Black Friday: Six houses with black façades

White homes can provide a valuable sense of space and light, but not everyone believes that brighter is better.

Property Observer looks at six outstanding homes with black façades. Will an all black exterior alienate some buyers? Almost certainly - though it didn't hurt the sale of this this 'special' Kings Cross offering which secured $2 million pre-auction. And as the late Australian architect Kevin Borland once said, "architecture is not for the faint hearted".

1. Ridge Road Residence, Mornington Peninsula, Vic
   
   
   
   Photo by Shannon McGrath, courtesy Studio 4
   
   Designed by Melbourne architecture practice Studio 4, the Ridge Road Residence was a finalist in the 2012 Houses Awards and received a special mention in the Architizer A+ Awards for the single home category. Rather than combating its sloping site in the Mornington Peninsula's Golf Course, the Ridge Road Residence works with the topography, sitting over a series of connected decks.
   
   The entire front side of the home made entirely of blackened timber walls and the second level is unseen. On the lower levels, the home's black exterior is offset by floor to ceiling windows, pale timber floors and, outside, a single tea tree.
   
   
2. Karri Loop House, Margaret River, WA
   
   
   
   Photo by Peter Bennetts, courtesy MOOQ
   
   At Margaret River, south of Perth, sits the Karri Loop House, by MORQ. The small firm, which practices in Perth and Rome, designed a black home which winds around one Karri and two Marri trees. The house features double height ceilings, with large windows giving the residents views of the trees from the living room and master bedroom.
   
   The home is entirely clad with plywood, both inside and out (although the interior misses out on the coat of black paint). The house has exposed wooden ceiling beams and is insulated by concealed straw bales inside the walls.
   
   
3. 2a Russell Street, Newtown, Vic
   
   
   
   This black clad townhouse in Geelong's inner west is currently on the market. Its dark façade contrasts with the light, bright interior. With polished concrete floors, light timbers and white used throughout most of the house, its exterior is only referenced occasionally, with a dark timber in the kitchen and a black tiled feature wall in the bathroom.
   
   The home is listed with a $679,000 to $791,000 price guide.
   
   
4. Klein Bottle House, Mornington Peninsula, Vic
   
   
   
   Photo courtesy McBride Charles Ryan.
   
   The Ridge Road Residence isn't the Mornington Peninsula's only standout black house. The Klein Bottle House, designed by McBride Charles Ryan, also sits among the tea trees, near Rye beach. McBride Charles Ryan used a spiral configuration to navigate the uneven site, creating a multi-faceted home that centres around an angular, bright red, winding staircase.
   
   The house's dramatic exterior is made of cement sheeting. The Klein Bottle House won the World's Best House award in the 2009 World Architecture Festival, the Best International Home award from Grand Designs 2010, the 2008 Robyn Boyd Award from the Australian Institute of Architects, and a Dulux Colour Award.
   
   
5. 184 The Esplanade, Brighton, Vic
   
   
   
   This Brighton home is a far cry from some of the hulking bleach-white contemporary homes that Brighton offers, but certainly isn't the only all black home to crop up on the Esplanade (Finnis Architects' Esplanade House comes to mind).
   
   The home at 184, currently on the market, registers as a stack of black boxes from the exterior, with full height glass windows looking out onto the beach. The house culminates in a rooftop terrace, with black structures framing the view of the water. The four bedroom, five bathroom house with a pool is currently on the market through Kay & Burton Bayside.
   
   
6. Law Street House, South Melbourne, Vic
   
   
   
   Photo by Peter Bennetts, courtesy Muir Mendes
   
   Amy Muir and Bruno Mendes designed this home for themselves on a tight 93 square metre site, which formerly held an 1880s one bedroom worker's cottage. The entrance of the home is marked by a distinctive "draw bridge" style window which allows light into the front bedroom while maintaining privacy.
   
   The architects used double height spaces and sky lights to draw light into the space and provide a sense of a space in the narrow, confined space.