Set Your Home Apart with These 6 Unique Exterior Design Details
From our friends at James Hardie and the James Hardie blog.
by Michael Buck
6/2/2021
An exterior renovation offers you an opportunity to refresh the look of your home. While new siding will certainly help your home stand out, you can also use many other tools during this process to elevate your design.
These unique architectural and design features are personal touches you can add to make a big impact on your home’s curb appeal and appearance. Consider adding some of these design options to your renovation project for an incredible final result.
Alternating Lap Siding Widths
An alternating lap siding design is an elegant, but not frequently used technique that adds a lot of interesting visual texture to your exterior. This approach relies on two different widths of lap siding that create long horizontal and vertical patterns.
There are endless options you can use to create a unique design from the siding widths to the pattern on the wall. For example, a basic alternating lap siding pattern may start with a wide course of lap siding, with a narrow course on top of that, and then back to a wide course. However, you can also consider a narrow-narrow-wide, or narrow-wide-wide exposure pattern to set your design apart.
Get Playful with Batten Spacing
Board and batten siding is popular thanks to the modern farmhouse and other contemporary home design styles. If you love this style of siding, you can ensure your home is unique by playing with the spacing of your battens, which are installed on top of the panel siding.
One design benefit of using HardieTrim® battens is they can be spaced as narrow or as wide as you like, so long as they are secured to a wood or metal substrate that meets the installation specifications.
Narrower batten spacing will call more attention to the vertical lines on your house. It will also have a slimming effect on the structure and enhance the illusion of height. Wider batten spacing will make the structure appear more substantial and make the vertical battens more subtle, allowing the simplicity of the panel siding underneath to shine.
Opt for Non-White Trim
White trim is a go-to choice for its crisp, clean look. But non-white trim combined with the right siding color could take your home’s exterior from ordinary to extraordinary. Consider pairing dark siding with dark trim, which leads to a striking, monochromatic look. You could also opt for off-white trim such as HardieTrim boards in Cobble Stone or Monterey Taupe. It’s a slight change from white, but one that softens an overall exterior color palette and is different enough to catch the eye.
Consider Copper Accents
Copper roofs, gutters, and downspouts subtly reflect light and add elegant flair to a home. To keep costs low and the overall look subdued, be selective. Add copper roofing to a porch or entryway, select copper light fixtures, or install copper gutters and drainpipes.
Create Contrast with Two-Tone Color Schemes
When it comes to two-tone color schemes, you can’t go wrong with black and white. Together, the colors offer high contrast without the risk of clashing.
White siding with black accents is a more subtle design route, which might mean using black windows or a black metal accent roof. However, some homeowners are opting for an even bolder approach by using a darker siding color as their base and accenting it with white. Or, for an even more creative look, you can use the dark and white colors in equal amounts.
Go Bold with Color
You may also consider being more adventurous with your home color (but be sure to first check with any HOA restrictions). Even a shade as seemingly simple as Night Gray can add a dramatic feel to your home, as seen above.
You can also stretch your creativity even further with a Dream Collection® finish, which is available in more than 700 colors. From bright and cheery to dark and moody, Dream Collection finishes can make the color of your dreams become a reality for your home.
Contact DOM Construction for a FREE quote today.