Welcome Home: The Most Popular Exteriors on Houzz in 2016
People fell in love with these exterior home scenes
For all the time we spend enjoying our homes from the inside, there’s something so pleasing about coming home to a beautiful outside. Whether it’s a gorgeous paint color, careful landscaping or the invitation of a front porch seat, these 15 photos captivated users, making them the most popular exteriors uploaded to Houzz in 2016, as measured by saves to ideabooks. Which scene would you like to come home to?
14. Wintry fortress. The pointed peaks of this Minnesota home evoke the protected feel of a castle, but the wide brick driveway seems far more inviting than a moat. This mighty exterior looks built to withstand the harshest Midwestern storm.
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13. Seattle weather. Gray and black fit the bill for this Seattle home, which backs up to the beach. A bright red door frame provides cheer on those drizzly days.
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12. Bright and beachy. This home’s exterior looks designed to take advantage of the Southern California climate, with a living room wall that opens onto an outdoor dining area. White siding with blue trim keeps the mood a bit nautical.
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11. Taste of Tuscany. Both the colors and shapes of this Arizona exterior recall the architecture of Tuscany. A lavish row of flowers borders the stone walkway, offering an aromatic gift as well as a visual one.
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10. Warm contemporary. Earth tones, brick and glass combine to create a contemporary exterior that fits in well with the surrounding nature. The neutral color scheme and wood features work together to offer an organic feel.
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9. Lakeside farmhouse. Classic white siding looks sharp with black shutters and window millwork. Flower buckets and shades for the screened-in porch add red accents. It’s easy to imagine sitting on the porch for a spell.
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See more of this lakeside retreat
8. Snowy escape. This rustic cabin covered in snow looks like a cozy place to enjoy nature — by a warm fire indoors. Perhaps its tucked-into-the-snow placement contributed to its popularity.
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See more of this winter cabin
7. Southern cottage. This 680-square-foot guest cottage and interior design studio captivated many Houzz readers this year. With its simple lines and small footprint, it seems like the ideal retreat for some creative contemplation.
Paint: trim, Benjamin Moore White; shutters: Benjamin Moore Hale Navy; siding: custom blend of gray and blue
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Paint: trim, Benjamin Moore White; shutters: Benjamin Moore Hale Navy; siding: custom blend of gray and blue
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6. Open living. Black-trimmed glass doors open to an indoor-outdoor living space, with sofas and conversation spots in or out, whatever your fancy.
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5. Strong and modern. Warm wood tones and slate-toned horizontal panels complement and contrast in this modernist home. The horizontal patterns repeat in the double roof line and in the concrete slabs that form the walkway and the pony wall.
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4. Pool deck. There are plenty of places to sit on a hot day in this outdoor-centric layout, from balcony to swinging chair to dangling your feet in the pool. One of only three backyard scenes to crack the top 15, this setting appears made for lazy-day lounging.
Painted brick: Sherwin-Williams Creamy SW 7012
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Painted brick: Sherwin-Williams Creamy SW 7012
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Photo by Zack Benson
3. Travertine path. Special features of this Spanish-style home include a walkway of travertine set in mortar, an outdoor seating area that extends from the interior living room and a spiraling staircase visible from the entry door.
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3. Travertine path. Special features of this Spanish-style home include a walkway of travertine set in mortar, an outdoor seating area that extends from the interior living room and a spiraling staircase visible from the entry door.
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2. Fire pit. This private backyard with a fire pit surrounded by Adirondack chairs looks like a comfortable place to take in the evening air after a hard day at work. When the temperature dips, the warmly lit interior appears just as inviting.
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1. Lakeside modern. By far and away, this shot was the most popular exterior photo uploaded to Houzz in 2016. Readers appreciated the organic, modern forms in this exterior, in particular the stonework and dramatic windows.
Stonework: silver Fond Du Lac and charcoal stack ledge, Hedberg Landscape and Masonry; windows: Integrity, Marvin
More: Browse more exterior photos on Houzz
Stonework: silver Fond Du Lac and charcoal stack ledge, Hedberg Landscape and Masonry; windows: Integrity, Marvin
More: Browse more exterior photos on Houzz
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