Dark Exterior, Light Interior: 6 Homes That Celebrate Contrast
I’ve noticed a lot of houses with dark exteriors lately. Some have been made with the shou-sugi-ban technique, which creates a protective charred layer that results in a dark exterior. Othersresemble stealth aircraft, removing detail in favor of an almost total darkness. As has been explored elsewhere on Houzz, black and coal-gray exteriors have an undeniable wow factor and help make any colors incorporated pop.
What interests me about black exteriors isn’t necessarily their form, which I equate with suspenseful movies — not in a bad way, but in the sense that movies shot in the dark let our imaginations take hold. Dark exteriors allow the same to occur in how the interiors relate to the outsides. What I notice the most is the strong contrast between the exteriors (dark) and interiors (light).
The Cantilever House has a second-floor volume in black propped atop a concrete base. This black-over-gray composition inverts our expected notion of light over heavy. It is particularly pronounced in the black soffit over the walkway at the base of the stair. |
Inside white surfaces abound, and the large windows frame the trees and water. The thin exterior skin means the black is only subtly glimpsed. |
Echo House is a renovated old Victorian house with formerly dark interiors. The architects put the dark on the outside, moving from orange brick to a dark gray color. The cantilevered volume adds some square footage to the compact footprint.
What was dark and compartmentalized inside is now open, bright and full of surprises, especially the mezzanine over the kitchen.
The Whistler Residence is covered partly in dark shingles, which accentuate the concrete that breaks up the form and the wood that can be seen through the large opening. |
The concrete, glass and wood combine to create a bright and airy interior, where the wood joists and ceiling create a strong sense of enclosure. |
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Dark Exterior, Light Interior: 6 Homes That Celebrate Contrast
