I’d like to add that we will also be trimming out the support columns under the deck and enclosed porch above because we want to beef them up a bit and make them stand out more.

Shingle-style is a uniquely American architectural style that originated in the 1880s. The houses, even quite large ones, maintained a horizontal continuity. While the pure style eschewed the detail of Victorian homes, Shingle-style was nonetheless applied to Victorian architecture as well as Arts & Crafts style homes. You won't go wrong with using shingles on your home's exterior.

Are you replacing all of the siding?

If the black is what you are thinking it looks scary to me. I would go for a lighter color and a more appropriate door.

I would not do shingles on the total house. I like this live edge cedar siding for the house. Blue IMO seems like a foreign color in the woods. I would select an earth tone.

I think black I stunning. Lots you can do mixing mostly black with wood accents and glass railings.

Has a very Vancouver Special vibe. It’s a common style of home here that’s been redone and fixed up.

@weatcoasthopeful THATS IT! I’ve never heard of that style before and I’ve been searching for over two years now! Thank you!

If you google Vancouver Special or go to the we love east Van site you will see tons of options. My friends house is the one in the big pic :)

For now we are thinking the front exposure will be shingles and then we will paint the rest of the house to match to save money. I’m not a giant fan of uneven siding options like live edge or jagged shingle layout. It gives me anxiety. Neither of our color choices are black. There’s a medium grey and a dark grey. It was cloudy when I took the pic so both look similar. However we will do black columns and railings with a wood tone decking on the decks and possibly some kind of decorative soffit brace at the peak or simple wood tone corbels along the soffits . I’m so excited to dig into the details about vancouver specials now that I know what they are! Thanks for the help.

When we built our house, not a van special, we wanted a dark grey but ended up with a light grey called storm. Try painting panels on your house of different colours. That helped us

Yeah that’s what I did on the second floor where the railings are. I used a whole quart of paint for each shade. The lighter one is super silvery in the sun but the darker one is perfection. I am considering using the lighter one on the bottom half under the deck and covered porch so that the door pops more since it’s such an extreme horizontal division on the house anyway.

Holy crap it’s expensive there!!!

I think you could go lighter on the light color. I think using it on the lower level will work well. Have you considered board and batten? You could use it with the shakes.

I may have missed it - but are you going to replace the door?

I‘ve never seen that style of architecture before @WestCoast Hopeful ! Very interesting!

We just painted all the siding ,on our MCM ranch , black and we have the 1950's stucco on the rest it has little pieces of black glass in it. I love the look of the black and would not hesitate to do black on your house but in no way does this house suit shakes anywhere . I love the mix of natural cedar and black but you need to have all the windows the same color too..for instance I would do all the gray in this pic cedar

Oh yes all the windows will be black edged. I LOVE black houses omg

I would have a to agree that shakes don’t fit the home at all

We are not planning on replacing the door. We are already insulating the upper porch and all those storm windows will go away and be replaced by a single, large window. The glass in the door has a nice Frank Lloyd wright style to it that I like.

Here’s the door

The fake log siding suggests they wanted a rustic woodsy version of whatever style they were trying to use.

Would not use shingles/shakes siding. Vertical board and batten siding could better fit a rustic woodsy setting and likely be more durable. While changing the siding might be a good time to consider whether this home needs more side insulation as well.

Though you didn't ask. ... You might consider extending -- "finishing" -- the roof right side of the roof, extending it over what is now the deck and then, as you redo the downstairs, also create upstairs a new (8' deep) deck all the way across the end of the house, left to right, above an equally enlarged downstairs (porch and deck covered) patio.

With part of the downstairs patio covered by a covered porch rather than just deck, that area will have more protection from the elements, potentially enabling you to place items on your patio you might not otherwise want to leave outdoors -- perhaps a small "outdoor" kitchen unit. you might want to consider creating a small screened porch downstairs in that corner as well.

We don’t have that kind of budget. It’s a re-siding / porch finish and that’s about it. We can do it if we wanted to but we don’t need to.

Also, where we live is like.... ALL RUSTIC. It’s the “thing” and there are so many houses that have it. We aren’t tied to fitting the house to the surrounding trees. Half the year we are also buried in a few feet of snow and the trees are bare. I’d rather have a statement house that has a more modern feel or unique design than yet another rustic house. It’s seriously the sticks up here.

I’m trying to sell my husband on board and batten but he’s got his heels dug in pretty hard. Plus we have a source for cedar shingles locally so that cuts down CONSIDERABLY on the cost, given the outrageous cost of lumber products now.

Would the local cedar source have other cedar choices, including cedar siding that isn't shingles that your husband might be willing to look at ?

Either way, I heard yesterday that building materials prices are coming down, so you might keep that in mind as you consider any price you've already been quoted ... should that quoted price come down as well.

If you've not yet decided on a finish for your cedar shingles, consider CWF w/UV protection specifically designed for cedar. Would not paint cedar and, if left untreated, cedar siding will turn black over time. IF stained and part of it is more exposed to sun, that part will fade over time.

Good luck on your project.

Ooh perhaps!! I’ll have to see where we go there to price stuff out