Designing a home can be a terrifying endeavor. The skilled professionals at HHDU design centers are here to lift the weight of the what seems like the world off of your shoulders. For many, when designing a home exterior, finding the balance between updated and trendy yet timeless can be one of the biggest bumps in the road.

Focusing on old, original and authentic textures that have proven to be timeless, with simple and adaptable accent colors, updated architecture, and updated adaptable body colors make for an ageless dream home.

The first decisions for exterior home colors are typically the roof shingle, metals (soffit, fascia, gutter, drip edge, flashing, etc.), windows, and window trim (banding). Some people will choose garage doors, front doors, and shutters, if any, at this time also. All of these items are your smaller accent colors. In comparison to your body colors, these sometimes seem minuscule, but they are actually an extremely vital contributor to the timelessness of the house.

The image below shows three vibrant yet quaint homes that have stood the test of time. 
Notice something about the smaller accents (shingles, metals, windows, etc.)? 
All of their trimming accents are white (windows, window trim and metals)
and their shingles are darker more even toned, solid colors including black, grey and brown. 

   

Old, original and authentic textures include horizontal lap siding, shaker shingles, wood, stone, and brick. Stucco can sometimes fall into this category as well, in desert climates. Any of these timeless textures can be found anywhere from an old pilgrim pioneer cottage, to the cobblestone streets of Annapolis, to thirty year old bungalows in California, to the new neighborhoods of your city. They have been in style for ages, and they aren’t going anywhere. These textures make up the body of the home.

The siding, shakes, wood, stucco, and brick are relatively adaptable 
and can be painted, re-colored, or stained as body color trends change. 

Stone and brick are typically more permanent, less adaptable body textures. However, there is something that can be done to lower the risk of having your dream home become outdated twenty years from now. Lighter, more varied, neutral tones are in the safe zone. A variety of lighter natural coloring and neutral tones will give you more to match to and create a sense of adaptability.

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