Mark Roper
The exterior of a home presents the best chance to make a great first impression and add value. For a new build or a spring makeover, there are plenty of ways to add warmth and wow factor with a show-stopping home exterior.
Whether you own a quaint country cottage, a modernist concrete jungle, or a weatherboard coastal shack, be inspired to finish your home with a facade that screams street appeal. From masonary brick to the sustainable beauty of sandstone and timber, here are cladding ideas that will make your home beautiful inside and out.
home exterior cladding ideas
weatherboard
It’s not hard to stain or paint existing or new timber weatherboards or shingles to suit your style. Cladding a dated brick exterior with new weatherboards can soften the overall effect and add character, not to mention a quintessential Australian aesthetic.
A relaxed, beachy beauty runs right through this freshly extended weatherboard home on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Photo: Kristina Soljo | Styling: Olga Lewis | Story: House & Garden
stone
Use stone cladding to highlight important architectural features such as columns, blade walls or a portico. Offering high fire resistance and minimal condensation issues, this manufactured durable option offers a more affordable alternative to traditional stone. Even if it’s just one stone feature wall outside, the natural element will bring warmth, depth and sophistication to your facade.
Stone cladding became a stunning visual feature of this home exterior. Photo: Maree Homer | Story: Inside Out
concrete
Add a cool, contemporary finish with concrete cladding for just a fraction of the cost of off-form concrete. Easily fixed with adhesive it also offers great design flexibility. The cladding can give your home a clean modernist linear, and the grey, dark exterior colour will make your home look ultra modern.
Poured into the landscape, this low-slung family home clad in grainy concrete shadows its location’s mid-century origins. Photo: Jody D’Arcy | Styling: Lucy Montgomery | Story: Belle
brick
The humble brick is one of the most underrated and timeless design elements. A home exterior with a rendered or natural brick clad homes can define architectural detailing and bring multiple tones to your home exterior, and a more industrial and modern aesthetic.
The bulk of this industrial-style brick house in Perth is comprised of reclaimed red bricks from homes and buildings in the area that were being demolished. Photo: Lajos Varga | Story: Homes to Love
timber cladding
Timber panelling is a sustainable and low-maintenance option for home exteriors. With it’s subtle natural hue, it also perfectly compliments its surroundings, turning it into a man-made building at one with nature. Even heritage-style timber and timber composites can be installed vertically or horizontally, to create beautiful linear lines.
Eco-friendly engineered pine from Accoya features in the cladding and decking, and cleverly conceals the downpipes on this Scandinavian style beach house on the Great Ocean Road. Photo: Dylan James | Styling: Rebecca Leijer | Story: Real Living
