Transform Your Home Exterior with Metal Siding: Tips and Design Examples
By: Britteny
From fiber cement and vinyl to engineered wood and stucco, there’s a seemingly endless list of types of siding available for home exteriors. Metal siding is becoming increasingly popular, and we use it in our designs quite often. In this post, we share the benefits of metal siding and demonstrate how it can be utilized to transform your home exterior. Keep reading to learn more.
Siding is an important aspect of your home exterior — but it isn’t the only thing you need to consider carefully. Paint colors, roofing materials, and other design elements can all have a major impact on your curb appeal too. Partner with us, and let our expert exterior designers take care of the design work for you. Learn more about our virtual exterior design services.
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Benefits of metal siding
Metal siding boasts plenty of benefits. Aside from looking good, it’s durable, low-maintenance, and energy efficient. It can often be made to mimic other materials, such as wood, too. The left side of the home above features woodgrain steel siding rendered in various shades of gray. For the right side of the home, we used another type of steel siding rendered in a reddish-brown hue. While both siding types are made of metal, they look drastically different, proving how versatile metal siding can be.
We also designed the back of this home and carried the two metal siding types through to this side. We also used the same stone around the base of the home that was featured in the front design. Finally, we added some warmth with the wood columns and created good indoor-outdoor flow with the glass doors and large windows.
One downside to metal siding is the price. It is more expensive compared to options like vinyl or fiber cement, but in our opinion, it’s totally worth the initial investment.
Metal siding, two ways
With so many different types of metal siding available, it’s easy to incorporate multiple options into your exterior design. For the home above, we used a combination of Quality Edge’s TruCedar siding, rendered in Gray Dusk, and steel siding, rendered in Ironstone. Mixing siding textures and colors helps add depth to this design and distinction between different areas of the home.
The siding is complemented by a black metal roof, two custom wood doors, black window trim, and black light fixtures.
The back side of the home features the same combination of metal siding, plus a concrete base. The darker hue used on the middle section of the second story is a nice backdrop for the balcony area, which boasts unobstructed views thanks to the glass railing. Wood decking and outdoor furniture add some warmth to the design.
Metal & fiber cement siding with natural brick
This client wanted to keep the natural brick on the lower level of her home but was open to replacing the siding on the upper half. We selected James Hardie lap siding rendered in Benjamin Moore’s Black Beauty with a small section of steel siding around the windows. We chose to render this siding in a different orientation and color to create contrast and add interest to the upper portion of the façade.
The homeowner noted that she was interested in combining different cladding materials and textures, and our designers definitely delivered.
A log home without the logs
This client desired an exterior that had both a rustic and industrial look. To achieve this, we recommended TruLog siding, which is made from steel but designed to look like real logs. This siding option provides the rustic charm and industrial vibe the client requested, plus it’s much less maintenance than actual wood logs.
To round out the design, we suggested stacked stone for the chimney, a wood front door and porch columns, a metal roof over the porch, new light fixtures, and black gutters.
Metal siding for commercial properties
Metal siding is also a great option for commercial properties, such as the one above. For this new build, we suggested galvanized steel siding rendered in a blueish-gray hue. We also used matte black galvanized steel around each of the entry doors. We love how these small sections of siding look juxtaposed against the light gray siding and stone accents.
Here’s another example of a commercial property that benefited from the addition of some metal siding. The before version of this building was quite bare and underwhelming. We recommended limewashing the brick and filled in the empty space to the left of the entrance with vertical woodgrain steel siding. The awning over the door has a wood ceiling that ties into the steel siding that mimics the look of wood.
Corrugated metal siding
The combination of cladding materials on this exterior gives the home some much-needed personality. We used shiplap siding for most of the exterior, but we also incorporated vertical wood siding and corrugated metal (on the far left and right sides of the home). The multiple siding types highlight different sections of the home and add tons of visual interest.
Stone, wood, & Corten steel siding
While we typically reserve Corten steel for planters in our designs, sometimes we use it as a siding material too. For the mid-century modern design above, we used Corten steel as an accent on the left side of the home. This section really pops against the stone that surrounds it and also ties into the wood siding used on the right side of the house.
The back side of this home also features Corten steel siding, which is again juxtaposed with stone. We love how well all the natural building materials work together in this home design.
Emphasize your entry
The main entrance should be a focal point of your exterior, and one way to ensure it stands out is to use a different siding material in the area than you do for the rest of the home. In the design above, we used woodgrain steel siding around the entrance. This rich, wood-like material pops against the painted stucco. We rendered the rest of the home’s elements, from the garage doors to the front door, in black to keep things simple.
Makeover your home with metal siding
There are tons of siding materials to choose from, and metal is one of our favorites. In addition to being visually stunning, it’s durable, low maintenance, and versatile. While it’s a little pricier than other siding materials, we think the benefits make the extra cost worthwhile.
Whether you’re selecting siding for your new build or replacing the existing siding on your home, consider metal as an option. As we’ve demonstrated in the examples in this post, metal siding is a smart way to elevate your exterior.
From siding materials and colors to doors and windows to decks and porches, there’s a lot to consider when designing your dream home. We consider every detail of your home when creating your personalized exterior design. And we make it easy to bring the design to life by providing a shoppable resource list with all the elements featured in your rendering. Begin your exterior design project today.
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