I’m going dark…with a house color that is. It’s no secret that I love white. My Santa Barbara home is white inside and out. But white just won’t cut it here in Big Sur…at least not for the outside of a house. It’s all about the majestic setting and blending in.
When we bought the house back in March it was painted a brown, which had faded noticeably on the South side of the house. The trim was an off white and didn’t fit my idea of fading into the beautiful Big Sur scenery.
![Big Sur house](https://www.edbdesignssb.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IMG_0049.jpg)
I made the decision to go dark with both the body and the trim. I didn’t want black or even a steel charcoal gray. I wanted a warm taupey dark gray brown! How difficult could that be?
Pretty difficult. Because of the damaging sun rays on the South side of the home, and the fact that the leaky windows had to be replaced on that side of the house, we made the decision to replace the windows with aluminum clad in a dark bronze color.
![Big Sur House](https://www.edbdesignssb.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IMG_9348.jpg)
We also replaced the painted redwood siding with new wide redwood planks milled right here in Big Sur. The siding will eventually weather to a warm, silvery gray like this redwood piece.
![](https://www.edbdesignssb.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IMG_0863.jpg)
I consider myself pretty good with colors but this one threw me for a loop. My husband joked that with all of my sample painting on the house, I could have probably just painted it myself! Dark colors are tricky especially in the bright California sun. I would like a color until the light changed, or I would like it on one side of the house but not the other. There were quite a few misses!
Oh dear no!! Yech!
It finally came down to Benjamin Moore’s Midsummer Night (top) and Iron Mountain (bottom)
![Big Sur House](https://www.edbdesignssb.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IMG_9309-e1540595649786.jpg)
After trying color after color, and even conducting an Instagram poll, the winner was Benajmin Moore’s Midnight Summer in low lustre finish. The color changes in the different light and shadows, but I love all of it’s different shades!
![Big Sur House](https://www.edbdesignssb.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IMG_9302-e1540595717797.jpg)
![Big Sur House](https://www.edbdesignssb.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IMG_9360-e1540595758149.jpg)
![](https://www.edbdesignssb.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IMG_8425.jpg)
Dark paint colors were a bit of a new territory for me. But stepping out of your comfort zone can pay off and I’m very happy with the decision. Stay tuned to see what we do next with this little slice of Big Sur.
I love it my windows are painted iron mountain and I love them but I understand how difficult it is trying to achieve the perfect moody color on the exterior. Love all that you do.
Thank you, Cindy! I really wanted the house to fit in with its beautiful surroundings and not draw attention to itself. I think I’m really going to love it on those foggy moody summer days!
The colour draws you in! I love it. Might use it for our Cottage front and back door. I love colours that ground you.
Thank you! It was much more difficult than I thought it would be. When my contractor called me in Santa Barbara and told me it looked purple I just about had a heart attack! (I think he may be a bit colorblind)
I would be paralyzed picking out a color! This is so earthy and rich. Love it. Great job.
Thanks, Linda! And believe me when I tell you this took me forever to choose. I would go to bed thinking I’d made up my mind, and then the next morning I would change it again. When we had the painter lined up I had to bite the bullet. I had no idea what to expect when I saw it done but I love it! 😊
Love the galvanized barn light against that rich, dark color! Pops beautifully!
Thank you, Betty Lynne! We love it too. 😊