Home Exterior Design

Designing the exterior of a home can be a complicated process of color choices, materials, balancing shape and lines— it is not a job for novice designers.
Let’s look at 10 basic exterior design principles that will help make your home a haven:

1) Balancing Shapes with Symmetry
Like in all types of design, balance and symmetry play an important role in achieving a well-designed space. The facade of every home needs some semblance of balance and symmetry in order to appear pleasing to the eye and properly designed.

2) Form Follows Function
The exterior of your home will mimic the form of the interior designs that you have chosen. Maybe you are an artist who chose large windows because you need natural lighting to paint/create. Maybe you needed a granny suite over the garage, so the exterior of the home has a dormer in order to make the window in that room look balanced. Always remember that your interior design affects the exterior one, as well.

3) House Materials and Textures
With the plethora of options, it is very difficult to decide what materials we should use on our home exterior. Between cedar shingles, vinyl siding, aluminum, brick, wood, stucco, steel…how do we choose?

4) Exterior Color Combinations
Color can play up so many features of your home exterior. Paint your front porch a bright fresh white to draw the eye to the cozy entrance, or make your too-tall home look shorter with a dark color on top and a lighter color on bottom. The ways that color can trick the eye and play up the positive are endless!

5) How to Choose the Right Roof
There are so many building options, with varying costs and life-expectancies. Material like slate and tile may seem ideal but remember that they are very heavy, so be sure your home can carry the load. Asphalt shingles seem to be most prevalent due to their lower cost and easy install. Surprisingly, wood is also a viable option with the same life expectancy ( 25 years) as asphalt shingles. Slate and metal are costly and heavy options, but may work for some designs.

6) How to Choose Your Garage Doors
Once you are past the nitty gritty of mechanics, then you can have fun deciding upon the style that best suits your home design. Whether it’s a clean, classic steel door or a cozy carriage house design—the options are endless.

7) What Windows Look best
First and foremost, the windows you choose need to be durable. Secondly, your windows should reflect your homes character. Modern homes look best with large expanses of floor-to-ceiling windows, while a traditional home may look best with symmetrically placed, white-paned, rectangular windows.

8) Design An Amazing Entryway
Aside from color, there are a lot of other features that can freshen up your entryway and speak to your homes style—lighting, plants, door knobs, door knocker, door kick plates, rugs, and porch seating all add to the overall appeal of your homes entry.

9) Landscaping Is Essential
Get your green-thumb on and start planning your lush landscape today. Remember it takes time for plants to establish and fill in, so patience is a must. The sooner you begin, the better.

10) Light Up Your Home
Choose lights that mimic your homes style. Traditional homes look great with lantern-style chandeliers hanging over a covered entryway, or flanking the garage. Angular steel lights add appeal to the entryway of modern homes. Then you must consider what other features of your home could use some nighttime light.

While the design of your home exterior is a complicated process that is fraught with decisions and choices, do not give up—a well-designed home CAN be achieved with patience and a little help. During the design process, we suggest that you follow all 10 tips offered here with regard to color, materials, form & function, balance & symmetry, lighting, doors, landscaping, windows and roofing.