Surrounded by 5 acres of meadow in Door County, Wisconsin, two simplistic attached forms cleverly separate a home’s living and sleeping spaces, both physically and visually.
Dubbed Svart Hus, meaning “black house” in Swedish, designer and homeowner Kate Smith of firm k.smith|x and builder Form + One selected contrasting siding shades for each of the structures, inspired by Smith’s love of black exteriors and the area’s deep Nordic and Scandinavian roots.
To achieve this two-tone vision, the team decided on shou sugi ban, commonly known as yakisugi in Japan, a wall and ceiling cladding material made from Japanese cypress that is intensely burned as a preservative heat treatment.
The first structure, which hosts the family’s living, dining, and office spaces, is enveloped in Nakamoto Forestry’s Suyaki, a leathery and unbrushed charred surface that blemishes, weathers, and develops character over time and the most traditional of the manufacturer’s authentically milled offerings.
The second structure houses three bedrooms and two baths with views of the natural prairie grass. The manufacturer’s Sugi blends with the soft colors of the meadow, is milled and graded for maximum durability, and showcases an inherently light wood grain.
