@David McGee and @cpartist. Interested in your opinions, this thread is really interesting! We are thinking of doing a half board and batten design, where the b&b is on the 1st floor. The first picture is one of the only examples we've seen in person. Any thoughts on the 2 pictures of the design shown below? Should we flip the b&b to the 2nd floor? This design seems like a bold move, and having a hard time picturing how different color choices/configurations will look.

Thanks for the input again! I really appreciate you helping me think through it and giving such thoughtful insight! Robo- I really appreciate the time you took to make a mock-up with the clapboard going around the side! I think I prefer that look on the front and if we go with any board and batten, it would be on the front gables. I looked around at a bunch of houses online and reached the conclusion that I prefer the look of clapboard all around. To my eye, I agree with Olychick and that just changing the siding as you round the corner looks more like a cost cutting measure (or siding indecision, especially since we already did the back in clapboard!), rather than it having any kind of real impact as far as design is concerned. Hopefully we can come up with a plan to eventually add some interest to the front of the house, with some stone and some kind of accent in the gables. I'll have to come back and ask for some ideas for stone placement etc. The cantilevered bump-out has me a bit stumped! Olychick - would you mind sharing where you are from? Your shake sided house sounds really lovely! I don't think I've ever seen a fully shake sided house here. I did ask my parents if the trend in the northeast is to use different material on the front vs the sides and back and they said yes, but it is usually like we said - the nice stuff on the front and cheap on the rest. My dad is in real estate, so they definitely see some houses! I wonder if the same trends extend to pricier homes, though. We have some very large, gated mansion type homes near us. I'll have to start noticing their exterior choices and see if there is a difference.

I would agree with MSDG; the Hardie board and batten system is hard to beat if your going to paint and not stain. Cedar & clear redwood sidings will be the most expensive to install and maintain. Your next options would be paint grade material like Advantage (finger-jointed pine that is treated for rot and insects) which is also a good choice but I'm not sure what would be available in your area. I've also seen decent results with resawn plywood install directly over the exterior ply or OSB. The framing needs to be clean and flat but with thoughtful layout to keep the battens symetrical it can be very cost effective and clean with good primer and paint. did I say the Cedar and RW would be very expensive...

You get an exterior designer to draw what you want not your hubby and not your contractor and IMO you do nothing until you can see what this will look like. I agree all one siding material or for ever the addition will look like an add on. I like the idea of the portico but those windows need replacing and if you want the faarmhouse “look those shutters need to go. I have no idea whay an aluminum roof on the portico IMO it should match the rest of the roof.To be honest all this work will be hidden if you do not remove some of that overgrowth and replace it with foundation plantings. IMO all calpboard would be the perfect choice for siding everywhere and I would have done white . I need to see the stone for the cimney but IMO if farmhouse it the look you want don’t bother with the stone.