The exterior of your home is the first thing that people see, creating a strong first impression they won’t soon forget. That means your siding, trim, and accent features are not just practical materials to protect your home. They’re also personal touches that bring your house’s whole personality to life.
You deserve that for your home, right? Of course you do!
Fortunately, there are numerous creative ways to refresh your home with new siding to give it a distinctive look you’ll love. Here’s how to achieve a special style that is uniquely yours.
Why Invest in a Customized Exterior Siding Design?
At first glance, siding and trim may seem like practical must-haves rather than fun and innovative ways to boost your home lifestyle. But a beautiful house with memorable curb appeal offers a lot of benefits that make clever design planning a must:
Personal enjoyment
There’s nothing quite like pulling into your driveway and feeling delighted with how gorgeous your home looks.
Neighborhood attention
It’s a great experience to have neighbors admire your home and ask you how you got it to look so good.
Boosted value
A lovely exterior that stands out from surrounding houses draws in prospective buyers, increasing the asking price when you put your home on the market.
Lasting protection
Today’s siding and trim products provide super long-lasting results, so you can easily blend durability and style—keeping your property in tip-top shape and looking good for decades.
Top 7 Tips for Elevating Your Siding and Trim
What’s truly exciting is that there are so many ways to give you the curb appeal you desire. Consider these popular exterior siding trends to find a fit that makes you proud of your home all over again.
1. Use alternating widths
Siding doesn’t have to be all the same size—as long as the design is well planned, of course. A thoughtful blend of thin and thick siding panels applied vertically or horizontally creates an attractive look.
2. Play with batten spacing
If you like the board-and-batten design, but still want to add a creative touch to it, space your battens wider or more narrowly than your neighbor’s. Thinner spacing makes a home look taller, for example, so you can create appealing visual illusions with this simple tip.
3. Mix it up
Who says your siding has to be all the same? Modernize your design by mixing and matching vertical and horizontal, smooth and textured products to help different house features stand out. Product lines like James Hardie siding are designed to allow for this added customizability.
4. Blend materials
Create a distinctive style by using a mix of building materials. Don’t be afraid to combine stone, brick, wood, vinyl, fiber cement, stucco, and metal to make specific architectural features catch the eye.
5. Create contrast
Already have a special exterior element, such as a dramatic vertical slope to the roof? Contrast that by installing siding horizontally. Or install extra wide vertical panels on key features, contrasted with traditional lap siding.
6. Choose accent shapes
Draw the eye to features such as gables by covering them in half-round shingles. Contrasted with straight siding elsewhere, you’ll get appealing style that passersby will notice.
7. Make bold color choices
Siding comes in so many unique shades these days that the sky’s the limit. Just a few ways you can get bold:
- Use three colors or even four if your home has lots of intricate elements. (Hint: use a color wheel to coordinate the look.)
- Create a sense of height by applying two similar tones on the exterior—the darker shade on the bottom floor, and a slightly lighter version on the upper floor.
- Emphasize the home’s design by using a mix of siding and trim styles, all in the same color so the architectural features are the main attraction.
8 Additional Ways to Make Your Home’s Unique Architectural Style Pop
You can further elevate your property’s curb appeal by taking its architectural style into consideration. Here are some of our favorite tips for doing that.
1. Eye-Catching Victorian
With multiple, intricate decorative features, Victorian homes benefit from bold looks. Mix shingles, lap siding, and panels in three different colors to draw the eye to various elements.
2. Rustic Craftsman
Craftsman homes have an earthy, hand-crafted vibe. They stand out with a mix of horizontal and vertical siding on upper levels, blended with stone and brick around the front entrance.
3. Elegant Tudor
Characterized by angled, dramatic features, Tudors can achieve a customized look by framing large windows with dark, textured trim. Or, use natural wood-grain accents to add modern flair.
4. Classic Greek Revival
Greek Revival homes often have gorgeous brick that you can blend with vertical siding, textured siding (such as stucco), bright-colored trim for windows, and/or shingles on gables.
5. Whimsical Queen Anne
Queen Anne houses have asymmetric, intricate features. Make those elements pop with bold, bright colors and shingles on gables. Mix trim colors to create a truly eye-catching look.
6. Comfortable Ranch
Make the most of this wide, relaxed architecture by installing smooth siding around the home’s most unique features. Consider the board-and-batten look for a modern Farmhouse feel.
7. Refreshing Colonial
Update your Troy, MI style Colonial by using bold colors on the siding, balanced with white trim to keep some traditional flair. Modernize the look with accents in copper, metal, and wood.
8. Cozy Cape Cod
These charming symmetrical houses get a contemporary boost when you replace shutters with decorative trim that gives the illusion of height. Install lap siding, and create accents with shingles in earthy colors.
Craft a Unique Home Exterior That You’re Sure to Love
At John McCarter Construction, we’re here to make your home its very best, so you can be proud of its beauty, value, and performance. Our trusted siding services help homeowners in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Rochester Hills and the surrounding areas love their property all over again.
