We painted our house black!

A few weeks ago I announced that we chose to paint our house a soft black. This felt like a big decision.

Yes you can change paint color, but painting the entire exterior of a home is a big financial investment. I wanted to get it right. You can read all about the decision making process we went through. It’s safe to say I lost hours of my life combing pictures and paint color choices.

If you’ve ever chosen a paint color for anything major you know exactly what I mean!

Here is what I love about SW Iron Ore for the exterior of our home

1. It is a soft black/deep gray

So many dark colors can feel harsh. Not so with SW Iron Ore. It is actually classified as a really dark gray – a steel color – and it is truly lovely. I know that sounds designer-weird, but it’s true. It is very pleasing to the eye – it’s rich yet soft.

2. It looks stunning in a natural environment

We live in a beautiful area that has trees, fields, and mountains in the distance. The dark color blends with the environment and makes the house feel like it belongs there.

3. It looks good in snow

We have not lived a winter with this color yet, but I know it is going to look great. My design friend, Anne of Pedal Home Interiors, has a white house in Oregon. She said it snowed once and the snow made her white paint color look yellow in contrast. She remarked how thankful she is that it doesn’t snow much or she’d have to re-paint her house. It’s something to consider with white if you live in a snowy climate, and also something to celebrate with black!

4. It adds sophistication

There’s no doubt about it, just like the perfect black dress with a set of pearls takes style up a notch, so does a black home. There is a sophistication about it that is simply timeless and beautiful.

5. Dark paint pops the accents on your home

We have some beautiful beam work on the home and it makes the wood pop. It contrasts the river rock as well (see next note). It also makes decorations pop and I have plenty of those!

6. It even makes me feel OK about the river rock

We have TONS of river rock accenting the exterior of our home and it is not my favorite. I even said I hated it at one point. When we bought the house, the river rock was one of the only downsides to the property in my opinion. To change it would be a hefty cost, and there are other renovations that matter more.

However…. GOOD NEWS! Changing the main body of the house to SW Iron Ore made the river rock looks a thousand times better. I don’t mind it so much anymore!

BEFORE & AFTERS:

We still have some exterior changes we want to make to the home. For example, updated black lighting is on the way as I type. But the point of this post is to show you the power of paint alone!

You can see a video tour of the house on my IGTV on Instagram.

The house went from this…

To this…

From this…

To this…

From this…

To this…

Overall opinion of SW Iron Ore paint for the exterior of a house: FIVE STAR

It was a risk to go with such a dark, dramatic color on our home, but I could not be happier with the result. Every day I look at it and LOVE it. It’s beautiful.

If you are thinking about painting your home dark, go for it! You’ll be glad you did.

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