All-black home addition hides playful shapes and colors

Black exteriors are enjoying their moment in the limelight. From charred wood to painted concrete to solar arrays, moody facades are proving to be the perfect combination of elegant and edgy.

While this addition in London initially looks like any other black-clad house, it’s finished with an unexpected material: The exterior plywood panels are coated in a spray-on rubber that’s traditionally used on oil rigs to give the home a dark, waterproof shell.

Photo by French+Tye via Dezeen

London architecture firm Office S&M designed the Janus House as a backyard extension to a 19th-century brick home. The small structure, which includes a bathroom, kitchen, and storage, is a perfect little cube of a space, dressed up with fun geometries and colors.

Photo by French+Tye via Dezeen

Photo by French+Tye via Dezeen

Inside, the house shows off playful details like circular door handles and a gridded glass door. The architects designed the space to feel compact but airy. Bright pops of color including sun-yellow kitchen cabinets and butter-yellow bathroom tiles connect the home to the firm’s other whimsical designs.

Photo by French+Tye via Dezeen

Photo by French+Tye via Dezeen

According to the architects, the house is designed to embrace contrasts—a dark exterior with a light interior. And industrial materials—rubber, polished concrete, zinc, and swimming pool tiles—live alongside warmer wooden details.

Via: Dezeen