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Contemporary House Exterior Ideas and Designs

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ARIEL ELITE
ARIEL ELITE
Jim VaughanJim Vaughan
THE ARIEL ELITE, MODERN Bedrooms: 4–6 2nd Floor Master Baths: 4–6 Half Baths: 1–2 Dining Rooms: 1 Living Rooms: 1 Studies: 1 Lofts: 1 Square Feet: 4881 Garages: 2 Stories: 3 Features: En Suite, Open floor plan, Two-story foyer, Walk-in pantry
Camelback Mountain Glass House
Camelback Mountain Glass House
Stonecreek Building Company, Inc.Stonecreek Building Company, Inc.
Bill Timmerman
Gey contemporary two floor detached house in Phoenix with a flat roof.
Modernize old two story home, expand over existing garage
Modernize old two story home, expand over existing garage
J.T. DesignJ.T. Design
After Picture
This is an example of a large and brown contemporary two floor detached house in Seattle with mixed cladding, a pitched roof and a shingle roof.
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West Circle Residence
West Circle Residence
SHM ArchitectsSHM Architects
Photo of a beige contemporary two floor detached house in Dallas with a shingle roof.
Coolbinia Residence 2017
Coolbinia Residence 2017
Yael K & AssociatesYael K & Associates
Ron Tan
Beige contemporary render detached house in Other with three floors and a flat roof.
Martis Camp Lot 581
Martis Camp Lot 581
Kelly & Stone ArchitectsKelly & Stone Architects
Martis Camp Realty
Inspiration for a large and black contemporary detached house in Sacramento with three floors, mixed cladding and a flat roof.
The Cube House
The Cube House
Canvas HomesCanvas Homes
Photography by Luke Potter
Large contemporary detached house in Vancouver with three floors, mixed cladding, a flat roof and a mixed material roof.
Jackling Transformation
Jackling Transformation
TRG Architecture + Interior DesignTRG Architecture + Interior Design
Bernard Andre
Inspiration for a multi-coloured contemporary two floor detached house in San Francisco with mixed cladding and a flat roof.
Ross Moro House
Ross Moro House
Lanefab Design/BuildLanefab Design/Build
Photo: Martin Knowles
Photo of a gey and medium sized contemporary detached house in Vancouver with three floors, mixed cladding and a flat roof.
Noe Valley House
Noe Valley House
IwamotoScott ArchitectureIwamotoScott Architecture
photo, Bruce Damonte
Inspiration for a medium sized and brown contemporary detached house in San Francisco with three floors, wood cladding and a flat roof.
Задний фасад дома - вход на открытую террасу
Задний фасад дома - вход на открытую террасу
Олег ТощевОлег Тощев
Дом в поселке Клуб 20'71 был реконструирован на стадии строительства: переделан задний фасад и полностью изменена внутренняя планировка дома. Автор проекта реконструкции дома архитектор Олег Тощев, интерьеры дома разработаны совместно с дизайнером Ольгой Великородной, фото Юрий Климов
Wellfleet Modern House - Exterior
Wellfleet Modern House - Exterior
ZeroEnergy DesignZeroEnergy Design
This modern green home offers both a vacation destination on Cape Cod near local family members and an opportunity for rental income. FAMILY ROOTS. A West Coast couple living in the San Francisco Bay Area sought a permanent East Coast vacation home near family members living on Cape Cod. As academic professionals focused on sustainability, they sought a green, energy efficient home that was well-aligned with their values. With no green homes available for sale on Cape Cod, they decided to purchase land near their family and build their own. SLOPED SITE. Comprised of a 3/4 acre lot nestled in the pines, the steeply sloping terrain called for a plan that embraced and took advantage of the slope. Of equal priority was optimizing solar exposure, preserving privacy from abutters, and creating outdoor living space. The design accomplished these goals with a simple, rectilinear form, offering living space on the both entry and lower/basement levels. The stepped foundation allows for a walk-out basement level with light-filled living space on the down-hill side of the home. The traditional basement on the eastern, up-hill side houses mechanical equipment and a home gym. The house welcomes natural light throughout, captures views of the forest, and delivers entertainment space that connects indoor living space to outdoor deck and dining patio. MODERN VISION. The clean building form and uncomplicated finishes pay homage to the modern architectural legacy on the outer Cape. Durable and economical fiber cement panels, fixed with aluminum channels, clad the primary form. Cedar clapboards provide a visual accent at the south-facing living