I’ve said it before and I have no doubt I’ll say it again (many times over probably!) – the power of paint never ceases to amaze me! Just a couple of coats of paint can not only provide a fresh new colour, but with it, somehow completely transform an entire space. I’m always surprised how even the most subtle of colour changes can have such a drastic and dramatic effect. This exterior colour change, however, was not one of those subtle changes. In fact, I have a feeling you’ll find the new colour surprisingly dramatic and quite unexpected frankly (unless you caught my sneak peeks on Instagram, then this dramatic change might not be such a surprise).
Are you ready for it?
It’s black. We painted our house BLACK. And I am head-over-heels in love with every square inch of it!
Would you ever have guessed that we’d go with black? I mean painting a door black is one thing, but an entire exterior?!
Here’s the thing: this wasn’t a decision I took lightly. Choosing a paint colour for a room doesn’t feel near as daunting, but deciding on a colour for our entire exterior, well that’s always felt a little more overwhelming. Repainting a room that you didn’t quite get right is one thing, but I knew whatever colour I chose for our exterior was going to be a much bigger, more permanent commitment. There was a lot of pressure to get it right.
I’ve actually had this rolling around my head for years now and I think that giving myself all that time to think on things was such a big help in making this decision. I’ve known we were going to change our exterior siding in some capacity since we purchased this house and so, for six and half years I’ve had all of the various options (Hardie Board, wood shakes, paint) in the back of my mind, along with all of the many colour options that come with that. While I can honestly say I considered them all (or mostly any way) – blues, greens, greys, beiges, whites – I’m sure it’s no surprise that beige and/or white were often the front runners for me. I mean, there’s nothing more timeless and classic than a beige or white house. It really would have been the safest option. But, there was one other colour option that I just couldn’t seem to shake.
BLACK.
Every time I came across a black house (which, let’s be honest, wasn’t a lot because it’s really not that common a house colour), it caught my eye. And then that black house often lingered in my mind for weeks afterward. Clearly, black is a pretty memorable colour for a house.
Inevitably, I’d come across a beige of white house that was so beautiful it would bring me back from the “dark side”, but there was just something about the unexpectedness of black that I couldn’t seem to totally shake.
It lived in the back of my mind for years. While I loved the idea of painting our house black, the boldness of it and how truly unexpected it would be (especially for me!), I really didn’t think it would be the way we would choose to go when the time to paint actually came around. It’s probably no surprise to you that I have a tendency to stick with safer options. Brady however, is far more of a risk-taker than I am (and a very convincing one at that!) – it didn’t take much for him to talk me into looking beyond those safer options, and instead taking the leap to go bold with our colour choice.
And so, when the time came this Summer to finally paint our house, I collected all of the black paint options I could get my hands on. Very quickly, I narrowed it down to six favourites (I knew I wanted it to read as a warm black without any blue, green or purple undertones) and painted some samples in a few different spots around the house.
With the samples painted, it was pretty easy to see the colours (and more importantly the undertones) and the winner was instantly clear in my eyes. We ended up going with the colour sample that was second from the bottom in the photo above – Black Beauty from Benjamin Moore. Not too green, or blue, or grey – just the perfect warm black.
I’m not going to lie, I was nervous as we ordered the paint. Thankfully, the painters worked quickly and it wasn’t long before I was able to see an entire wall painted out and confirm for myself that I’d made the right decision. It truly was love at first sight. The entire house was painted within just a few days, including the chimney and all that’s left to do now is for us to add a quick coat of stain to our shutters and get them all back up beside the windows. We also plan to redo our fence soon too – we’re thinking a stained cedar to match the shutters. All those wood accents will really help to bring even more warmth to our exterior. I’m also thinking a warm burnt orange colour for our door would look so amazing as well (something like this Spicy Mustard).
I am head-over-heels in love with this new colour! It’s the perfect mix of traditional and modern and, thanks to our beautiful cedar siding, adds just the right amount of cottage charm to this old house from the 70’s. I think what I love most is the unexpectedness of it – it really stands out and brings such a fun pop of colour to our little street!
What do you think? Would you ever think about painting your home black?
Looks great! The daring and unexpected is a fun feeling when it turns out so well! I immediately thought that door needs to POP with a warm wood tone, so was glad to read you are thinking along the same lines. I actually was able to paint my doors a very realistic wood look with a caramel color base coat, dark gel stain, and a wood graining tool. HAVE FUN!
Yes! I absolutely agree about the warm wood tone, especially once we get the wood shutters back up. I love the idea of trying a wood-look, I will have to dive a bit more into that. Thanks so much for sharing Leigh!
It looks so good! Definitely a good choice.
Thanks so much Emily!
Totally unexpected but gorgeous!
Thank you!!!
I LOVE it! Absolutlely gorgeous. And thanks for the link to the Spicy Mustard paint color. I’ve been searching for a color to paint my front door and that is so perfect.
Thank you so much Angela! And that’s great that you found some inspiration for your own front door too!!!
Ooh love this! First word that popped into my head was “Majestic” – what a great look! Not sure about the color for the door – but would agree that the wood stain look would be terrific! We had someone in our neighborhood just paint their house black as well – also someone else just painted their house a dark navy blue! Lots of bold choices out there!
That’s awesome Vicki! It’s fun to see all of these different colours being used – it sure brings a lot of character to the neighborhood!
It’s beautiful. I’ve always thought if I owned a cedar siding home, I would paint it black. Your home has such presence now.
Thanks so much Carolee! I agree, the cedar siding is what gives the black the extra charm and character I love!
I actually really love your new color. It is unique but I think it looks truly fabulous!
I think I would but I have half cedar planks and half red brick so for me in this house I couldn’t – but for yours, I think you both did well choosing that bold awesome paint. I bet we see more and more of it in the future as people see how nice yours looks!
Do let us know if you think it affects the heat penetrating your home. And how well the dark holds up in time.
Well done.
Thanks so much Michele! I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! I will absolutely keep you posted about how it weathers and holds up in the years to come.
Love it. We are having our house painted next month and I so wish I could go black but way too expensive because it would require multiple coats. Good for you. Looks great.
Thanks so much Rebecca! It did take a few coats (and a few more touch-ups) to get everything right, but I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! Good luck with your own paint job this summer! No matter the colour, it always makes a big impact just to have everything freshened up again.
Love your color choice. It looks fantastic. I too am a fan of black painted houses and especially with white and wood trim. So classic and stylish. The Spicy mustard color for your front door is going to look gorgeous too.
Thanks so much Sharon! It’s definitely a classic look and the I cannot wait to see it with the door all painted out too! Thanks again!
Your new house paint color is beautiful. I would never have thought it would look so great, but it does. I’m not very daring so I would probably not have gone with black but it looks great. It’s bold but looks so nice. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much Carolynn! It was a big leap for me too (I typically stick with light & airy neutrals), but I just couldn’t resist this jump outside my comfort zone. 😉
Many years ago I came across a picture of a house in downtown Toronto that was black on black on black with a few pops of cedar. I fell in love with it. It is timeless and elegant. In our cold Alberta climate where we have snow so much of the year it is such a warm contrast. The right black is key though, our neighbour just put some black siding on that has a very green undertone and just doesn’t quite hit the mark. Great choice.
Thank you so much! I agree, it really pops against all that white we’re so used to seeing through so much of our year here in Alberta!