Brick house black gutters and downspouts

Our house is a Georgian style and we have what I'm pretty sure will be 6 inch gutters. The soffits, dentil molding, and gutters are set to be white. I'm wondering now, however, whether we should do the downspouts in a color similar to our brick, lead gray, or standard white. Copper is out of our budget so please don't remind me how nice that would look. Here is a link to photos of our brick color, each with a different color downspout if you scroll down. Please give me your thoughts! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: brick with downspout options

Your house is classic, traditional. You don't need to add anything, no shutters, no boxes. None of that is missing. What's missing is the correct elements and proper proportions (of stuff and color).

You have exactly two choices for gutters. Either paint them to match the trim or paint them to match the roof. Never the body. Downspouts should be painted to match the body.

When you get new windows choose the bronze option. Not black. Not white. Bronze. You could shop windows now, swipe a bronze color and use that to paint your old windows now. Know that they could warp sooner than later because white windows are rarely manufactured to be painted a darker color than white.

Your garage door, trim and gutters should be the same color as the mortar between the bricks. I would probably choose a color a little darker than the mortar, but not by much. That's going make the feeling of stark contrast, a bold line drawn from end to end of the house under the black roof go away - because the color directly relates to the body of the house.

You will chase color after color, light and dark trying to make that bold horizontal line less imposing and it won't work -- because the color needs to directly relate to the body of the house. Only way to do that on a brick house is to use the *neutral* color of the mortar.

The sidelights need to be the same color as the front door. I'd give you a choice between a dark navy or a classic black.

The coach lights are too small, they're out of proportion. They need to be bigger and they need to be a classic black.

Move the house numbers. Above the garage would be ideal but it looks like there's a light there. Get silver stainless numbers in a traditional font and install them on the brick to the right of the garage door - and make sure they're big enough.

Most people buy coach lights and house numbers that are too small.

When it comes to the exterior cladding of a home, there are few materials that have quite the same effect as that of brick. Solid and grounded without feeling too severe, brick has a uniquely warm feel that works in a variety of design contexts, from cozy to industrial.

The latter in particular has become an especially popular choice in recent years, with raw industrial themes being worked into a lot of modern designs. And one of the best pairings with this design detail is the use of black gutters and fittings. 

In this article, we will be going through a number of example homes to help you visualize how this pairing looks in practice so you can incorporate them into your own home’s exterior design. 

1.  Traditional Townhouse

Our first entry on this list is a textbook example of an English townhouse. Simple, timeless, and traditional, this home features a simple front facade made of warm red brick that’s paired with a set of broad windows and a door with white trim. 

The black gutters here are subtle but are used to great effect, serving as an accent color that also happens to match with the front door and a wrought iron fence on the outside.

2. Classic Masonry

Going back a bit further in the timeline is this classic British lakeside home. From the steep gabled roof to the gray and red brick construction and even a chimney on the far end of the house, this is about as traditional as traditional British architecture can get.

The black gutters line the edges of the roof trim which continues down to the ground through the drain pipes installed on the corners of the house; this effect creates a subtle but defined line that separates the roof edge from the flat color of the gray walls. 

3. Grand Manor

Moving even further in the size department we have this example of a fairly grand european mansion with an exterior that’s made of a gorgeous diamond pattern of red and gray bricks on both the lower and upper floor. 

The beige coloring of the windows on roof trim as well as the deep red of the roof tiles give the house a very warm color palette; however, the black trim and gutters help to balance this out by adding in a bold neutral color.

4. Tried and True Tri-Tone

This next home has a very simple yet very attractive exterior color palette made up of deep brown brick with off-white trim along the windows and the roof, among other little details.

The black color of the roof gutters and drink system were chosen to serve as the third color in this tri-tone palette, allowing you to match with the color of the roof tiles as well as the window frames and chimney stack.

5. Clean Two-tone

The black on brown color scheme that results from pairing black gutters with brick exteriors also works very well in smaller homes, as is the case with this example. 

The design of this home shows a very clear divide between the two colors that are used, but the black gutters and drain pipes help to tie the design together by extending the black lines down along the brick walls, creating a sort of outline that emphasizes the shape of the house.

6. Timeless Accent

The neutral hue of black lends itself to being used quite effectively as an accent color on just about anything. In the case of this sprawling colonial-style home, black coats various fittings and fixtures from the roof gutters down to the window shutters.

The black here serves to balance the overall lightness of the home’s color palette, which otherwise consists of thickly mortared red brick paired with white trim on the windows and doors.

7. Chic and Modern

This last example is a great demonstration of the usability of black gutters even on more modern designs. Here, black also appears along the upper floor, on the roof trim, and on the window frames.

Despite the contrast among the bold colors used throughout this house, the design manages to stay coherent and even interesting thanks to a technique called color blocking, which lays out these colors in such a way that all the colors stay relatively balanced. 

Tips for Using Black Gutters on Brick Houses

For most exterior designs, the roof gutters are usually not something that is considered a major factor in the overall appeal. After all, they are just gutters—quite literally the part of the house that drains out rainwater and collects twigs, dust, leaves, and all manner of other detritus that lands on the roof.

A lot of the time, the roof gutters are simply colored to match whatever color is on the roof and allow it to simply blend in. However, having your roof gutters in a bold black color can actually produce some interesting effects on the overall design.

We’ve seen from the examples above how black gutters could be used as an element that draws bold lines along the silhouette of the house, emphasizing its shape for enhanced visual interest. 

Besides that, the interaction between the color of the gutters and that of the brickwork of your home’s exterior could also be a great starting point for unique looks. Be sure to experiment as much as possible to really hone in on the kind of design to want to achieve for your home.

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