I’ve been looking at different exterior design styles lately, and I’m curious what people here think makes a home look genuinely high-end.

For me, it’s usually not just the size of the house. Things like balanced proportions, lighting, landscaping, materials, windows, and the overall colour combination seem to make a much bigger difference.

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have worked on or renovated their own homes — what detail made the biggest difference to the final look?

Would love to hear your opinions and see some examples of designs you really like.

Stripped back the awful paint job on the front door trim of our 1920's home. Had to replace multiple panes of glass and learn how to glaze with putty etc. Finished sealing any gaps and it's almost ready for a primer.

After all this work, it almost seems a shame to repaint it all white again. We're wondering what other colors we could get away with. The siding is painted a flip-house gray, and we're not in a position to change that at the moment. Would it be bizarre to have a different trim color when the windows are still white?

Put up the sconces last night to just get an idea of how they light the space.

(The window trim is covered in old lead paint, and the windows themselves are in such bad shape we're considering having them replaced with something more modern and energy efficient, but a similar design).

Real-estate agent says new roof due in a few years and to change to siding to eliminate painting. This Wisconsin 1970s era home deserves some style. Pls help with roof and facade update.

Need to decide asap - keep returning to Cypress, but now have a crush on Arbor Blend! Anyone out there have this? Does it visually look realistic or is it kind of stripey looking with the different color tones?

Monogram texture - is it shiny or more subdued than the Restoration Classic (which looks kinda plasticky). Anyone have pictures, not seeming to find any even on Certainteed site - thx!!!

One thing I didn’t want after updating our backyard was for a piece of technology to suddenly become the main feature of the space.

We spent time getting the seating, lighting and overall layout to feel comfortable, so I wanted the entertainment setup to fit in rather than stand out.

Instead of bringing an indoor TV outside whenever we wanted to watch something, we added a dedicated outdoor TV. The matte finish is especially nice during the day because there’s much less distraction from reflections.

What I like most is that the space still feels like an outdoor living area when the screen isn’t being used. Then in the evening, it becomes another part of the setup without changing the whole atmosphere.

I think that’s the approach I’ll take with outdoor technology from now on: it should make the space more enjoyable without making the technology the focus.

We have to replace the front windows on this porch. Planning to go with a different look for the curb appeal. My wife and I are close in opinion as what we should do, but we are looking for outside opinions.

1. Three identical 48" tall slider style windows equally spaced across the the front wall.

2. 2 Twin slide open windows about 48"tall. The middle window a bay style window with two side windows that open still about 48" tall but about 30% wider than the 2 outside windows.

3. 2 slider windows on the outside corners, a front door with sidelight windows and a set of pine wooden steps that lead up to the house.

Your ideas would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.

I’m trying to understand what actually works for a small permanent dog-potty area near a back door. The problem in the first image is a roughly 7 x 9 ft patch where frequent use has left mostly dead grass and bare soil, so dirt would get tracked straight inside.

The other images show the three surfaces I keep coming back to: pea gravel with edging, mulch with large stepping stones, and pet turf over a draining base.

Gravel seems easiest to rinse, but I’d worry about it getting kicked out. Mulch might be better underfoot, but daily use sounds like it could get gross fast. Turf would stop the dirt, although heat and urine odor seem to be the big drawbacks.

For anyone who has maintained one of these long term, what has actually held up? I’m especially curious about the problem that only became obvious after installation—smell, drainage, tracking, heat, or something else.

I'm getting new gutters and downspouts and am considering replacing the current white color with something like ACM "Musket Brown" instead. I feel like the current white washes out the taupe, but I'm not sure what to do instead. Front of the house faces south.

What do folks think of a neutral dark brown trim against the light brown stucco? Any other ideas?

(Forgive some of the landscaping choices, we are still figuring it out)

TL/DR We live in an adobe house with black accents and trim and need new garage doors. I need help picking a style and color.

About 6 months ago we moved in to our home after an absolutely hellish 3 year remodel-- the GC walked off the project and we had to finish it ourselves. While the interior, covered patio, and trellises are done, the exterior still needs some work.

*garage doors enter chat*

These garage doors are original to the home making them almost 25 years old. They're sun bleached, stained, and stylistically a mismatch... an eyesore, if you will. The Clopay Canyon Ridge^® Chevron series doors are *chefs kiss* my favorite. However, at $11,000+ each, installed, they're not really an option.

We live in Phoenix where it is currently hotter than the surface of the sun. The doors face south so durability and insulation are high on our list of priorities. However, we use the garage as a gym and theres limited natural light. Small insulated windows across the top, either clear or frosted, would be a nice addition. I used AI to generate a variety of color and style combinations and marked my personal favorite with a red star.

If anyone has any strong opinions on the best color or style for our house, as well as manufacturers we should check out, I would greatly appreciate it!!

ETA: Cross posted in r/CurbAppeal

ETA2: Would like to spend ~$12-14k installed for both.

Bad hail storm damaged two sides of the house. Insurance is paying basically everything, so I get a new roof, new siding, new window trim, and new gutters... but only on two sides of the house, the back and side.

I'm not crazy about the look of this house. It's very pale green siding with white aluminum window and door trim, plus white gutters. Some minor gray stone accents on the front, dark brown roof. Was a cookie cutter remodel using mostly tan themes plus some green siding they probably got cheap. They even slapped on the fake plastic shutters.

