New Board and Batten Siding with Brick on Illinois Home

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When purchasing a house, many people will fall in love with one aspect of the home — such as the interior — and make plans to update other features down the road. That was exactly the case for Scott T. and his family when they purchased their Illinois home. 

… the inside of the house and the backyard are awesome. We wanted the house but didn’t like the siding color.

After finding brick&batten online, Scott enlisted our help to make his new home’s exterior as incredible as its interior and backyard. Keep reading to learn more about how we helped Scott update his house and see the transformation from start to finish.

Whether you’re struggling to select a paint color for your home’s exterior or are contemplating making other cosmetic exterior updates, our team of expert designers can help. Learn more about our virtual exterior design services. Or, if you’ve worked with us previously and have a great “actual after” photo of your home, upload it here for a chance to be featured on our blog.

Before photo of a home featuring board and batten siding with brick

The Before

Scott’s home’s exterior, which featured blue siding with natural brick, was dated and didn’t match the look and feel of the interior or backyard. Updating the existing blue siding was a top priority for Scott and his family. They also wanted to upgrade other aspects of the exterior to make it feel more contemporary. 

A virtual rendering of a home with board and batten siding with brick

The Design

Scott’s biggest issue with his home’s exterior was the siding color, so he requested two options — a light color and a darker hue — to help him decide on a new one. Both of our renderings feature new board and batten siding with limewashed brick.

Our first design, pictured above, features James Hardie siding with their baked-on hue White Bungalow. The brick is painted with a Romabio Classico Limewash tinted with Sherwin Williams’ Alabaster.

A virtual rendering of a home with board and batten siding with brick

Our second option features siding painted with Benjamin Moore’s Iron Mountain and brick with a Romabio Classico Limewash tinted with Benjamin Moore’s Chelsea Gray.

Both designs feature a black metal roof, new windows and a double front door, a modern garage door, wood columns and wood paneling on the roof in the entryway, copper gutters and downspouts, new light fixtures, and a stone paver walkway. We also suggested removing the shutters on the windows.

A home featuring new board and batten siding with brick

The Process

Scott worked with a contractor to bring his brick&batten design to life. He said he had to wait about two months for his James Hardie siding to arrive, but otherwise, the process was relatively quick and easy. 

Our design proved helpful to his contractor throughout the renovation process, Scott noted. 

All I had to do was share your instructions with him, [which] made it easy. I didn’t have to get in the middle of it. 

An after photo of a home featuring board and batten siding with brick

The Actual After

Scott ended up going with our darker color palette recommendation. Rather than limewashing the brick as suggested, he left it natural because he liked the way the dark siding complemented some of the black bricks. He also opted to keep his existing windows. Finally, Scott kept his existing roof in lieu of a new metal one. 

We always recommend sampling and testing paint colors before committing. Factors such as natural lighting, undertones, and your property’s fixed elements will have a significant impact on how a color will appear on your exterior. Our friends at Samplize offer extra-large 9 x 14.75 inch peel-and-stick paint samples of the colors we love for exteriors. Order your ‘Real Paint, No Mess’ samples from Samplize here.
A close-up view of a home's garage and entryway

Besides a few minor changes, Scott stuck to our design pretty closely. He sourced a garage door to match the one in our design and also found similar sconces. He also followed our recommendation to swap out his dated white entryway columns with wood, though he used a slightly different solution. Rather than swapping out his posts, he wrap his the existing posts in cedar. We love it!

A home featuring new board and batten siding with brick

A Successful Home Exterior Update

Scott, his family, and the entire neighborhood are loving his home’s new look. The new board and batten siding with brick combination makes the home feel elegant. A chic color palette and updated design elements help transform the home and increase its curb appeal.

Now it’s the nicest-looking house on the block (in) a nice neighborhood already.

 

On Halloween, Scott told us that many people who were out trick or treating mentioned how happy they were that he updated the home’s exterior. 

[Our new home] is probably inspiring some more updates on the block, so people are happy we did it.

Wondering what your home could look like with a new color palette or other exterior updates? Find out when you partner with brick&batten. Get started on your exterior design project today.

Author

Britteny has worked as a professional writer and editor for more than a decade. She launched her career as a features writer in New York City, covering fashion, food & beverage, and hospitality. She has contributed to a wide range of publications, including International Business Times, Glam, Thirsty Mag, and Cardinal & Pine and has worked with famous faces such as Kate Upton and Nigel Barker throughout her career. Britteny has been covering the exterior home design industry as a writer for brick&batten for almost two years. Britteny splits her time between New York City, her home state of Michigan, and Caye Caulker, a small island off the coast of Belize in Central America. When she’s not writing or editing, Britteny can be found at the beach or in the kitchen testing out vegan recipes.