Black Modern House Designs That Will Make You Want to Paint Yours Black

Black modern house designs are becoming increasingly popular. They look chic and different, plus they make a huge design statement. However, when considering colors for the exterior of your house, it’s not likely that many people will suggest choosing black. For accent trim, sure, but for the whole house?

black modern house

Yes! Especially on modern and contemporary styles, black can be an amazing color for the outside of a home. Often, the exterior of a black modern house is a different material from plain wood or black siding, ranging from metal or special wood cladding.

These types of homes are ideal for locations where the black will add to the drama of a landscape, or help the black modern house blend with its surroundings.

Dark modern cladding house

Black Modern House Design Ideas With A Cool Dark Look

Don’t believe black exteriors are a good idea?  Have a look at these homes that will convince you otherwise.


Black Mansion

Black Mansion
Jilco Window Corp.

Modern black homes can be pretty large and mostly the exterior styles are modern or transitional. This is because a traditional mansion with a black exterior is exceptionally rare.

In fact, they’re almost nonexistent. You can find lots of exciting, large black mansions that have unique architecture. Sometimes, the black cladding is combined with stone, metal, or natural wood for an interesting look.


Black House Interior 

Black House Interior 
Design Line Construction, Inc.

In the past, it was hard to find black home interiors. However these days, designers are embracing this formerly taboo color. Whether as an accent or the main color, black is showing up more frequently. Actually, most homeowners consider black a chic addition to a room in almost any quantity.


Dark Modern House

Dark Modern House
Photographs: Luuk Kramer

BBVH Architecten of Rotterdam created this modern villa in a new suburb of Den Haag. The modern black house has a dynamic architecture with large cantilevering terraces.

It faces the waterfront, which gives it great views. Overall, the structure is steel around a concrete core. Inside, the walls are lightweight prefab timber. Actually, the house is not just black. It has gray glass-fiber-reinforced concrete panels, anthracite plaster and warms brown wooden cladding.


All Black House

Austin Black a frame house design

This modern black house in Zagreb, Croatia is contemporary. DVA designed the structure, which. covers an area of 590 square meters. In fact, the owners asked the architects to design two identical black modern houses, one to be rented out.

Austin Black a frame house design

Connected by a series of walls surrounding the site, each house has two basic elements: the shell and the glass membrane. The shell or frame protects the transparent core and provides privacy.


Black Themed House

Black Themed House

Black Painted House

You can make a boring home exterior a lot more exciting when you paint it black. Your first thought might be that the neighbors will riot. However, if you aren’t breaking any HOA regulations and you do it carefully, you’ll have a standout house.

Going All the Way?

First things first: Are you going all the way with the whole house black or just the trim?  If you’re nervous about an all-black house, you can choose a dark gray and black trim. Just be sure to swatch and test!

Shades of Black

Just as there are many shades of white, there are different shades of black. Some have red undertones while some have blue nuances. This is where you want to test samples. View them at different times of day and in different types of light. You can also mix proportions of black paint with colors like green or brown for unique hues.

Fading Away

Very dark shades of black paint will fade to gray over the years. However ff that’s not appealing, you’ll have to repaint more frequently to keep a pristine black shade.

Black Siding House

If you choose siding for your black modern house, make your material choice very carefully. Dark colors hold more heat and you might need to include ventilation gaps or other structural modifications. Also, most dark finishes can develop a chalky appearance, which might not look so great over time. Finally, just as with paint, black siding can fade in the sunlight.

In general, the options are composites, fiber cement, wood and metal. Vinyl is not available in pure black.


Modern Black and White House

Modern Black and White House

Black and white is a classic combination, including for a home exterior. Parasite Studio of Romania created this black modern house as a dark box. White walls mark off the semipublic spaces and link the house with the environment.

Austin Black a frame house design

A system of courtyards helps transition the public and private spaces. The black and white theme continues in the house. Living spaces are white while the private areas are enclosed in the black box section.


Black House Trim

Black House Trim
Vincent Longo Custom Builders

Maybe you love the color but aren’t ready to go all black. Instead, black trim is a great way to use the bold color as an accent. This transitional white brick house is even more striking with the black trim. Window frames, drainpipes and the front door are all pure black and create a striking contrast.


Black Modern Farmhouse

Black Modern Farmhouse
A.D.D. Concept + Design

This black modern house is a new take on the farmhouse trend. Instead of going with the typical white, this modular home opts for dark drama.

darm farmhouse decor

Dark stained vertical wood cladding emphasizes the height. In fact, the stain lets the wood grain variations show through, adding chic charm.

