Looking for a modern spin on an exterior paint color palette? A simple way to make your home pop is by adding dark exterior trim. Want to try this look on your home? We’ve rounded up our picks for the best dark exterior trim colors to help make the process simple.
The vast majority of homes on the market in the U.S. today feature some kind of white exterior trim color. But just because something is done a lot doesn’t mean you have to do it. Adding dark exterior trim paint to your home’s color palette could be exactly what it needs to feel fresh and modern.
Not sure how to choose dark exterior trim? Read on for our best tips for selecting a paint color and get inspiration from real client projects with some of our favorite dark trim hues.
*This post contains affiliate links for products I use and love. If you click on some links and make a purchase, I will get a small commission at no cost to you. This helps pay for the costs of the blog, so I can continue to offer great content to our readers.
About The Color Concierge
Our Colorado-based paint color consultants make finding the right paint colors for your home easy. Whether you’re painting the exterior or interior of your home, our simple yet effective process lets us get your paint color right the first time. We’ve helped thousands of homeowners transform their homes into a space they love. Learn more about ONLINE COLOR CONSULTATIONS today.
Understanding Dark Exterior Trim Paint
Using dark exterior trim doesn’t work for every home or every color palette, but it can look really beautiful when it’s done well.
How to choose dark exterior trim colors?
When working on a home’s exterior, dark trim ideas usually start with the roof. I usually pick warmer blacks for houses with warm roofs, and blacks for homes with brown roofs, but there are exceptions. If your roof is brown and the windows are black, then you can either paint the roofline black or a dark bronze. For terra cotta roofs, I prefer dark brown exterior trim, or even dark bronzes (such as SW Urbane Bronze).
Does dark exterior trim work with brick?
Yes! I love dark rooflines with red brick houses. It’s a beautiful contrast and one of my favorite types of exterior color palettes to work on.
Tudor homes are a perfect example of this combination. Traditional Tudor palettes have brown trim, but modern Tudor palettes (like you’ll see further down in this post) can use dark blues and other hues in place of brown.
When should I avoid dark exterior trim?
I usually prefer not to use dark trim with white vinyl windows because it can look stark and provide too much contrast.
Of course, there are exceptions, such as complex Victorian schemes, or when the body of the house is white, and the trim isn’t too thick. The white windows will relate to the white body color. See the house below. It was a drive-by photo (not one of our projects), but I loved it!
Conversely, when you have black windows, you can use dark trim, but you need to be careful about it because it can look heavy. I usually paint the window trim the same color as the siding color when someone has black window frames, unless the trim isn’t overly thick.
If you have black window frames, you can also paint the window trim around the windows the same color as the siding.
How to Sample Dark Exterior Trim Colors
We always recommend that you test paint colors on your home because lighting can change a color completely, both with interiors as well as exteriors.
In the old days, this meant we painted a large poster board with sample pots and a huge mess.
Now we have a better way to test paint, with Samplize Peel-and-Stick samples!
- Samples pre-painted with 2 coats of real paint from the manufacturer.
- Large 9” x 14” samples to see the color better in the lighting.
- Delivered overnight
- Colors are accurate
- Less expensive than painting a large poster board with sample pots
- No mess, and no toxic paint to dispose of
I use these in my color consulting practice for exact results. Discover Samplize peel-and-stick paint samples:
9 Best Dark Exterior Trim Colors
Narrow down your options and see real homes with dark exterior paint in this guide.
Sherwin-Williams Web Gray Exterior Trim
Sherwin-Williams Web Gray (Article) is a dark blue exterior trim color we love. I think of it as a dark, rich blue-gray paint color (Article)
Inside, it can look almost black in rooms with low light, but when used as exterior trim, it really shines, such as on our client’s modern Tudor home below!
Sherwin-Williams Black Magic Exterior Trim
Black Magic (Sample) is a very dark black, with an LRV of 3. It is similar to SW Tricorn Black, but warmer. It’s one of our favorite dark exterior trim colors because it’s so versatile!
It pairs well with darker body colors, like on the Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (Article) home pictured below. We used Black Magic trim along the roofline, around the windows, and on the downspouts, railings, moulding, corbels and columns. The strong black accents look absolutely gorgeous paired with the SW Rosemary siding.
Black Magic trim looks just as gorgeous with an exterior white color scheme (Article). Our web developer’s house, for example, has SW Black Magic accents with Sherwin-Williams Alabaster body paint.
Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze Exterior Trim
Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze (Article) is an excellent choice for dark exterior trim if you want something bold but a bit softer than black.
Urbane Bronze (Sample) has green undertones that give the color its warmth. As a result, it pairs well with other warm colors and finishes, such as creamy white paint and warm, natural wood.
On the client’s home below, for example, we used Urbane Bronze for the window frames, garage doors, roofline trim, gutters, and downspouts with Shoji White for the stucco and columns. Shoji White is one of our favorite white paint colors to pair with brick (Article). Urbane Bronze is the perfect hue to tie the light body paint and the earthy brick together.
Sherwin-Williams Black Fox Exterior Trim
Sherwin-Williams Black Fox (Sample) is essentially a darker version of Urbane Bronze. It’s a soft black paint color with warm undertones that looks like a rich, deep brown paint color outside.
