This is an example of a large one-storey black house exterior in Cedar Rapids with concrete fiberboard siding, a gable roof, a shingle roof, a black roof and board and batten siding.

Design ideas for a large country one-storey black house exterior in Portland with a gable roof, a shingle roof and a black roof.

Design + Built + Curated by Steven Allen Designs 2021 - Custom Nouveau Bungalow Featuring Unique Stylistic Exterior Facade + Concrete Floors + Concrete Countertops + Concrete Plaster Walls + Custom White Oak & Lacquer Cabinets + Fine Interior Finishes + Multi-sliding Doors

Thinking outside the box Perched on a hilltop in the Catskills, this sleek 1960s A-frame is right at home among pointed firs and mountain peaks. An unfussy, but elegant design with modern shapes, furnishings, and material finishes both softens and enhances the home’s architecture and natural surroundings, bringing light and airiness to every room. A clever peekaboo aesthetic enlivens many of the home’s new design elements―invisible touches of lucite, accented brass surfaces, oversized mirrors, and windows and glass partitions in the spa bathrooms, which give you all the comfort of a high-end hotel, and the feeling that you’re showering in nature. Downstairs ample seating and a wet bar―a nod to your parents’ 70s basement―make a perfect space for entertaining. Step outside onto the spacious deck, fire up the grill, and enjoy the gorgeous mountain views. Stonework, scattered like breadcrumbs around the 5-acre property, leads you to several lounging nooks, where you can stretch out with a book or take a soak in the hot tub. Every thoughtful detail adds softness and magic to this forest home.

Tad Ferguson
Photo of a mid-sized contemporary two-storey black house exterior in Sydney with metal siding.

Brad Montgomery
Photo of a large transitional one-storey black house exterior in Salt Lake City with stone veneer, a gable roof and a shingle roof.

This modern green home offers both a vacation destination on Cape Cod near local family members and an opportunity for rental income. FAMILY ROOTS. A West Coast couple living in the San Francisco Bay Area sought a permanent East Coast vacation home near family members living on Cape Cod. As academic professionals focused on sustainability, they sought a green, energy efficient home that was well-aligned with their values. With no green homes available for sale on Cape Cod, they decided to purchase land near their family and build their own. SLOPED SITE. Comprised of a 3/4 acre lot nestled in the pines, the steeply sloping terrain called for a plan that embraced and took advantage of the slope. Of equal priority was optimizing solar exposure, preserving privacy from abutters, and creating outdoor living space. The design accomplished these goals with a simple, rectilinear form, offering living space on the both entry and lower/basement levels. The stepped foundation allows for a walk-out basement level with light-filled living space on the down-hill side of the home. The traditional basement on the eastern, up-hill side houses mechanical equipment and a home gym. The house welcomes natural light throughout, captures views of the forest, and delivers entertainment space that connects indoor living space to outdoor deck and dining patio. MODERN VISION. The clean building form and uncomplicated finishes pay homage to the modern architectural legacy on the outer Cape. Durable and economical fiber cement panels, fixed with aluminum channels, clad the primary form. Cedar clapboards provide a visual accent at the south-facing living room, which extends a single roof plane to cover the entry porch. SMART USE OF SPACE. On the entry level, the “L”-shaped living, dining, and kitchen space connects to the exterior living, dining, and grilling spaces to effectively double the home’s summertime entertainment area. Placed at the western end of the entry level (where it can retain privacy but still claim expansive downhill views) is the master suite with a built-in study. The lower level has two guest bedrooms, a second full bathroom, and laundry. The flexibility of the space—crucial in a house with a modest footprint—emerges in one of the guest bedrooms, which doubles as home office by opening the barn-style double doors to connect it to the bright, airy open stair leading up to the entry level. Thoughtful design, generous ceiling heights and large windows transform the modest 1,100 sf* footprint into a well-lit, spacious home. *(total finished space is 1800 sf) RENTAL INCOME. The property works for its owners by netting rental income when the owners are home in San Francisco. The house especially caters to vacationers bound for nearby Mayo Beach and includes an outdoor shower adjacent to the lower level entry door. In contrast to the bare bones cottages that are typically available on the Cape, this home offers prospective tenants a modern aesthetic, paired with luxurious and green features. Durable finishes inside and out will ensure longevity with the heavier use that comes with a rental property. COMFORT YEAR-ROUND. The home is super-insulated and air-tight, with mechanical ventilation to provide continuous fresh air from the outside. High performance triple-paned windows complement the building enclosure and maximize passive solar gain while ensuring a warm, draft-free winter, even when sitting close to the glass. A properly sized air source heat pump offers efficient heating & cooling, and includes a carefully designed the duct distribution system to provide even comfort throughout the house. The super-insulated envelope allows us to significantly reduce the equipment capacity, duct size, and airflow quantities, while maintaining unparalleled thermal comfort. ENERGY EFFICIENT. The building’s shell and mechanical systems play instrumental roles in the home’s exceptional performance. The building enclosure reduces the most significant energy glutton: heating. Continuous super-insulation, thorough air sealing, triple-pane windows, and passive solar gain work together to yield a miniscule heating load. All active energy consumers are extremely efficient: an air source heat pump for heating and cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation (ERV), and high efficiency appliances. The result is a home that uses 70% less energy than a similar new home built to code requirements. OVERALL. The home embodies the owners’ goals and values while comprehensively enabling thermal comfort, energy efficiency, a vacation respite, and supplementary income. PROJECT TEAM ZeroEnergy Design - Architect & Mechanical Designer A.F. Hultin & Co. - Contractor Pamet Valley Landscape Design - Landscape & Masonry Lisa Finch - Original Artwork European Architectural Supply - Windows Eric Roth Photography - Photography

