Oops, I guess I don't know what I"m doing!

I don't know why you think hardieplank would be more maintenance than regular wood siding. It is much much less. I'm in a harsh paint climate and painted my house that has hardie a few years ago and also painted the wood siding on the garage at the same time. The hardie looks freshly painted the wood siding needs paint again soon. The cost between the two wasn't a huge difference.

I like the house the way it is shown with just lapsiding and no stone.

I definitely don't want Hardi OR wood... I am considering VINYL cedar siding - just looks like vinyl. It's made by Certainteed and Alcoa if you have ever heard of either of them.

If I was going to do something that required painting, I would definitely go with the hardie, I have heard great things about it... but we are looking for 0 mait. materials.

I also think it looks ok with just siding, but DH is adamant about some stone, dimension, etc... ANd since I get to pick everything inside... LOL

OK maybe I misread your open to use: siding, board & batten, vinyl cedar siding.

Didn't realize that the first ones was vinyl too. I still think all siding looks good with that style house.

i always like copper flashing. honestly, if you just left it as is it would be lovely still.

hardiplank more maintenance than wood? not a chance. i'd take it over wood any day. GL with your house, it's really nice.

It looks great as is, there is stone on the foundation of the porch, would that be enough for him? :)

Hi,

Love your home style. I am posting a picture of our new construction below, as it is similar in some respects. We will also be having a simple white porch, that isn't constructed yet. The siding we used is Certainteed Monogram vinyl (herringbone color). To add some interest, we used Certainteed's matching shakes under the porch and in the peaks. Our builder highlighted the shakes in the peaks with white vinyl below each peak. We're really happy with how it looks. I wish our photo was updated so you could see it. We also used some brick around the base of the porch and for the porch step. The siding is finished now, but I don't have an updated picture. I will get one soon, but you get the idea. We like the traditional look of the home and didn't want to use a whole lot of stone or brick. Some people use shakes in a different color to add more interest, but we prefer the monochromatic appearance. There are a lot of things you could do.

Jan

{{gwi:1482293}}

If there's enough slope to your land, and you're not doing a slab on grade foundation, you could end up with a fair amount of area to do the stone at the base of the house. Esp. at that left side (not the garage side).

I've seen the garage front done entirely in stone, but to me it is a detraction from the house. DH needs to see photos of it. You can mock them up yourself in a home design software package and play with the various choices.

Are you in an area where they still allow vinyl siding? Some counties here have ordinances against it because of the danger to firefighters from the toxic fumes when it burns.

Are you in a humid climate? If so, expect annual washing with a bleach solution of the exterior to remove mildew/algae, esp. on the north side of the house. Cover all your plants and grass since the bleach kills them. I've seen them here look awful in one year whereas even the masonite type sidings still looked good.

Lovely house.

We used certainteed momogram, in Granite gray. I can't say enough good things about that siding!! It is strong and easy to work with. Plus it is VERY color-fast!! We started this house about 4 years ago (and sided part of the front then). I just finished siding the front this past weekend and was amazed to see that the siding that had been in place for 4 years had not faded at all. It was still a perfect match with the new siding.

My DH sells and installs Cultured Stone and I really like it. We have a fair amount on our current house. However, I feel that the style of your home does not lend itself to stone. I would leave it as it is because I think it has loads of class and style. If you look closely at the photo you will see stone at the foundation under the porch. I have seen similar homes with that feature and it is stunning. Just make sure the stone runs down almost to the soil line so you won't have "hanging" stone and then the concrete foundation showing.

As pinktoes said, doing the face of the garage would be too much of a distraction and actually focuses attention on the part of the house you don't want to be a focal point. Draw attention to that beautiful front porch and with the stone foundation you would achieve that.

And, please, if your DH insists on putting stone somewhere, don't place it on the top gables above the porch. Architecturally, stone should never be floating anywhere on a home. Where it is put, there should be stone all the way down to the foundation. That is why I say your homes doesn't lend itself to stone. Without putting a full face of stone on the house, there is no easy way to accent it.

Another option is a wainscoting around the front and sides. I still think it looks better without it, but if your DH insists ...

Our current house has Canexel 9" Ced R Vue siding. It looks good and doesn't require any maintenance. It's been 12 years and there is no obvious signs of age or wear.

Oops, I meant to post a picture of the Canexel. This is a colour they no longer offer. They have something that replaced it that is a warmer colour. Sorry the siding isn't the main feature of the photo!

Here is a link that might be useful: canexel siding

I think it would look okay if you had stone on the entire middle section from the gable all the way down to surround the front door area. So, the stone would sit behind the roof of the front porch, if that makes sense. I think the front entry would be more dramatic with the stone around the door. Speaking of the door, are you considering a different color than black for it? It sort of disappears now!
We're using a small amount of vinyl cedar shakes for our dormer windows. They are from Nailite...they look very realistic.
I'm in agreement with the other posters...this house really doesn't scream out that it should have stone....

cute dogs (& kid)! We have a chocolate too...12 years old and still completely out of control :)

I think the house looks perfect with just the siding. It has very clean and classic farmhouse lines. Sometimes less is more. By keeping the exterior finish simple, the design elements of the house become the focal points.

Looking again, I think a change of materials is gonna make the facade way, way too busy. But personal taste is tricky. The low-tech way is to take your color photo and cut and paste magazine cutouts of stone in different configurations. Then let DH look at it.

Maybe he'd settle for stone on the foundation and a low stone-wrapped concrete wall somewhere out front (if he needs still more stone).