room, which extends a single roof plane to cover the entry porch. SMART USE OF SPACE. On the entry level, the “L”-shaped living, dining, and kitchen space connects to the exterior living, dining, and grilling spaces to effectively double the home’s summertime entertainment area. Placed at the western end of the entry level (where it can retain privacy but still claim expansive downhill views) is the master suite with a built-in study. The lower level has two guest bedrooms, a second full bathroom, and laundry. The flexibility of the space—crucial in a house with a modest footprint—emerges in one of the guest bedrooms, which doubles as home office by opening the barn-style double doors to connect it to the bright, airy open stair leading up to the entry level. Thoughtful design, generous ceiling heights and large windows transform the modest 1,100 sf* footprint into a well-lit, spacious home. *(total finished space is 1800 sf) RENTAL INCOME. The property works for its owners by netting rental income when the owners are home in San Francisco. The house especially caters to vacationers bound for nearby Mayo Beach and includes an outdoor shower adjacent to the lower level entry door. In contrast to the bare bones cottages that are typically available on the Cape, this home offers prospective tenants a modern aesthetic, paired with luxurious and green features. Durable finishes inside and out will ensure longevity with the heavier use that comes with a rental property. COMFORT YEAR-ROUND. The home is super-insulated and air-tight, with mechanical ventilation to provide continuous fresh air from the outside. High performance triple-paned windows complement the building enclosure and maximize passive solar gain while ensuring a warm, draft-free winter, even when sitting close to the glass. A properly sized air source heat pump offers efficient heating & cooling, and includes a carefully designed the duct distribution system to provide even comfort throughout the house. The super-insulated envelope allows us to significantly reduce the equipment capacity, duct size, and airflow quantities, while maintaining unparalleled thermal comfort. ENERGY EFFICIENT. The building’s shell and mechanical systems play instrumental roles in the home’s exceptional performance. The building enclosure reduces the most significant energy glutton: heating. Continuous super-insulation, thorough air sealing, triple-pane windows, and passive solar gain work together to yield a miniscule heating load. All active energy consumers are extremely efficient: an air source heat pump for heating and cooling, a heat pump hot water heater, LED lighting, energy recovery ventilation (ERV), and high efficiency appliances. The result is a home that uses 70% less energy than a similar new home built to code requirements. OVERALL. The home embodies the owners’ goals and values while comprehensively enabling thermal comfort, energy efficiency, a vacation respite, and supplementary income. PROJECT TEAM ZeroEnergy Design - Architect & Mechanical Designer A.F. Hultin & Co. - Contractor Pamet Valley Landscape Design - Landscape & Masonry Lisa Finch - Original Artwork European Architectural Supply - Windows Eric Roth Photography - Photography
Mississippi ModernE
Mississippi ModernE
Werschay HomesWerschay Homes
Lynnette Bauer - 360REI
Design ideas for a large and brown contemporary two floor detached house in Minneapolis with wood cladding, a flat roof and a mixed material roof.
McClendon
McClendon
StudioMET ArchitectsStudioMET Architects
This is an example of a medium sized and gey contemporary two floor brick detached house in Houston with a flat roof.
Rivo Alto Residence 2
Rivo Alto Residence 2
Choeff Levy Fischman, P.A.Choeff Levy Fischman, P.A.
Inspiration for a white contemporary two floor render detached house in Miami.
Stacked Modern
Stacked Modern
Hefferlin & Kronenberg ArchitectsHefferlin & Kronenberg Architects
Morgan Nowland
Large and multi-coloured contemporary two floor detached house in Other with mixed cladding and a flat roof.
Viola E
Viola E
Prodigy Homes Inc.Prodigy Homes Inc.
Karen Jackson Photography
Large and white contemporary two floor render detached house in Seattle with a hip roof and a shingle roof.
Thornwood Dr
Thornwood Dr
M House DevelopmentM House Development
This is an example of a beige contemporary two floor detached house in Chicago with mixed cladding, a hip roof and a shingle roof.
Martis Camp Retreat
Martis Camp Retreat
TINEKE TRIGGSTINEKE TRIGGS
This is an example of a medium sized and brown contemporary two floor detached house in San Francisco with mixed cladding and a flat roof.