On our client’s home pictured below, Black Fox was specified for the garage doors, fascia, gutters, downspouts, and crown molding between the soffits and the body of the house. It helped these design elements stand out without creating too much contrast with the white-painted brick.
Note that just because you paint the roofline dark, you don’t have to paint the inner trim dark too. You can either leave them the body color or paint them a mid-toned neutral like Fawn Brindle in this situation.
Sherwin-Williams Cyberspace Exterior Trim
Sherwin-Williams Cyberspace is an earthy, neutral dark blue paint color. It doesn’t lean overly warm or cold, even in the bright sun. It looks especially beautiful with earthy red brick and warm, creamy whites, which is probably why it’s one of my favorite hues to use as dark exterior trim for modern Tudor homes.
On my client’s home below, Cyberspace pairs beautifully with the warm, red brick and creamy white siding.
Sherwin-Williams Anchors Aweigh Exterior Trim
Sherwin-Williams Anchors Aweigh (Sample) is a deep blue-black color that is really beautiful as dark exterior trim. It can be used in very similar ways as Sherwin-Williams Cyberspace and looks especially beautiful with warm, red brick.
Anchors Aweigh is a more traditional navy blue color than Cyberspace. It’s much less muted and also darker. It’s a great option if you want a bit more contrast between your trim and brick or body color.
On our client’s home below, we used SW Anchors Aweigh for the fascia, soffits, front door, and garage door trim, paired with SW Agreeable Gray siding.
Benjamin Moore Black Beauty Exterior Trim
Benjamin Moore Black Beauty (Sample) is a lovely dark and rich warm black paint color. It has an LRV of 5, making it very close to a true black. The warm undertones help it pair beautifully with warm, red brick as a black exterior trim color.
On our client’s home below, we painted all of the home’s non-brick surfaces with Black Beauty paint, even the roofline, windows, front door, siding, and columns. It was a simple, gorgeous, and sophisticated look.
Benjamin Moore Cheating Heart Exterior Trim
BM Cheating Heart (Article) is a soft black paint color with subtle, deep blue undertones. It’s a really beautiful option for exteriors with red brick or other warm stone colors.
It’s too blue to be black and too black to be gray. It’s a complex color that changes in the light throughout the day and looks much brighter outside than on the page.
On our client’s house featured below, BM Cheating Heart (Sample) trim paint completely elevated the design of the home.
Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore Exterior Trim
Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore (Article) is another soft black paint color we love to use for dark exterior trim.
SW Iron Ore (SAMPLE) has invisible green undertones. The only time I’ve ever seen the undertones was in a very bright high altitude location, where undertones can really sneak up on you. Otherwise, the undertones will be invisible in this dark paint color. This color looks fabulous with red brick.
On our client’s home below, for example, Iron Ore exterior trim paint looks lovely alongside BM Seapearl (Article) siding and red brick finishes.
Iron Ore trim also works well in a soft black-and-white color palette. On the home below, for example, brick was painted with Sherwin-Williams Gossamer Veil (Article) paint.
The windows had black mullions and window frames and we painted the soffits, fascia, gutters and window trim with SW Iron Ore to align with the black window frames.
We also love to use SW Iron Ore as a black trim in a softer black-and-white exterior palette. The client’s home pictured below looks like a gorgeous classic farmhouse with its Sherwin-Williams Pure White (Article) siding and SW Iron Ore trim. Since the windows were white vinyl, we painted the window trim the same color as the siding.
Sample All The Best Paint Colors for Exterior Black Trim:
- Sherwin-Williams Web Gray
- Sherwin-Williams Black Magic
- Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze
- Sherwin-Williams Black Fox
- Sherwin-Williams Cyberspace
- Sherwin-Williams Anchors Aweigh
- Benjamin Moore Black Beauty
- Benjamin Moore Cheating Heart
- Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore
Key Learning Points
Thinking about using dark exterior trim on your home? Be sure to use this guide for inspiration and tips for choosing the right trim color for your home.
- When choosing a dark exterior trim color, start by looking at your roof. For homes with warm roofs, choose a warmer black. If you have a brown roof, a neutral black paint is often best. For terra cotta roofs, consider a dark brown or dark bronze trim color.
- Dark exterior trim paint doesn’t have to be black. Consider dark blue, dark brown and dark bronze paint colors as well.
- Dark exterior trim colors look beautiful with red brick and other earthy finishes.
Remember: NEVER, EVER use paint matches from a different brand than the one specified. Results are poor and there are no standards for the sheens. Even though your painter may truly believe it can be done, don’t do it. See results from paint matching here.
No matter what, always test your paint colors. It’s a standard best practice. Whenever I test my paint colors, they are perfect, and when I don’t test, they turn out wrong. Learn how to test your paint colors here.
Online Color Consulting
Still need help picking the best paint colors? Discover our Online Color Consulting Package.
Related Posts:
- Best White Exterior Trim Colors
- Modern Tudor Exterior Color Schemes
- Best Exterior Color Schemes for 2025
- Best Black Exterior Paint Colors for Red Brick
We love your comments! Please note that the blog is meant as general advice, and it is not possible to give out specific answers to your paint questions.