If he fails to see the busyness of it, then be happy that you get to choose the interior. You'll spend much more time there than looking at the front facade.

As Dixie suggested! (forgive the sloppy photoshop, I did it quickly)

I love what Lindy did. It looks great!!! Thats what I would do if it was my house.

Nice job! But now my eye is drawn to the stonework immediately, rather than the flow of the house. On the other hand, it really accentuates your front entrance. My vote would be for the plain one, but I like the house either way.

Looks like an after-thought. But less so than anything else I can think of. I could live with it.

If you just have to put stone of the front, I love what Lindy has shown. But honeslty....the house just as it was shown originally is perfectly lovely. The stone foundation is wonderful and so is the color of the siding. Nice house!!

What would I do with this exterior? Nothing. Not a darn thing, it's gorgeous the way it is.

Amy

I wish I had Photoshop! :( THat's amazing! AND thanks to your suggestions/reasoning - DH is considering skipping the stone! I kind of want SOME stone too, but again, just don't see where to put it! I also think it would be ok just plain. Just to follow up, here are 2 more pics of the same house. What do you think now?

I think the front looks great with the stone - I say go for it!!!

I think the house is lovely without the stone but if hubby has to have his stone I would pick the second picture. I don't like it when the stone is only along the front. It seems like such drastic change when you go around the corner.

If you want a more classic look, then leave the house alone. If you want it to look like "today" (which 10 years from now we will all remember as the time when everyone was putting stone on their classis designs), then add the stone. I like your second photo better.

If cost and water intrusion are issues, you will increase cost and the possibility for water intrusion at that roof/stone juncture on the second floor.

If both you and DH want stone, the second photo looks nice. Just be sure to pick a stone that is not too busy (the ledgestone in the photo is a nice choice) and coordinate the stone with the siding and shutters. The first photo is a cooler combination with the white siding and black shutters. The second photo is a much warmer combination with tan siding, cinnamon colored shutters and an earth tone blend stone. If you go with a white siding, look for stone in gray blends.

liptonjil-I like stone-Lord its all over the front of my house-but I have to agree with pinktoes. The house looks very "I could have been here for 2 yrs or 50 yrs" in the first pic-just classic. I would definitely leave it alone. To satisfy DH (which only heaven knows I have had to do every daggone day here) I would add some nice stone raised beds or walkway or something. Beautiful house!

I prefer the house without the stone (except I love it at the foundation), and I also prefer the windows of the first house the best. The Palladian window looks too formal for this type of home, which takes away from it, IMO. I think the first house is lovely!

Quit messing with this house! It's great just as it is, in the original photo. No "stone". No Paladian window, just the little "eyebrow" trim. This is farmhouse classic.

If you don't like the plain siding, there's "fishscale". (But I like the plain for its classic style.)

Why does this discussion remind me of when my mother gave me a Toni Home Permanent?

I agree, personally I wouldn't change a thing from the original. I hadn't noticed the Paladian windows in the second photo and I feel that they would seriously date the home in a few years. My number one option would be to leave it as is and do the stone on the foundation to appease DH. My second option would be to add the stone at the front but don't change the windows. Building a home as a couple does require some give and take, so you need to gauge exactly how adamant your DH is on having a stone front. In this home, a little stone goes a long way.

I also would not add stone. I like the stone on the foundation and the only other thing I would do would be to loose the siding on the chimney and make that stone. That is what we did. Agree, less is more. I love the clean lines of your home as it is--it is beautiful.
Jo
Our house (sorry, chimney is obscured):

I like the house best with just siding. Could use the shingle siding under the porch area but I'd prefer it all be the regular siding.

One thing I noticed on the siding was the original picture showed a wide white siding strip along the bottom edge of the garage wall and I like it better with this strip (looks more finished) than without it.

Would love to see nice big wide stone steps and pavers instead of regular white concrete sidewalk. I'd use stone too to make raised beds around the house.

I like the look of the house as very classic and simple.

not loving the stone.

Please take no offense here, but the more I look at your most recent picture the more I think "now this is something you could find in a production builder's subdivision." (That's not a compliment in my mind.)

The palladian window is just so architecturally inappropriate to your original design that I hope you'll rethink it. The original design did deviate from its style, with the little gabled add-on over the front entry porch and with the curve-topped window above there. But it was just a little freshening up of the style. Anything else is going too far astray. IMHO

A quick review of the 3 elevations...Okay, so I don't like the stonework just under the porch roof. I do kind of like the stone on the entire middle gable. I agree that the center window on the first house looks better than the changes that have been made to the others. I also like the little porch roof kick out (I'm not sure of the architectural term for it, but it is slightly elevated over the stairs.)shown in the first plan. I would also caution you to keep the returns on the garage the size shown on the first picture you provided. You'll notice when you look at the other two that both have differently sized returns. IMHO, the last one where the returns just barely turn looks ridiculous.
Also, I do not like the addition of the circle top transom to the top window in the bonus room (2nd story of the garage...usually a bonus room).

Okay, so I'll be the lone voice here. I like the stone. I think that this house plan looks like a subdivision home regardless of the finishes that you use...probably because I see this plan or something similar to it in every subdivision within 50 miles of my home. However, I think of that as a compliment. I believe that this house would fit anywhere in America...that is the beauty of this style of house- AND the reason why production builders build them! They appeal to everyone and have good curb appeal.

Oh, and back to my original comments...if you do not do stone around the front entry, I think you really need to use a brighter paint or heavier trim around the door. The entryway does not pop at all, especially as it sits under the porch.