A Better Black for Exteriors

My eDesign department is hopping with exterior colour consultations this time of year. We help clients get the fresh updated look they want while making sure the colours relate to any fixed stone, brick and roof colours. 

Because once you understand colour, it’s really easy to spot when someone wrongly assumed that their stone or brick was simply “neutral”. That means, the didn’t bother considering the undertones in the stone when they chose other neutrals. And that usually means it looks less than beautiful.

Specific colour ways of brick and stone will typically only work with a very limited range of neutral undertones.

Here’s a really pretty example below.

Gruwez

Extremely rare is the brick or stone that looks right with stark white. 

There are plenty of styles of exteriors that look better in softer, even earthy palettes, and painting them black and white not only screams trendy – it looks terrible. This is an unfortunately good example that a reader sent me recently.

I definitely prefer the before. What do you think? 

Many designers feel it is their job to give you (the homeowner) the latest trends

There are plenty of designers who believe it is their job to install the most current trends in every home.

But I have to say it again for those at the back: black and white is NOT for every house. An experienced designer, one who has been through a few trends, can see past the trend jar we’re all in and caution against excess. That’s the designer you want to hire. 

Here’s the perfect example. My eDesign client got a recommendation from a local designer for updating his exterior. They suggested cream for the stucco and – you guessed it- BLACK for all trim, fascia, soffits. 

By the way, we get a lot of business from people who get their colour specifications from a local designer or eDesigner and knew instantly that it’s wrong. So they turn around, start searching for other alternatives on the wild, wild web, and then find me, and happily, that’s what happened with this client. 

Because, here’s the thing, and this was something we talked about in my Chicago True Colour Expert training last week. We rarely do revisions to our eDesign packages.

Wait whaaaaat?

That’s right. 

We don’t not do revisions because it’s some kind of policy. We don’t do them because it’s super rare that anyone asks for one. To be clear, I’m not saying we don’t occasionally get a client who is not happy, we don’t live in a perfect world after all, but it’s usually because they are someone who really needed a designer to come to their home. Find out here, if eDesign is for you.

Anyway, back to my point. In person and virtually, I’ve been in over 20,000 homes, so I know if what you’re asking for in your inspiration photos is going to work for YOUR style of home. Which as I mentioned here, is very important.

Plus I invented the Killam Colour System so not only do you get the correct colours, neutrals or whites for your home, my design advice is also accurate.

Which proves that there actually IS a right way AND a wrong way to choose finishes for your home and if you hire me, you’re getting the right advice, EVERY TIME. 

What does a timeless update look like?

So let’s take a look at his house. First thing I noticed was the perfect landscape that had recently been installed. You can always spot a professional landscape design by its gracefully undulating curved beds. So pretty!

But next, what do you see? Yes a somewhat drab taupe colour scheme that could be much fresher. What else?

We have a taupe/brown and orange roof and orange and brown stone.

NOWHERE in either of these variegated patterns, the roof tile and the stone blend, is there any black. 

Could the stone be creamy? Well yes. But it’s really beige.

Choosing the right colour is about the subtle undertones of neutrals

So the right question to ask to find the new fresh stucco colour is:

WHICH subtle undertone of beige do we see in the light creamy stones? 

Maria Killam Understanding Undertones Colour Wheel

Which undertone do you see in the lighter stones? Keep reading for the answer.

A better black (alternative)

If you look closely at this stone, the darkest tones are red brown and at the window frames are bronze. There is no reason to randomly choose basic black when the deep accents in your colour scheme are already a rich bronze.

Which by the way, choosing BRONZE is a really great alternative to trendy black for windows and high contrast accents on exteriors. Bronze is often a “better black”.

Even without having stone that so clearly wants to be paired with bronze, I often recommend bronze to my clients for exteriors. Simply because if you choose black right now, you are time stamping your exterior to a trend that is on the fizzle.

But it’s also because bronze is simply a softer choice than black with great longevity.

A trendy “update” versus a timeless update

So let’s take a look at the house photoshopped with the designer’s original recommendation:

See how heavy the thick black trim looks, weighing down the otherwise pretty facade. And how the stone sticks out as simply wrong? That’s because nowhere has any of the colour in the stone been repeated. 

Instead, if we choose an orange beige complex cream to relate to the stone in addition to repeating the rich bronze accents in the stone, and the window frames, not to mention the taupe/brown/orange roof, we have an intentional harmonious look that at the same time looks updated and fresh.

The bronze paint colour and orange beige neutrals (along with the rest of my curated neutrals and whites) that we specify over and over again, can be found in my bonus book of colours for Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams in either of my ebooks here.

And that is how it’s done, every single day in our eDesign department. You can see all our packages here.

If you have an exterior that needs to be painted this season, you can also purchase my Exterior Colour Selection Masterclass here.

My True Colour Expert Training will be in Dallas in the Fall, register here.

If you’re a homeowner working on house projects, new builds, and renovations, my Create your Dream Home course is for you.

Related posts:

The Black & White Exterior Colour Mistake EVERYONE is Making

My Nearly Finished French Country Exterior (& Expert Colour Advice for Stone)

Avoid These 3 Common Exterior Colour Mistakes