How can I design my exterior?

Homes that stand out can be a good thing, but only if they are done in the right way. Well-designed houses can be beautiful without design tricks. In many cases, simplicity is key. Plus, a streamlined design can lead to savings, which you can reinvest in other parts of the house.

Like all “rules,” there are exceptions. These general principles can be applied to most building styles in many parts of the country. Understanding them will help you articulate why some home designs feel better to you than others.

Explore more exterior house color combination ideas

Here’s what you need to know to make smart and simple exterior house design choices.

1. Simple roof design - minimize steps on the building

Simple roof designs are easier to build and look better than roofs with endless gables and steps. Consider the roof from the earliest stages of designing the floor plan. The longer framers are on the roof working, the likelihood grows that the house will cost more to build and maintain.
 

2. Use color and texture rather than additional elements

Using siding on the exterior of a home can add color and texture, enhancing the overall appeal of a house. Changing colors and materials adds value to the design if it’s done consistently and in horizontal bands, rather than in vertical strips.

For example, you could use HardiePlank® Lap Siding in Night Gray on your first floor, while changing to HardieShingle® Siding in Pearl Gray on the second floor.

If you want more advice on color, check out these siding and trim color combinations.

3. Ask yourself: “Could this design feature work?”

It doesn’t matter if it actually works. It just needs to look like it could work. Everyone has the innate ability to recognize both good and bad design, even when we don’t know why. The “why” often has to do with the most basic common sense: could the shutters close? Could the lintel really span that far? Does the placement of materials make sense? Does the front look completely different than the sides?

4. Minimize the view of front-loaded garages

You can mitigate the effect of a front-loaded garage by pushing it behind the face of the building, ideally 18 feet or more. This allows a car to park in the driveway without showing in front of the house. Pushing the garage back does not require any more room. Compact, connected communities with narrow streets, alleys or side driveways require less land overall than communities where there garage is the central feature of the house.

5. Avoid double-height entrances

Your front door is key to a good first impression. Nearly every visitor to your home will engage with your front door. Double-height entrances are off-putting to many people. On some designs, the home’s entrance is often made double height in an attempt to add interest to dull elevation. The best entrances are ones that tell us where the door is and keep water off of us while we are waiting to enter.

6. Use vertically proportioned windows

Window design will vary by house style and by region, but most windows have a ratio of either 1:2 or 3:5 (tall rectangles). In addition to the proportion of the opening, take care with the proportion of the windowpanes. Vertical openings and panes visually enhance the look and feel of the house. Also, don’t forget the windows on the side of the house.

A well-designed home does not need tricks. For your house to stand out in a good way, remember two things: keep it simple and less is more.

There have been so many questions about the virtual renderings I’ve been sharing during our exterior renovation. I’m a strong believer that “visualizing” something can go a long way in making big decisions. The renderings I received helped me in feeling confident about making the big decision to paint our brick. If you’re not familiar with Brick & Batten, they are an online design service that specialized in exterior renovations.

The entire process was very straightforward. I snapped a few photos of my house, filled out a questionnaire, and bam… a new house was delivered to my inbox in about a week!

Let’s take a look at some of the photos I sent in. This is the main photo of the front of our home. The instructions asked for minimal clutter or obstructions so they could accurately mock up a new design.

This was the new design! Can you even? Within the questionnaire, I was asked what elements were staying the same and what things I was willing to change… lighting, windows, paint, etc. I gave some guidance in terms of design. I knew I wanted a creamy white exterior and contrasting trim. I had also already decided on bronze gutters. Windows aren’t in our immediate future but I do plan on updating them so I wanted to see what a more modern grid pattern could look like on a new design. I was blown away!

You are allowed to make a few changes so I asked for a new door mocked up and different colored windows. I was convinced that black was the right choice for windows but after seeing everything, I wanted to see what a softer grey could look like. The new front door was something I drew up and sent over to them. It was so cool to see it on my house instantly!

SIDE VIEW

Sharing some other angles below. I originally sent in an arched door for inspiration so it was fun to see that come to life.

The first rendering had very modern doors. While I do think they are very pretty, I knew they weren’t right for our house after seeing them in the photo. I found some inspiration doors and they quickly changed this side view to reflect the new garage doors.

BACK OF HOUSE

This was an angle I was really excited to see. There are quite a few things “in progress” back here so it was fun to see what this area could look like by next spring!

This was the first rendering I received back. Crazy right?

I sent in a few changes right away on things I’d like to see different. This new modification came back pretty quickly and blew me away! I don’t think I would have thought to line our future patio with landscaping like this but I really love it!

Outside of images, I was thrilled to get a full “shopping list” sent over with each rendering. This service really allows you to create the image you are given. All of the images below were clickable and took me straight to the sites to purchase any accessories or research things more.

Overall, I can’t speak highly enough about using the services from Brick & Batten. Painting our house was a very very big decision that I was able to go into with confidence! If you have any other questions about the services, they have a full FAQ on their website!

I don’t have a final reveal for you yet, but the painters are all done and I could not be more excited to see this all come together.