By contrast, the gray building in the back has horizontal wood cladding that’s more traditional.


Innovative Black Modern House Extension

Innovative Black Modern Extension

A modern black exterior can be an ideal choice for an extension to an existing home. Christopher Polly Architect used a finish of black corrugated metal panels on the expanded portion of the yellow brick home in Sydney, originally constructed in the 1960s. The panels match the lines on the roof of the main part of the home. This gives it a natural feeling of belonging.

Austin Black a frame house design

Set in the Canadian forest, this chalet getaway uses a steeply pitched roof and vertical lines to blend with the trees that surround it. Actually, the home is two structures, one of which holds the living space while the other is a storage shed.

Designed by APPAREIL Architecture, the chalet is angular and austere on the exterior, which offers no clue to the light and airy inside of the home. Wooded areas are great locations for a modern black house because, at a distance, the house blends with the dark forest home.


Sinus House Featuring a Black Roof

Sinus House Featuring a Black Roof

The Sinus House gets its name because the two spaces look like they are sliced out of the home. The Danish countryside home is more dramatic with its black facade. While it could have been painted any neutral colors, the white “sliced-out” sections highlight the modern black of the fillets on the roof and anthracite gray brick walls.

CEBRA Architecture designed the house, which aimed to meld large sections of glass windows with the overarching desire for privacy by the homeowners. As a result, these slices also ensure that sunlight will enter the home no matter the angle of the sun.


Small Black Suburban Home

Austin Black a frame house design

Amid the generic home designs outside Munich, Buero Wagner created this small black house that stands out in more ways than one.  It is set near Lake Ammersee, between two existing homes, an office building and a multifamily home.

The wood cladding on the exterior wall is carbonized and belies the light wood interior found throughout. Moreover, the process of carbonizing the wood seals it, making it water-repellant and fungus-resistant without the use of any chemicals.


Faceted Black House

Austin Black a frame house design

Designed by Benjamin Heller, this black house has a jewel-like appearance with its black panels shining like facets on a gemstone. Locates in Öhningen, a health resort near Lake Constance, Germany, it sits at the cliff of the neighborhood.

The architects say that the building has the feel of a hand-cut stone with its varied angles and black surface. The different ways that it reflects light make it a very interesting structure.


House in Silhouette

Austin Black a frame house design

Designed as a large family home in Melbourne, House in Silhouette was conceived by Atelier red + black. The neighborhood sits at the edge of the outer suburbs and straddles the world between rural and suburban.

The black facade of the home is ideal for a low-density 1.6-acre lot, where there is plenty of green space. The unique dark house lends a distinctive air and helps set it into the landscape as a complementary structure.


Black Riverside Home

Austin Black a frame house design

Choosing to have a dark facade is a bold and brave move, and this home in Užliedžiai, Lithuania uses it to its best advantage. Set on the side of the Nevezis river in a forest home setting, this house blends with the surroundings in an effortless way. 

Nebrau designed the home actually with two sections, one for living and the second for resting, both situated by a small private pond. Surprisingly, the unique black exterior wall puts it in harmony with all the elements in the setting.

Austin Black a frame house design

Angela Waibel of Hajnoczky.Zanchetta Architekten created the concept of this tall and slim two-family home in a grove of trees near Zurich. As with other forest modern homes, the black exterior helps it melt away against the background of trees, leaves and topography. By contrast, in the snowy winter, the home stands out like a dark gem. The triangular shape of the house makes it a distinctive design. Also, the black exterior only serves to highlight its unusual silhouette.


Sustainable Australian Home

Austin Black a frame house design

A dark-gray and black exterior is the perfect finish for this unique home. Actually, it’s also a model of sustainability in Fish Creek. Australia. The exterior of the home, designed by Archiblox, uses corrugated Woodland Grey Colorbond cladding.

All this echoes the sea, sitting just off the property. Vertical lines in the cladding mimic the tall slender trees of the forest. Dulux Black Ace window shrouds, frames, pergola and flashings highlight the building’s outline. Thus, they make the interior that is visible through the large windows even more vibrant


Haus D

Austin Black a frame house design

Positioned in a very unlikely spot, Haus D rises from a small house plot in a suburb of Tuttlingen, Germany. It is actually squeezed in between traditional-style buildings that have been constructed over the centuries.

