Most people will never see more than the exterior of your house. To make a good first impression and keep onlookers wondering what splendors lie inside, give your home exterior as much thought and attention as you do the interior. In fact, the outside of a home should complement the style found inside, since it’s really the introduction to your personal style. With the multitude of materials available, whether you choose natural or synthetic, your home exterior can welcome guests and hint at the wonderful decor that you have designed behind the front door.

A rocky surface
Just like colors and architectural styles, the materials that make up and decorate the outside of a home are sensitive to trends and fashion. Currently, the Atlanta market is very hot for stone, according to Mary Battle of Exovations, a company that specializes in a variety of home exterior needs. “Mixing rock and brick is also very popular, whether it be a brick foundation (or water table) with rock above or vice versa, or brick on some of the different faces on the front and rock on the other, or even as simple as a brick face with rock accents,” she says.

That means that a home might be covered in stone and mimic an old French chateau, or it might have some stone arches or accents around doors and corners. “The latest trends are going back to the more traditional look of stone and brick,” says Thom Stomar of Decopierre in Marietta. “Stone is becoming more popular to put into the mix.”

Most materials can be found in both natural and synthetic versions. In many cases, the difference is economics, and with stone that is definitely the case. While high-end homes may be built with materials like Indiana and Austin limestone, more cost-effective synthetics, like the hydraulic limestone from Decopierre, can provide the look of stone with an investment that is just a little more than brick.

Stone itself requires generally no maintenance, aside from pressure washing when it gets dirty. It never needs to be painted and can last a lifetime or longer. Real stone is heavy, though, and sometimes walls will need structural reinforcement when it is added. Sprayed limestone is much lighter and can be placed on top of paneling. It is sprayed on, then carved to look more realistic. To cover an average house in synthetic stone takes only about five to seven days.

The right siding
Siding is another popular exterior finish, and it comes in many types, from wood to cement to vinyl. Beyond the basic choice of the material, siding also can create special exterior effects. “Shake style, either uniform or staggered, rough sewn or hand split, as well as Board and Batten like the old Tudor style, adds a great deal of curb appeal,” Battle says. And like stone, siding also can be mixed with brick or rock to add even more pizzazz. For homeowners interested in low maintenance, cement and other synthetic siding materials are less likely to rot than wood and could be the ideal option.
Synthetics can be useful and simple, and they provide a cost-effective way to change the look of your home’s exterior drastically. However, if your home has a lot of historic value, you might want to stick with natural materials that are in keeping with the character of the house and the neighborhood.

“I am a big proponent of natural materials,” says architect Brad Heppner. While synthetic materials follow trends, the natural versions have proven themselves over hundreds of years. Sometimes homeowners are too quick to cover an exterior with a new layer and end up losing much of the detail of the original face. When Heppner moved into his 1920s bungalow in Decatur, he immediately removed the vinyl siding, and underneath he found all sorts of interesting details that had been hidden by the siding.

Possibly one of the most overlooked materials for exteriors is stucco. Due to some not-so-good synthetic stucco products several years ago, stucco today has a bad rap in Atlanta. However, real hard-coat stucco can be a sleek and low maintenance option when installed properly.

Sturdy support
When considering exterior materials, remember that the outer walls are more than just the frosting on the cake. How those walls are constructed can have an important effect on the strength and insulation of the home. To create an extremely tight envelope that will make for a healthier home environment, exterior walls made from steel and concrete can do the trick. For example, Polysteel Southeast uses two layers of polystyrene held together by welded wire and steel studs. Reinforcing steel is added, and then concrete is poured into the structure. The resulting exterior walls can withstand winds of up to 250 miles per hour and supply R50 insulation.

This steel construction fits right in with the current trend toward green homes. Since the walls are made from nonorganic materials, there is no mold, mildew or risk of allergens coming through the walls, according to Victor Keller, vice president of sales for Polysteel Southeast. This solid exterior can reduce heating and cooling needs by up to 50 percent. The outer wall can be finished with any type of material, like siding, stone or brick, and the inside is finished with drywall just like other types of construction. Since Polysteel is actually exterior wall construction, it can make a great shell for new home construction or when adding an addition to your current home, but if you are looking to simply update your existing exterior, you’ll probably have to wait until you build again.

Adding accents
The materials on an exterior can take a home to a new level, but adding architectural accents will make the place truly unique. Consider incorporating elements like porches, columns and Board and Batten shutters with s-hooks, then play with window grids. According to Battle, one of the hottest window looks right now is to use grid patterns only on the top and clear glass on the bottom. Vertical grids also are popular, and even the traditional styles with lots of division in the window can always be found, even when it is not the latest trend.

Don’t forget to consider your guests when you are planning a renovation of the exterior. They are the ones who will get the most use out of your entryways, says Melissa Galt, an interior designer with Melissa Galt Inc. Be kind and add some shelter over doorways so no one will be left battling the elements while waiting for you to open the door.

Bring in color
With the materials and accents selected, color adds the final touch to a home exterior redo. “Exterior paint colors are so exciting to me right now,” Battle says. “They are warm, rustic and unique. We used to see and do all white trim—boring!” Actually, homeowners are mixing as many as four or five colors, painting the siding one color, using another for windows and trim, another for the door and shutters and yet another for the gutter. Of course, with the use of more color, the cost also will go up. But the impact of the color might help a home sell more quickly.

Other materials are following suit when it comes to color. Red brick has taken a vacation from popularity and has been upstaged by browns and oranges. And while it has evolved from the once popular stacked stone look, rock looks good in just about any color, aside from the pink and red hues that have fallen out of favor.

Blending in
If you have decided that a new home exterior is in the cards, don’t forget to consider how it will blend with the neighborhood. “The exterior of your home needs to work within a loose framework of the neighborhood, but each house can have its own personality,” Galt says.

In fact, you might want your home to have a good dose of personality. Stomar recalls a client who changed a red brick house to stone simply because it did look like every other house in the neighborhood, and the stone made
it stand out.

In the end, it is the scale of the house more than anything that will make it fit seamlessly into the neighborhood. Materials are secondary, according to Heppner. On one street, you might find every architectural style and type of material, but if the houses are all similar in scale, they will complement
each other.

With so many options available, you have the freedom to turn your home exterior into the welcome mat that you have always dreamed of.