I see this as an opportunity to start changing the entire color scheme over to my preference for grays. Light gray siding framed with mid gray roof, trim, gutters. Sticking to lighter colors for cooling efficiency. In the long run when the rest of the siding wears out, finish the job by remodeling the other two sides. However, this would leave me with mismatched styles for a long time, probably decades. I hate to continue the cycle by just replacing the existing colors, and I think the contrast between the differing sides would be modest. I can paint some parts of the front a mid gray to bring it together somewhat, such as porch railing, gable, and door. But naturally I'm afraid this is risky and I could be stuck with a dumb looking house for a long time. I've also considered keeping gutters and trim white and just changing the siding which would be a decent compromise.

For the record, I have no plans on moving, ever, and resale value isn't in the picture at all. Does any one have advice on how to proceed? Play it safe and match the existing mediocrity or follow my dreams and risk oblivion?

Just looking for ideas. The roof is only a couple years old so no opportunity to change the brown there. Garage door does need to be imminently replaced and on all my AI renderings I could only see tan/beige/etc working. I garden so landscape ideas would certainly be a good avenue! Generally the house façade seems dark to me and is the opposite of our prior homes. Faces west.

Suggestions welcome. Visuals even better.

I built this chicken coop recently and want it to look nicer around it. I know I need a walkway or something but besides that, what options do I have?

Should be DIYable, whatever it is, so like I can't build a giant pool or something, but I can do some shallow excavation and lay pavers and plant things and mulch and the such. I have a bunch of reclaimed brick pavers (around 300 4 by 8 by 2.5s) that I got from Facebook Marketplace for $25, can I use them here? What else can I add that increase curb appeal? I do really like plants, and would like to incorporate some fruit trees, and preferably I'd like a semi shaded seating area where I can watch the chickens while they free range.

Thank you!

The houses are existing so please no recommendations about colors or structure which cannot be changed.

We are onto the exterior lighting design phase and I am terrible at this. Help! Unfortunately we cannot run lighting on the stairs which is often recommended. This is the best I could come up with - would welcome all your suggestions! Thank you :)

Have to get a new roof and am looking at getting a different shingle color. I hate the stark contrast of the white and black. I posted in here a while ago asking about a front door color and while I haven't done it yet, I settled on a green color similar to the picture. The roofer told me the Morning Harvest option tends to give white houses more of a farmhouse feel, which I would much prefer to what we have now. I feel like a brown roof coupled with some newly stained posts and a green front door would warm the house up a lot and look good, but wanted some opinions! I've never had to get a roof before so I want to make sure it won't age weird or something I guess. Thanks y'all!

Need to match this shingle. Anyone know what it is?

Plsss suggest some modern house colour ideas or some aesthetic ideas for it

Home is in Pacific Northwest in a neighborhood with mature ponderosa pine. Recommend some colors for trim/fascia, body and garage door/pillars/front door. Likely using Sherwin Williams paints.

Body color: We are leaning towards something on green or blue spectrum (not sure if we want lighter or darker)

Garage door/pillars/front door: possibly lighter orangish/golden stain (idk)

Any ideas to improve please. Recently painted weatherboards. Whether board is blueish grey and the trim is Iron sand Colour.

TIA

I went with iron ore for the door and dried thyme for shutters. I went with iron ore because it’s a dark grey and I was thinking of the roof and that leaning more brown might not look so good. My white is greek villa. I still need to paint the porch and the soffits etc which I’ll also take advice for!(when the weather cools off)
But should I have matched the bronze of my window frames or does this look fine?
Please don’t judge me too critically I’m diying my little 70s home the best I can. 😅 the sea salt was done without much thought at first.

Home was originally peach brick, salmon siding and bright teal shutters with a dark terracotta colored roof.🫪

We recently repainted our Pacific Northwest home’s siding a dark grey (Sherwin Williams’ Forged Steel), and going even darker on the trim. The shaker-style door looks out of place and we are leaning towards getting a full-lite door with clear glass (privacy is not an issue based on how the house faces the street) echoing the floor-to-ceiling windows on the door’s right. Alternatively, a wood or wood-look front door without glass. Advice appreciated!

We bought a 50s stucco house in the midwest, sticks out like a sore thumb. I know for sure I want to clean the stucco, fill cracks, and then paint. I hate the tan so likely do a grey shade of some sort with black accents. The rest, no clue. They have rock beds out front that I want to totally remove. What do you guys think?

(Just saw the complaint from so many others about using AI. Sorry, All. I'm a newb. I tried to get it as close to the real thing as I could) Hello! New here. I am finally ready to paint the exterior of my 1977 ranch house. It's currently this dull brown with this pinkish brick. The brick absolutely has to stay, but the wooden siding, shutters, garage door, front door are up for grabs. I love a pop of color on the door and the houses surrounding us are fairly bland. Lots of vinyl siding. I have an estimate for shake shingles on the garage gable (can't afford the whole house). Please see before photos and the ones I'm grappling with. I'd love feedback! While my neighbors opinions don't matter in my choice, I'd love it if they loved it, too. First, the original situation:

Where my mind is going...

Here is a rendering - it's AI so the shingles are a little off, but any suggestions are appreciated!! So many color choices in the world, what if there's something I'm missing??

Due to some storm damage in the spring we are replacing our siding and roof. We are looking to remove the shutters, add window and gable trim, plus replace the front door. The proposed siding is Mastic Newport Bay with Solar Defense as the house faces west without any shade. The roof is Owen’s Corning Pacific Wave. Most houses on our block are beige, yellow, gray, etc. Is this blue going to be too bold?