Playing off of the proximity and the shapes, topography of the plot. Two stories on one side and a single level on the other, the black exterior makes the most of a structure that would already stand out.


Mountaintop Cabin With a Twist

Austin Black a frame house design

The dark gray/black exterior enhances the mountain ridge location of this cabin in the Czech Republic’s Ore Mountains. Stempel & Tesar Architects designed the striking silhouette, which has a good deal of character. Depending on the weather, the home either stands out or blends in against the open sky.


Black Urban House That’s a Little Mysterious

Austin Black a frame house design

Located in Zagreb Croatia, this black house is actually two modern homes, not one. The owners asked DVA ARHITEKTA to create one to live in and the other to rent out. The quality facade unites the two buildings into one cohesive visual. The plentiful use of glass creates small house spaces away from the street. Mainly, the dramatic exterior and its modern design expose very little of the interior. This helps increase interest by adding a touch of mystery to the home.


Black Barn Villa

Austin Black a frame house design

Like a black barn plopped on the Taiwanese landscape, this black house by C3 architects and interior designer Po-Lin Chen is actually a villa for guests. Part cafe and part hotel, the building features a stunning matte black exterior.  The arrangement of the small windows is more like a graphic element. Unlike anything nearby, it will likely become a landmark because of its black exterior.


Inexpensive Minimalist in Chile

Austin Black a frame house design

The architects this design that uses a matte black exterior that is exceptionally alluring against the surrounding landscape.

The house is in Calafquén, Panguipulli Commune. Importantly, an asphalt membrane completely covers the exterior, which helps it hold heat. The pitched roof gives it a traditional element within the overall contemporary approach. Finally, white framing adds an accent to the black and helps the windows stand out.


Swiss Stand-Out

Austin Black a frame house design

This house already stands out in its traditional Swiss neighborhood. This is because of the modern, minimalist silhouette, and the addition of a dark facade makes it even more so. Schuler Villa in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, which sits on a narrow lot. Overall, the dark exterior and minimal windows facing the street give it intimacy. All the large windows and living spaces are on the private side of the house in back.


Hadar’s House on the Norwegian Coast

Austin Black a frame house design

The black exterior of this small home on the coast of Stokkøya, Norway allows it to melt from view against the rugged hill when seen from the water. Designed by Asante Architecture & Design. for a chef, the house is supported on stilts on the side where the hill drops away.

The entryway s like a separate box attached to the main house and it sports a green roof. Also, the main part of the home, called Hadar’s House, features very large windows that overlook the amazing water view.


Forest-Facing Black Modern House

Austin Black a frame house design

Sitting at the edge of a forest in Denmark, this one-story home features large glass panels that allow those inside to appreciate the woods day and night. The shell of the home, designed by international architects C.F. Møller, is finished with an exterior of dark patinated zinc. Thus, the industrial feeling of the cladding is a contrast to the natural surroundings and distinguishes the building from any other homes nearby.


Swedish Sheet-Metal House

Austin Black a frame house design

The brainchild of Tham & Videgård Arkitekter , this vacation home on the outer Stockholm archipelago has a soaring roof and a black metal-clad exterior. The metal is in various widths to add interest and accommodate the windows as well as three sliding glass doors that open to the outdoors. However, as with most black houses, the exterior is a direct contrast to the light wood used inside to create an airy and open feeling.


Modern Hillside Marvel

Austin Black a frame house design

Surprisingly, this house is located on a plot with a rather unforgiving landscape. StudioFour created this residence to fit on a steep slope with just one tree. Consequently, to amp up the drama, the exterior has black wood installed horizontally.

The house is located on Ridge Road on Australia’s Mornington Peninsula and is the only one in the neighborhood to work with the topography instead of fighting against it. Hence the multiple parts of the black home cascade down the hill, making the most of the angled land.


Black Desert House

Austin Black a frame house design

Retained by a client to design a home in Yucca Valley, California, Oller & Pejic Architecture had a tall order: Build a house like a shadow. So of course, the designers chose to give it a black exterior. Actually, they say that this is very relevant to the desert.

That’s because “sunlight is often so bright that the eye’s only resting place is the shadows.”  They put the house on a small flat area in a saddle between rock outcroppings. As a result, it is on a precipice with nearly 360-degree views.


Black Modular House

Austin Black a frame house design

For example, a modular house by A-cero Architects shows that you don’t have to sacrifice modern style to get more affordable house construction. This home in Madrid, Spain is the first of two prefabricated models the architects are offering.

