Our Black House REVEAL!

After almost four years of living in this house, it finally has a fresh coat of paint! It’s been a long time coming, and we are so excited to finally have it done! I talked about different ideas we had here, and shared what we decided on here.

I wish we were further into the spring season, because these photos will really pop against lots of fresh greenery. We are in the drab brown of winter still, but I just couldn’t wait to show you guys the new look!

We used Sherwin Williams Black Magic for all of the siding, Tricorn Black for the trim, and Aleutian for the porch floors and ceilings. Everything was done in a satin finish, as was recommended by multiple painters for a couple of reasons. One, it will hopefully collect less dirt and dust than a flat finish, and two, it will give some reflection against the hot Texas sun come summer time. We are anticipating some warmer temperatures from the dark color come summer, but it was a risk we were willing to take to get the look we were going for. Now, let’s get to those before and after photos, shall we?

From my best estimates, the yellow was done in the early 90’s, and routinely touched up until about fifteen years ago. The lifespan of exterior paint in this climate is about 10 years, so it was definitely past its prime.

To have this side porch finally look like a connected and finished piece of the house is so meaningful to us. In the oldest photo we have of our house (1983), the porch was boarded up with plywood. When we purchased the house, it was covered with a thick smoke colored plexiglass as a sort of sun porch. It’s barely visible in this photo below, from the weekend we closed on the house. We tore down the plexiglass and the drywall that covered exterior siding right away, but were waiting to fully restore the porch until we painted the house. It’s been an eyesore as long as we’ve lived here and it feels so good to have it back as it was intended!

There is still a bit of work to do. I need to do some work to repair the front door and give it a fresh coat of shellac (it is dryyyyyyy as a bone but I wouldn’t let the painters touch it). Come spring, I need to get some plants in the ground to freshen up the porch and bring it to life.

Overall, I could not be more pleased with how it turned out. It was certainly a bold choice, but we absolutely love it. It’s a fresh take on an old house that leaves all the historic elements intact, and that’s all I could ever hope to accomplish. Thanks for cheering me on and sharing your thoughts during the process, it’s certainly been a long road to get here. That’s all for today friends, have a fabulous day!