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Exterior Design Photos and Ideas

A variety of factors—the site, the topography, the dramatic cantilever above the water—led to the home’s specific square shape and position on the site.
To bring sunlight into the lakeside home, Max-A set a giant skylight in one of its roof facets.
A Joshua Tree-lined driveway leads to the remote home, nestled among historic boulders.
Apart from cabins, saunas, and outdoor showers, Iglucraft has also used their hallmark structure to make offices, bars, and detached bathrooms. If none of these quite fit your needs, Iglucraft invites inquiries about bespoke projects.
The transformed home sits on a tree-lined street, just minutes from Downtown Charleston.
After - exterior and new cedar fence
Stanaćev and Granados not only thought about views from the cabin, they also considered views of the cabin. With that in mind, they designed a green roof planted with creeping redflush that harmonizes with surrounding cypress forest.
Nataša Stanaćev and Manu Granados of Stanaćev Granados Arquitectura designed and built this beachfront cabin in Matanzas, a rustic, windswept area of Chile, while they were living in Spain.
The home is currently being rented out to recoup some building costs, and the owners are considering a permanent move after their daughter leaves for college.
Roble House's elevation allows the structure to be immersed in the dense forest setting.
The structure's unique H-shape layout is designed to separate living and sleeping areas, and for maximum natural light.
When the team presented the plans to the neighborhood historical society for approval, “everyone was thrilled,” says Martin Locraft, a member of the architecture team.
Opposite the optical glass facade, the slant of the northern facade is the result of Tokyo urban planning requirements. A constant gradient diagonal line restriction dictated that the home’s mass recede diagonally away from the northern property line, to ensure adequate light and ventilation for the neighboring property—a policy not uncommon in lower-density residential areas of Tokyo.
Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP used 87 translucent bricks to reframe a family’s connection to nature and the city.
Original architect A.I. Bumgardner had a major influence on Seattle’s urban landscape. Notable works include the city’s Waterfront Park and the conversion of Queen Anne High School into an apartment complex.
The previous homeowners had cultivated a large, Asian-inspired garden. The courtyard centers around this towering, bushy tree.
The two structures' gabled roofs can be prominently seen from the street, alongside its all-over black siding.
The original home's avocado tree inspired the renovation's solution of a main home and ADU, which are connected by sliders on either end.
"Having the additional office with a standalone entrance on the ADU is such a nice feature,
Norske Mikrohus tells us that demand is growing for their four turnkey tiny home models—but the company cautions against high international shipping costs.
The Airstream's height and length were extended for comfort and ease, and an HVAC system was installed with hydronic and radiant floor heating.
The brick-and-glass residence accommodates limited mobility with a lift between levels and seamless thresholds between indoors and out.
The 275-square-foot LOVT prefab is a feast of crisp millwork, with a modular daybed stacked on drawers and kitchen cabinets with cutouts for pulls.
The view from the courtyard at the Casita, added in 2020.
The rebuilt “Idea House,” designed by Holly Freres and David Horning of JHL design. The driveway is permeable to encourage good drainage: crushed granite gravel is installed over a stabilization mat. James Hardie exterior siding is painted in Benjamin Moore ‘White Dove,’ with reclaimed wood used for the entry and garage.
While the clients were away, David Noordhoff lived at the house for three months with his wife and young child.
Cement plaster was used on the base of the exterior, with double-paned windows throughout.
The mid-section of the siding was done in a shou-sugi ban method. Custom brass was used for the awning, alongside a standing-seam metal roof.
"You can see that language is still there with the sort of two pitched roofs. There is another pitched roof behind that as well, which is the main extension at the back of the house, but you can't really see it from the street,
A pink-painted front door and fascia enliven a 500-square-foot backyard ADU in Mountain View, California, designed by Shin Shin Architecture.
With its shou sugi ban exterior, high-pitched roof and monochrome palette, this family home nods to Japanese design.
The Far Meadow A-frame by designer Heinz Legler, located about an hour’s drive from Yosemite, California, as featured in <i>Boutique Homes: Handpicked Vacation Rentals</i> (Avedition, 2017).
A covered boardwalk connects the mudroom and guest bedroom structure (left) to the gathering pavilion with the living room, kitchen, and dining area (right). The boardwalk in the foreground leads to the primary bedroom cabin.
The house, painted in "Poppyseed
Red bricks from central Mexico are used throughout the outdoor areas as a colorful patio material.
Jonathan checks the surf from the van’s roof.
The concrete-and-steel home by Faulkner Architects gives one family a refined escape in the mountains of Northern California.
The garage highlights the Lubkes’ structural engineering expertise with a 13-foot concrete wall built by Dolan Construction.
Removing the exterior white siding and creating a new cantilevered concrete stoop was the first order of business. "Both Julie and Chris being structural engineers, I thought we should show off what they do with this cantilevered concrete slab for the new front stoop,
In the midst of the pandemic, a family leverages industry connections and modular construction to quickly rebuild a cliffside getaway on a fire-ravaged site in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve.
The unusual floor plan includes a long gallery that wraps a grassy courtyard. The family commissioned an aluminum sculpture by Los Angeles–based artist Evan Holloway for the space.
The rough-hewn stone stairs that lead to the cottage were made by a local stone worker.
“The way Susanna has placed the more private rooms in one part of the house and the social area in another part makes it possible for many people to stay in the house at the same time,” says Helena. “It was important to build a house that was big enough for our family and visitors.” <span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">The tiles that can be glimpsed in the hallway are by Patricia Urquiola for Mutina, and have been used to clad the bathroom. They extend out into the hallway to mark the entrance.</span><span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;"> </span>
There's a clear distinction between the lower and upper levels, with stone on the bottom and oak on the top.
The 3,444-square-foot home is set in a rural area near Futrono, Chile.
Hebra Arquitectos used charred timber and local stone to craft an elemental home that blends into its rugged setting.
In leafy northwest Washington, D.C., a two-story addition expands a 1936 home without overwhelming it.
The house on the corner in the tiny town of Castellet in Catalonia, that Kirsten Dirksen and Nicolás Boullosa bought in 2018.
Extra-wide concrete pillars help to support the studio at its core.
New steps on the house's addition pair garapa wood planks atop concrete forms. "I did research and got advice to make it work without warping,
At the front of the main house, architect Danny Lim framed one of the original windows with new trim to give it a more modern feel and installed limestone on the porch and steps.
The same large format porcelain was used for the exterior patio, which is flush with the thresholds on the sliding glass doors. Blaine added a small bumpout at the end to accommodate a larger primary suite shower.
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