.

Above, I mentioned a really cute little older mobile home in my area that got an update with black paint. I went looking for pics of something similar and found these. This one is most like the one I've seen, but I love the look of the others, too.

eta: and certainly not a mh but this came up in my search, which I find absolutely stunning:

or with more stonework...

I like the extra stonework...and leaving the dark brown tones for the soffit, trim, & copper colored gutters.

@Olychick..The 4th/last one of those...I really like! ❤️

There’s a house nearby that has painted the entire thing black, including the terra-cotta tile roof. Not feeling any of the black houses I’ve seen.