Contemporary House Exterior Ideas and Designs

With so much attention devoted to interior design, the exterior of a home can often get overlooked, but as the first thing that welcomes both us and our guests, it is worth devoting some time tending to the outside of your house. Furthermore, focusing on the contemporary kerb appeal of your home can add significant value if and when it comes time to sell up. Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian homes, with their bay windows and elegant plasterwork, often benefit from built in architecture advantages, but even if your house design is unassuming from the outside, small decorative and structural improvements to the contemporary exterior of your home can equal huge impact. Key areas of building design to focus on are the front door, the driveway or approach to your home, the porch area, the windows, the facade and the roof. And just a note of caution... before any significant contemporary exterior architecture gets under way, check first whether you need planning permission for your exterior house designs– this applies particularly to listed houses or buildings in a conservation area, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Take a look through the house designs, exterior architecture and images of front doors and driveways on Houzz to inspire your facade or building design, or read on for a few more pointers when it comes to redesigning your exterior.

How do I give my home an exterior facelift?

You may feel like your home’s exterior architecture is unalterable but there are a wide range of options available to improve its external building design, no matter what raw materials you begin with. Begin with the front door and the pathway or driveway that lead up to your home as these are easy to improve without huge budgets. A driveway or pathway must be kept neat and tidy and you can consider replacing tarmac with attractive tiles or gravel. Repainting or replacing the fence, wall or gate that fronts your home can also offer an overnight transformation without breaking the bank. An area to not cut corners however is the front door, where spending a little extra can make a huge difference in quality, and painting it in a colour you love will pay you back every time it welcomes you home! Updating your windows can be a significant building design project but it is one that has benefits both inside and out, as well as potentially saving you money on energy later. If you are lucky enough to have period windows such as bay windows with sash or leaded windows, then maintaining them should be a top priority, but if they are beyond repair then there are plenty of window professionals that will offer modern, double or triple glazed equivalents that could still work in your bay window. Working with uPVC? Not a problem – the best improvement you can make is to ensure your windows are the right size and shape for your home's overall proportions.

How do I update my home’s facade?

When it comes to updating the facade of your home, painting is the quickest and most affordable way to achieve a contemporary makeover, and if you opt for a colour other than white it can really make a statement (although sticking within the palette of your road and local area is advisable). A makeover that requires a bit more patience but can add romance and character to the most mundane of homes is to adorn the walls with climbing plants – delicate trailing wisteria is ever a British favourite, whilst roses and jasmine offer fragrance as well as beauty. If you’re looking to make more significant changes to the exterior of your home, whether that is adding timber cladding, hanging tiles, installing a bay window or rendering, then you should first check whether your house designs require planning permission. A New England style wood boarded home is beautiful and bright, but remember that it will need frequent repainting if it is going to stay looking its best, whilst stucco render or Tyrolean render can tidy up a home's exterior but think carefully before covering over original brickwork.

What should I consider if building a home from scratch?

If you’re working with an architect on a brand new build, the options are endless when it comes to deciding on the exterior architecture. But first things first, you will need to check planning permissions, building regulations and local restrictions, such as being in a conservation area, to make sure your plans for your exterior house designs will meet stipulations. If you are building in a street with predominantly Victorian facades, with bay windows and side returns, you might need to ensure your house designs fit in with the rest of the homes on the street, but if you’re building in a more remote area you’ll probably have more freedom for your building design. There are many architectural decisions to make, do you want a flat, gabled, hipped, mansard or perhaps even a curved roof? Do you want bay windows? Crittall windows? Perhaps external shutters? Do you want glass walls? Do you want wood cladding? Do you want a very symmetrical building design or something more contemporary? The decision is all yours but remember to consider the benefits of various materials over others and the effects that some architecture styles will have on everyday life, for example glass walls will look attractive but will give you less privacy. Your architect or builder will be able to guide you through the best contemporary exterior architecture choices for your house designs.
Lot 16
Lot 16
Summerwell HomesSummerwell Homes
Contemporary detached house in Seattle with three floors and mixed cladding.
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