When we begin to design a home, we generally have an idea of what the exterior material will be. Often, we will try alternate materials to change the aesthetics, adjust the budget, or simply at the request of our clients. Many of our projects combine two or more materials.
If you are designing a modern home, the exterior material palate is almost limitless as long as it keeps the weather out and doesn’t fall apart.
A traditional home in the Northeast, for the most part, will be clad in one or more of a handful of materials such as stone, stucco, painted or natural wood, cedar shingles, brick, or some form of composite material that looks like the real thing. Within this group of materials, there can be great variation, including the type of stone, the color of the brick, and the configuration of the wood siding. Board and batten siding looks very different than clapboard but achieves the same goal of keeping the weather out and lasting for decades if not centuries.
A stone veneer is generally the most expensive material to clad a home in. On the positive side, you never have to paint stone and it should last forever.
In my opinion, the key to being happy with what clads your home is to carefully choose the material, whether it is brick, wood, stone, stucco, or something else. After that choice, review the possible colors, textures, and configurations unique to that product. Last but not least, review samples large enough to understand what the final product will look like on your home. After that, relax and enjoy your home’s new look.
Photos by Rob Karosis Curated Brochure by Crisp Architects: Portfolio
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I didn’t see mention of or pictures of board and batten style siding.
Glad you mentioned that. I meant to add an all board and batten project, but slipped my mind. Board and batten is one of my favorite ways to clad a home. The white house next to the pond, if you look closely, is half board and batten. Below is the project I meant to add.
https://crisparchitects.com/accessory/perfect-accessory/
I loved the look of my cedar shingleo house, especially when it was first completed. Unfortunately over time it did not weather to the nice silvery color I had hoped for. This was 30 years ago and I’m sure they have products to achieve this now and protect the wood. I still would choose the cedar sided look again, it has a softer flowing feel. Nice pictures and as always, very nice proportions.
Thanks!