Home Exterior

Curb appeal decided in the right order — trim before masonry.

Red brick Georgian farmhouse with white sash windows and a brick herringbone path

The Repointing Mistake That Ruins Old Brick

By Silas Calder

Black A-frame cabin with a steep roof standing among tall redwood trees

Timber Fails Slowly, Then All at Once

By Silas Calder

Cedar shingle colonial house with a flag and a clipped boxwood hedge along the front

Cedar Is Neutral, So the Garden Decides

By Silas Calder

All home exterior guides

35 guides

Black glazed front door with a matching black frame set in white shingle siding

Your Black Front Door Needs a Black Frame

By Silas Calder

Cream townhouse with dark brown louvered shutters, shutter dogs and matching window boxes

Most Black Shutters Are Not Actually Black

By Silas Calder

Pale grey-blue Dutch door set deep under an arched portico on a cream clapboard house

Pale Blue Doors Need a Sheltered Opening

By Silas Calder

White farmhouse using board and batten on the gable volumes and clapboard on the link between them

Board and Batten Reads Barn, Clapboard Reads House

By Silas Calder

Covered porch with a brick paver floor, vaulted boarded ceiling and hanging lanterns

Use Pavers, Not Bricks, On a Porch Floor

By Silas Calder

Colonial saltbox clad in cedar shingles weathering unevenly to silver and tan

Shake or Shingle? You Are Comparing the Wrong Thing

By Silas Calder

Related topics

Home exterior ideasDecide the outside of the house in the right order: trim before masonry.Living room ideasPlan a room that feels warm, useful, and distinctly yours.Bedroom ideasCreate a bedroom that supports deeper rest and easier mornings.Bathroom ideasMake a hardworking bathroom feel considered from tile to storage.