The garage is tucked under the house, and an exterior entry at the lower floor leads to a playroom and guest suite that may be converted to an accessory dwelling unit. Cantilevering floor and roof covers rear deck.

Using the same materials inside and out: Cedar T&G siding, buff sandstone and bronze accents the line between inside/outside is blurred. © Andrew Pogue

Vertical Artisan ship lap siding is complemented by and assortment or exposed architectural concrete accent
This is an example of a small modern one-storey black house exterior in Other with mixed siding, a shed roof, a metal roof and a black roof.

Mid-sized country three-storey black house exterior in Toronto with mixed siding, a gable roof, a metal roof, a red roof and clapboard siding.

The Clear Lake Cottage proposes a simple tent-like envelope to house both program of the summer home and the sheltered outdoor spaces under a single vernacular form. A singular roof presents a child-like impression of house; rectilinear and ordered in symmetry while playfully skewed in volume. Nestled within a forest, the building is sculpted and stepped to take advantage of the land; modelling the natural grade. Open and closed faces respond to shoreline views or quiet wooded depths. Like a tent the porosity of the building’s envelope strengthens the experience of ‘cottage’. All the while achieving privileged views to the lake while separating family members for sometimes much need privacy.

Design ideas for a large arts and crafts two-storey black house exterior in New York with vinyl siding, a gable roof and a shingle roof.

Inspiration for a contemporary two-storey black house exterior in Brisbane with mixed siding and a flat roof.

Design ideas for a small transitional two-storey black house exterior in Portland with concrete fiberboard siding, a gable roof and a metal roof.

Adam Carter Photography
Photo of a mid-sized contemporary two-storey black house exterior in Cambridgeshire with wood siding, a flat roof and a green roof.

Photo of a large country two-storey black house exterior in Birmingham with wood siding, a gable roof and a metal roof.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Banks - We love the gable windows above the bifold doors in this property, the large glazing feature floods the interior with natural light, perfect for a sunny day.

Full bungalow refurb with permitted development rear extension pitched to match the falls of the existing roof. Using charred timber cladding with a fully glazed link. The design breaks the tradition of a flat roof infill extension - instead opting to increase the L shape of the building - to create an external courtyard for social occasions and entertaining.