SubscribeSign In
All Photos/exterior/building type : house

Exterior House Design Photos and Ideas

Merritt Amanti Palminteri and Rogers Hawley revamped their Monterey bungalow without expanding its footprint.
You arrive at the Barn Gallery via a meandering driveway through native woodland of Fir, Pine and Alder. Twelve species of Bamboo and several different ornamental grasses integrated with wildflowers will become more evident as the natural landscaping matures. The Bamboo nearest to the house is in spiral galvanized pots fabricated from the left over culvert used for the pre-filtration tower located near the rain storage tank.
The Barn Gallery faces southwest to a secluded waterfront bluff, and is surrounded by 4 acres of woodland and a private meadow. Collection and filtration of rain water, and a focus on natural landscaping are integral parts of the Barn Gallery sustainable design philosophy. The rain garden (foreground) functions as a natural filtration system for stormwater runoff headed to the channel below, and is one of the most talked-about features.
Pablo designed his home with simplicity in mind, opting for simple geometric forms and a minimal color and material palette.
Monika and Darren Bennett worked with SM Studio on their custom home in Vancouver, B.C. The main house has 2703 square feet, plus a 514 square foot garage/studio on the rear alley, with a courtyard and pool in between the two buildings.
“There is an enormous amount of glass here,” laughs Vanbesien—so much so that the design team struggled to find enough wall space to mount the heat pump.
Copper cladding will patina over time. Horizontally articulated windows and standing seams give the facade a sleek, streamlined presence.
LA-based commerical director Jared Eberhardt purchase this desert property near Joshua Tree just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It contained a small, downtrodden house that needed a full renovation to become habitable. Over the course of the pandemic, Jared transformed it into a midcentury-inspired getaway that combines the original 1958 house with a fresh, new addition.
SHED also installed a large dormer on this side of the building to fully accommodate the new upper level plan, and get views of the apple orchard on the other side of the building.
SHED converted the side door into the front door, adding a new entry sequence with a patio, landscaping, stairs, and a metal awning to protect the porch. Wide stairs and a patio lead down to new sliding glass door in the basement, which now has utility spaces and a media room/office. Many of the original window openings were kept on this façade and given new Andersen E-Series units. Two smaller openings were bricked in.
This thatch-roofed brick cottage in Nieby, Germany, was originally built by tenant farmers or crofters from a nearby estate in the late 1800s. It stands on a small triangular plot of land surrounded by barley fields and faces toward the Geltinger Birk nature reserve. The home’s street-facing facade was preserved and restored with only a minimal, black-steel dormer window belying the more substantial alterations which open onto the private rear yard. A subtle black-framed addition containing an oak-lined living space is tucked under the thatched roof and opens onto a sunken timber terrace while large picture windows are cut into the historic brick volume in areas which had been damaged from the previous additions.
The team painted the exterior brick after patching it in places, like the section left by the removal of the door. “We could find the exact texture of brick, that classic Roman running bond, but we could not find it in the right color,” says architect Kailin Gregga. Painting the entire exterior unifies the façade. Rich Brilliant Willing “Hoist” sconces in Black was also added.
Spyon Cop is located in the Cairngorms in Scotland, a large national park renowned for its natural beauty and access to outdoor activities like hillwalking, mountain biking and climbing. The house is located on a hilltop where the River Don bends, and overlooks beautiful views down two valleys. “Our clients wanted the house to feel like it belonged, so Spyon Cop is quite modest in its size and form, but also in its presence,” explains architect Kate Brown. “It sits gently on the land.”
The sod roof is angled to create a sweeping elevation on approach and is planted with grass tussocks cut from the hillside during construction. “The tussocks camouflage the house, melting it into the landscape,” explains architect Kate Brown.
Tasked with renovating a 1950s ranch in Northern California, Ogawa Fisher Architects revived an existing Japanese garden at the center of the home as a central organizing element. Low-slung, wide decks (inspired by the Japanese “engawa,” or elevated walkway) and deep roof soffits expand the living spaces, frame views, and blur the boundaries between inside and outside. The garden is the second of three courtyards that orients the various wings of the home from front to back, creating a vast sense of openness while also maintaining privacy from other areas of the house and the street.
The home is divided into different zones that are clearly represented in the built form. The ground floor is open, public and noisy; the first floor houses more private rooms for guests and children; and the new mansard roof extension has a
The deck was reconfigured to open on to the garden, as one enlarged and connected space.
The owners found this cabin, built in 1959, after looking to fix up a "weird 70s contemporary,
Named House With Gable, the 1,680-square-foot home has been beautifully designed by Austria–based studio mia2/ARCHITEKTUR. Constructed predominantly with native timber, a concrete foundation, and expansive glass windows, the modern dwelling also features a massive, eye-catching gable roof.
Inspired by the Ice Age rock formations found throughout the region, the Meteorite, so named for obvious reasons, is a faceted dwelling designed by Kivi and Tuuli Sotamaa, the brother-and-sister team behind Ateljé Sotamaa.
