Designing your exterior is one of the most exciting aspects of building a new home. It’s an opportunity to showcase your chosen style and to announce your new home to the neighbourhood, ideally striking the perfect balance between blending in with your surroundings, while also allowing your home’s character to shine.
But how do you achieve this? Understanding the overall style you are going for is important, and our expert design team will offer guidance on what works to help you really bring your vision to life. We’ll also advise on the external factors that may have an impact on the materials or colours you can use, such as your climate, site conditions and even local council guidelines.
So, whether your new home is a long-term dream, or you’re almost ready to go, in this article we share some top design tips that will help you create a winning exterior for your new modular home.
Defining your style
Your chosen exterior style should look and feel at home in its environment, so be sure to visit the area surrounding your block to get a sense of the aesthetics and a feel for the existing homes on your street. Consider too, do you want to blend in and complement what’s already there, or do you want to make a splash and stand out from the crowd?
In addition to your overarching exterior style, there are many ways to create visual interest, for example, the inclusion of unique windows, such as the extra large highlight windows found in our Portsea and Aspendale designs (Aspendale shown above). The modern gable façade allows for this stunning feature, which lets in abundant natural light and creates instant street appeal.
Choosing the right façade
Your façade really is like the face of your home, so it is one decision that requires careful consideration. All of our pre-designed homes come with selected façades as standard, but you can opt to upgrade to a different style from our range if you prefer, including:
Modern gable: influenced by Scandinavian design, and popular with those looking for a modern home that retains a classic look and feel, the striking highlight windows create instant visual appeal. Standard with the Aspendale (shown above), Flinders, Newhaven and Portsea designs.
Gable & Dutch gable: a long time favourite thanks to its versatility and ability to break up monotonous rooflines, making it ideal for larger homes. Standard with Blackbutt, Homestead, Kingsford, Marysville, Newhaven and Portsea. Featured in the Patonga Beach project (shown above).
Cubehaus: European inspired, versatile and modern, its straight lines provide the perfect platform to mix and match contrasting cladding and utilise colour choices from natural hues to popular darker shades. Standard with Beaumaris, Flinders Hampton, Portsea, Queenscliff, Redcliffe, Shoreham and Tambo. Featured in many projects including Bowral, Buxton, Daylesford, Eden, Frankston, Metung, North Arm Cove, Rye and Yarck (shown above).
Single skillion: Great for smaller homes looking for a contemporary look. The verandah is a popular upgrade with this façade, and inside, the raked ceilings add height and light to the living zone. Standard with Brooklyn, Flinders, Portsea and Suburban. Featured in the Marysville project (shown above).
Modern split-skillion & split-skillion: Iconic Anchor Homes façade, well suited to coastal, rural and urban settings.The roofline and portico create a striking exterior that can be matched with a range of cladding styles and colours. Standard with Anglesea, Shoreham and Sorrento. Featured in Lakes Entrance, Lake Tyers Beach and Somerville projects (shown above).
Selecting your cladding
Dark cladding is always popular with clients due to its ability to blend well in almost any environment, from the bush to the coast and everything in between. However, recently we’ve seen a trend towards white and lighter colours, in the spirit of the hamptons.
Aside from the colour, you also have options in terms of the layout (horizontal or vertical) and finish (smooth or woodgrain, for a textured look). Here are some of the common cladding orientations and finishes below:
- Weathertex Architectural (vertical): Up to BAL 19, smooth or painted finish
- Weathertex Ecogroove Selfok (horizontal): Up to BAL 19, smooth or painted finish
- Shiplap spotted gum/blackbutt (vertical or horizontal): Up to BAL 29, natural
- James Hardie Axon (vertical): Up to BAL 40, smooth or textured painted finish
- James Hardie Linea Weatherboard (horizontal): Up to BAL 40, smooth or painted
- Custom Orb (horizontal or vertical): Up to BAL 40, available in colorbond colours
- Nailstrip (vertical): Up to BAL 40, available in all colorbond colours.
Another effective way to add to your exterior is to opt for contrasting cladding. This works particularly well when you pair a natural colour such as spotted gum, blackbutt or merbau with a light or dark cladding. Our clients in Apollo Bay have executed this perfectly, with a winning combination of low maintenance spotted gum timber and Weathertex cladding.
Finishing touches for your exterior
Of course, there are always finishing touches that can be added to your exterior to really elevate it and enhance your home. Some popular choices include garages, carports, decking, pergolas, portico, balustrading, screening and outdoor lighting.
You can also choose to upgrade your cladding, either for looks or to up your BAL rating. Many clients love the look of merbau cladding for its rich colour, but keep in mind it will require oiling every two years to look its best. For our recent Rye project shown above, our clients chose James Hardie Axon Cladding Smooth, which can be up to BAL 40 and contrasts beautifully with the surrounding coastal landscape.
Talk to us about your ideas today
Have a question about modular homes? Or are you ready to discuss your design ideas and discover what’s possible? We’d love to hear from you! Post a comment below or contact our team for friendly advice.