Generally, the look is far more modern and sophisticated than almost any other modular home. That’s thanks to the black glass and other cladding elements on the exterior, which bring modular homes to a whole new style level.


Modern Individualist

Austin Black a frame house design

Unlike any other house on the street, this Vancouver home sports a black exterior and modern style amid a street full of traditional silhouettes. In distinction, the black wood facade mixes horizontally placed wood with vertically installed pieces.

Of course, this gives it more interest and mimics the wood black siding on the adjacent homes. Hence, Scott Posno Design created this black siding house that is distinctive but still fits naturally into the neighborhood.


Budget Black Chalet

Austin Black a frame house design

Differing from the usual, this Canadian chalet in Clearview, Ontario stands out as a black form against a white blanket of snow. The budget-conscious, low-maintenance cozy chalet was designed by Atelier Kastelic Buffey (AKB).

In fact, the need to be economical drove the decision to make the facade of the house from board and batten paired with a steel roof. The exterior is such a comparison not just to the snowy land, but also to the interior of the house, which is light and bright.


Modern Take on a Cabin

Austin Black a frame house design

“Modern and open’ but with a quintessential ‘cottage feel’. That’s what MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects set out to create for a client. The result is the Clear Lake Cottage in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada. Clad in black with a vertical sensibility, the vacation home is located in the middle of nature. In fact, the structure is built into the land and has views both into the forest and toward the shore. On the whole, it’s a black modern house that blends well with its rustic surroundings.


Money-Making Addition

Austin Black a frame house design

Ultimately, homeowners in Fremantle, Australia called Philip Stejskal Architecture to build an addition. In general, the addition aims to provide a living space while the main 1930s bungalow rents out to vacationers.

The modern, modular addition has a facade of black panels that highlight the plentiful doors and windows. The two-story addition has a main floor that provides living and sleeping areas. The client uses the upper story as an art studio.


Pros and Cons of a Black Modern House

As with anything, there are pros and cons to a black modern house. Before you take the plunge and go for black, read carefully.

The Pros:

  • It Makes a Striking Home – Without a doubt, a black exterior elevates a house to a whole new level. It’s chic, a bit mysterious and needs little – if any – embellishment.
  • It Shows Off Your Garden – Whether the house has manicured gardens or sits in a forest, a black exterior really highlights the greenery. The different green shades of the leaves and plants will be more noticeable around a black modern house.
  • It’s a Neutral Color – Just like your favorite pair of black pants, a black exterior goes with everything. Keep it minimalist or add a pop of color on the window frames. Basically, anything goes.

The Cons:

  • It Fades – Dark colors and sunlight are not good friends. Hence, it should not be surprising that black will fade over time. Dark paint on a house can also blister. It absorbs a lot of heat in the day and then cools. The heat cycling will cause blisters.
  • It Magnifies Imperfections – Before painting your house black, make sure all the surfaces are smooth and blemish-free. Black will call attention to any chips, ripples, dents or other minor damage. Meticulous painting prep is key.
  • It Gets Hot – Simply put, black absorbs heat. A black modern house will have to deal with a hothouse effect, especially in sunny, hot climates.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)FAQ

How much does it cost to paint a house?

Home companies estimate that the general range for painting a house is from $1,700 to $4,200. The national average is reported to be about $3000.

The prices also vary by geographic location, the size of your house, the type of exterior, along with the amount of detail and trimming will also affect the price. If the house is 3,000 square feet or more, the price can easily be as much as $10,500 and more.

Why you shouldn't paint your walls black?

Painting the exterior walls of your house black can be a sticking point when it’s resale time. You might find black to be bold and impossibly chic.

However, not everyone will feel the same way. And, repainting the exterior is a bigger cost than just a black room on the inside of the house. The shade of black and how glossy it is are also big considerations. Finally, in warmer climates, it will cost more to cool a black house.

Is black siding a bad idea?

Whether or not black siding is a bad idea depends on a few factors. If it does not get a lot of shade, it will indeed fade. Dark siding also creates heat transfer. Basically, this means that it absorbs heat and will make your home warmer.

Finally, when the siding absorbs more heat from the light, it will expand. Ultimately, if the installation is not done properly, it can cause siding components to fail.

Does black exterior paint make a house hotter?

In a word, yes. Painting your house dark color does indeed make it hotter. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a dark exterior color like black will absorb between 70 to 90% of the sun’s energy.

That heat then transfers inside. While this might be good in the winter, it won’t be a plus in the summer when you need to cool the house.