Sitting on a plateau over the rolling landscape of rural Quebec, the residence comprises three joined, gable roof structures, each oriented differently. It takes inspiration from the local farmhouses and barns of the area, whose steep rooflines help shed snow in the winter, and whose wood-clad facades traditionally used lumber from local trees.
Composed of overlapping cubes of different sizes, the Gjøvik house by Danish firm Norm Architects gracefully embraces its hillside terrain—naturally blending in with its stunning surroundings near Mjøsa Lake an hour north of Oslo.
HR Design Department refurbished the original wood siding and painted it in Sherwin Williams Snowbound. New flagstone pavers and gravel make the yard more drought tolerant.
On the exterior, floating steel siding shields the home from the elements while allowing fresh air to flow in and out.
<span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">A Chicago-based firm known for preserving cultural landmarks builds a refined weekend home on Lake Michigan’s southern shore.</span>
The volume of the first floor overhangs the entrance by three meters, covering the semi-public garden. “The overhead volume makes you feel quite small,” says Eduardo Ugalde from All Arquitectura. “Then, when you open the door and turn to the right, you discover a large open space.”
Antonio and Estela have been together since they were teenagers and today have two teenage children, a son and daughter. The couple built a business together and lived in rented accommodation but always dreamed of having their own home. As their company became increasingly successful, they had the opportunity to not just buy but create their dream home. Interestingly, for a home that values privacy, the front garden is conceived as a semi-public space.
Tantalus Studio coaxes a Palm Springs home into the 21st century with fresh finishes and a sublime palette plucked from the desert landscape.
Architect couple Andreas Lyckefors and Josefine Wikholm took an unusual approach to designing their dream home. While living in a small apartment with three young children, they bought a site in Askim, a popular suburb close to Gothenburg, where they designed a pair of mirrored residences under a single gable roof.
A simple floor plan emphasizes the rugged materiality of this elongated, cabin-style home designed by <span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">Augusto Fernández Mas of K+A Diseño and Mauricio Miranda of MM Desarrollos</span><span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;"> in Valle de Bravo.</span>
“We definitely wanted to preserve the character of the home and make sure that it always fits the neighborhood,” says designer Jenny Bassett. To that end, the team kept the front façade intact, only repainting and adding new landscaping. The fireplace in the living room was also retained, so wood is stored in the front yard for easy access.
Perched just above the edge of the Narrows, the house is an ideal place to live surrounded by the wild beauty of Ketchikan.
One of the most important aspects of the renovation was to achieve the same high quality of crafted finish that had defined the original building—and much of the budget was allocated to skilled craftsmen, bricklayers, and carpenters. “Obviously, this has a huge impact on a renovation project like this,” explains Thomas.
The bedroom is elevated around five meters above the forest floor, and the space beneath has—like the green roof—been given back to the Bushveld. “Naturally, this space is shadier than the surrounding forest, so it creates a different microclimate for different species to flourish in that area,” says architect Ant Vervoort. “It’s an area that we have cultivated.”
On the site of a former clinic, Kevin Veenhuizen Architects creates a peaceful family residence where plants and wildlife abound.
The compound was built on one of the Frio Cañon homesites along the Frio River—a ranch that’s been divided up into lots and developed with utilities. So while it’s rural, it also avoids some of the typical headaches of a remote location.
The rhythm of the slat wall (made from red cedar and stained to look prematurely weathered) is echoed in the shutter detailing on each window.
This wilderness sauna cabin in the west coast of Finland was built with 112-millimeter thick squrae logs, and has a 1,028-square-foot outdoor terrace.
A full-height, double-glazed window lets ample light into the secondary bedroom.
About 100 miles southwest of Mexico City, nine black concrete blocks in a forest clearing make up one family's holiday home. Designed by Fernanda Canales with landscaping by Claudia Rodríguez, Casa Bruma makes elegant use of a construction material that's commonplace in Latin America
The Hut rests peacefully on a bank overlooking the lake.
The prefab compact cabins that Summary designed for Syntony Hotels in Paradinha, Alvarenga, Arouca, Portugal, are made from concrete, pine, and glass.
“We need an architecture that generates and stores power, an architecture that harvests and recycles water, an architecture that reuses waste,” says Clinton Cole, the founder of CplusC, a design-build firm based in Sydney. “We need an architecture that produces fruits, vegetables, fish, and eggs. We need an architecture where nature and beauty exist symbiotically.” <span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">Clinton’s passion seems more urgent than ever against the backdrop of one of the worst bushfire seasons on record in Australia. Fittingly, he has designed a new home for himself, his partner, and their three children to be an eye-catching emblem for the cause. </span><span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">The three-level, 1,722-square-foot residence fills a wedge-shaped lot in an inner suburb of Sydney. With greenery spilling out of its facade and a working garden sprouting from the roof, it is a self-consciously verdant presence on an otherwise typical street</span><span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">.</span>
12345...126