When clients decide to re-side their house, they often ask me “what do you think of this” or “what color would you choose?” Although I appreciate that they respect my opinion, I am often hesitant to respond because it’s not my house, and I am not the one that will be living there.
But in retrospect, I think this is a cop-out answer. So, I have decided to list my favorite siding styles to give you an idea of what I love the look of when considering an exterior siding project.
#5. The Farmhouse
Coming in at number five is the Farmhouse style. When I drive by houses that look like this, I often do a double take, or I will slow down and take a photo. The above house is one we worked on in Hampton, NH and, although I don’t often love all-white houses, I really enjoy how this house used black Pella windows plus board and batten on the garage to break up the siding. The front porch was also done with a metal roof and skylights in the porch. It was a great remodel and one that will surely stand the test of time.
# 4. The Dark Side
I am a sucker for dark siding. But not every house can pull it off. This one definitely does with a mixture of dark and light grays combined with dark windows and a mixture of different siding choices: board and batten and clapboards. I also love the way this house uses the porch columns as a contrast to the rest of the house. With finished landscaping, this house could be on a magazine cover.
#3. Clean Lines
Big or small, ranch or colonial, if your siding has super clean lines I’m in. This house is not huge but the exterior work is immaculate. From the water table which wraps around the entire house to the metal roof accents above the garage and near the front door, this ranch style home was well done. Even the Robin’s Egg front door – a color I would not necessarily choose – works very well with this home. Everything about this home says “Come on in!”
#2: Accents
On larger homes, especially ones with lots of front facing gables, like the one pictured above, it is a huge design plus when those walls are accented. In this particular home, I love how the front gable peaks are siding in shingles while the rest of the house has clapboards. I also really enjoy when the peaks have different colors, like this one here.
This home is very inviting and would look great in any neighborhood.
# 1: All of the Above, Please
Give me a house that has design elements of most of my list and I’m all in. This house has dark colors, super clean lines, and accent walls – even if they are the same color. If this were on a Farmhouse or if there was a huge wrap around porch on the front (which would be tough to pull off here), it would be the house of the year.
So that’s it. My top 5 siding styles. If you are in need of some help designing your new siding project, give 12 Penny Exteriors a call. We have an app that can help you visualize what your house will look like before we even begin the work.
