This is hugely interesting! I had no idea about all this history. Personally, I reeeeaaaally dislike this new black aesthetic and grey is just boring to me. As is all beige. Feels like the walking dead. Or a flat line on an EKG machine. If you don’t have some color, where is your passion in life? Dull colors-dull people - dull life. Trying not to be judgmental but… I appreciate what you said about Restoration Hardware. And before that, it was Crate & Barrel. Alas.
But the fact that these homes sell for more- even if it’s just the door- wow. Just wow.
I feel this way a lot that I see something and had no idea it was going on. I think as with a lot of things it depends on context. It would look bad on most period houses. Black does look good on some modernist houses and new builds but can look also bland depending on the materials and if there are too many monochrome shades.
Sometimes there is too much of one color being used which is why I'm not fond of some of the RH styling. Color is not an easy thing to master for a lot of people so black and grey can offer a nice look without dilemmas or fear.
Having just built a house and chosen dark gray siding, I have some insight. In our case, we have a dislike of bright reflections and since we spend a lot of time outdoors working in the vegetable garden that abuts the southern side of our home we didn't want to be continually blinded by the sun bouncing off light-colored siding. Then from an aesthetic perspective, as photographers we felt that dark gray would be a better backdrop for any photographs from within our garden or property (in both summer or winter). The house definitely looked great in the snow. We did have some concerns that dark homes were a trend that would pass, but I don't think we hold those concerns anymore. We're very happy with our choice!
Hi Tom, Thanks for sharing your experience — a good point about reflections. You don’t really think about that until you’re actually living with it. I love that you made a functional choice that works aesthetically and for your photography throughout the year.
I do like black or dark exteriors (RH just took it a bit too far for me, but I don’t dislike it). Any color if it fits how you live and what you love, that’s what matters.
Glad to hear you’re still happy with it! I took a look at your site — such beautiful photos and prints. So lovely to put a face to a reader.
Yes we put a lot of thought into anticipating how we'd live with the structure and what we might regret over time, and then making decisions based on avoiding those potential issues and the costs involved. Building from scratch allows that, fortunately, but it taxes the brain to imagine so many what ifs. Our yakisugi checked lots of boxes because it's pretty much maintenance-free, which was also a huge criteria for us.
It sounded thoughtful when you explained it. It IS a lot of decision making. Perhaps you'd like to share what you went through for a post here - I would like that.
I'm daunted by Substack search so it's wonderful to engage on a more personal level.
This is hugely interesting! I had no idea about all this history. Personally, I reeeeaaaally dislike this new black aesthetic and grey is just boring to me. As is all beige. Feels like the walking dead. Or a flat line on an EKG machine. If you don’t have some color, where is your passion in life? Dull colors-dull people - dull life. Trying not to be judgmental but… I appreciate what you said about Restoration Hardware. And before that, it was Crate & Barrel. Alas.
But the fact that these homes sell for more- even if it’s just the door- wow. Just wow.
I feel this way a lot that I see something and had no idea it was going on. I think as with a lot of things it depends on context. It would look bad on most period houses. Black does look good on some modernist houses and new builds but can look also bland depending on the materials and if there are too many monochrome shades.
Sometimes there is too much of one color being used which is why I'm not fond of some of the RH styling. Color is not an easy thing to master for a lot of people so black and grey can offer a nice look without dilemmas or fear.
Having just built a house and chosen dark gray siding, I have some insight. In our case, we have a dislike of bright reflections and since we spend a lot of time outdoors working in the vegetable garden that abuts the southern side of our home we didn't want to be continually blinded by the sun bouncing off light-colored siding. Then from an aesthetic perspective, as photographers we felt that dark gray would be a better backdrop for any photographs from within our garden or property (in both summer or winter). The house definitely looked great in the snow. We did have some concerns that dark homes were a trend that would pass, but I don't think we hold those concerns anymore. We're very happy with our choice!
Hi Tom, Thanks for sharing your experience — a good point about reflections. You don’t really think about that until you’re actually living with it. I love that you made a functional choice that works aesthetically and for your photography throughout the year.
I do like black or dark exteriors (RH just took it a bit too far for me, but I don’t dislike it). Any color if it fits how you live and what you love, that’s what matters.
Glad to hear you’re still happy with it! I took a look at your site — such beautiful photos and prints. So lovely to put a face to a reader.
Yes we put a lot of thought into anticipating how we'd live with the structure and what we might regret over time, and then making decisions based on avoiding those potential issues and the costs involved. Building from scratch allows that, fortunately, but it taxes the brain to imagine so many what ifs. Our yakisugi checked lots of boxes because it's pretty much maintenance-free, which was also a huge criteria for us.
Thank you for looking around!
It sounded thoughtful when you explained it. It IS a lot of decision making. Perhaps you'd like to share what you went through for a post here - I would like that.
I'm daunted by Substack search so it's wonderful to engage on a more personal level.