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  1. House Exterior
  2. Number of floors: 2

Contemporary Two Floor House Exterior Ideas and Designs

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Graham St. Residence
Graham St. Residence
REdesign.buildREdesign.build
Photographer: Mark Herboth
Inspiration for a large and gey contemporary two floor detached house in Raleigh with mixed cladding.
Laurel Way
Laurel Way
Guerin Design + DevelopmentGuerin Design + Development
William Maccollum, Art Grey Photography
This is an example of a contemporary two floor house exterior in Los Angeles.
Bowling Green Residence
Bowling Green Residence
Hsu McCulloughHsu McCullough
Front facade from street. Planting design by contractor. Photo by Clark Dugger
This is an example of a beige and large contemporary two floor detached house in Los Angeles with mixed cladding, a flat roof and a shingle roof.
Barn Raising
Barn Raising
Legacy Construction Northeast LLCLegacy Construction Northeast LLC
Carol Kurth Architecture, PC and Marie Aiello Design Sutdio, Peter Krupenye Photography
Design ideas for an expansive and gey contemporary two floor house exterior in New York with stone cladding.
Denver Design Showhome
Denver Design Showhome
Teri Fotheringham PhotographyTeri Fotheringham Photography
Teri Fotheringham Photography
Design ideas for a beige contemporary two floor house exterior in Denver.
Lancaster Timber Frame Cocalico Creek Residence
Lancaster Timber Frame Cocalico Creek Residence
tippetts/weaver architects, inc.tippetts/weaver architects, inc.
Toby Richards Photography www.tobyrichardsphoto.com
Photo of a brown contemporary two floor house exterior in Philadelphia with stone cladding.
Reynolds Home Tour
Reynolds Home Tour
Jason SnyderJason Snyder
Photo: Jason Snyder © 2013 Houzz
Photo of a green contemporary two floor house exterior in Other.
Casey Key Guest House
Casey Key Guest House
Sweet Sparkman ArchitectsSweet Sparkman Architects
Greg Wilson, George Cott, William Speer
This is an example of a contemporary two floor house exterior in Tampa.
Contemporary Woodland
Contemporary Woodland
Julie Moir Messervy Design Studio (JMMDS)Julie Moir Messervy Design Studio (JMMDS)
JMMDS created a woodland garden for a contemporary house on a pond in a Boston suburb that blurs the line between traditional and modern, natural and built spaces. At the front of the house, three evenly spaced fastigiate ginkgo trees (Ginkgo biloba Fastigiata) act as an openwork aerial hedge that mediates between the tall façade of the house, the front terraces and gardens, and the parking area. New ledge-like stones are placed to bring the feel of the existing ledges into a new front garden bed. Photo: Bill Sumner.
Bunny Lane
Bunny Lane
Heliotrope ArchitectsHeliotrope Architects
Sean Airhart
This is an example of a brown contemporary two floor house exterior in Seattle with wood cladding and a pitched roof.
Green Built Modern
Green Built Modern
Kirsten Robertson 425Kirsten Robertson 425
FJU Photography
Photo of a contemporary two floor house exterior in Seattle with wood cladding.
Back Facade with White Cedar Shingles
Back Facade with White Cedar Shingles
Jeff King & CompanyJeff King & Company
This high durability exterior requires no painting or maintenance over time due to the natural cedar shingles, untreated machiche wood decking, blue stone patio, aluminum clad windows, copper gutters and galvanized railings. Photography: Brian Mahany
Coan Waterfront Remodel, Camano Island WA
Coan Waterfront Remodel, Camano Island WA
Dan Nelson, Designs Northwest ArchitectsDan Nelson, Designs Northwest Architects
Entry side. Photography by Ian Gleadle.
Medium sized and multi-coloured contemporary two floor detached house in Seattle with mixed cladding, a lean-to roof and a metal roof.
Exterior View, Backyard
Exterior View, Backyard
ODS ArchitectureODS Architecture
Backyard view shows the house has been expanded with a new deck at the same level as the dining room interior, with a new hot tub in front of the master bedroom, outdoor dining table with fireplace and overhead lighting, big French doors opening from dining to the outdoors, and a fully equipped professional kitchen with sliding windows allowing passing through to an equally fully equipped outdoor kitchen with Big Green Egg BBQ, grill and deep-fryer unit.
Texas Residence
Texas Residence
Domiteaux Garza ArchitectureDomiteaux Garza Architecture
Charles Smith Photography
Photo of a contemporary two floor house exterior in Dallas.
Robin Road - Hillsborough CA
Robin Road - Hillsborough CA
Dennis Mayer - PhotographerDennis Mayer - Photographer
Dennis Mayer Photography
Photo of a large and brown contemporary two floor house exterior in San Francisco with mixed cladding and a flat roof.
Urbanfront Terano
Urbanfront Terano
Urban FrontUrban Front
A Terano design from Urbanfront, finished in a stain to compliment the dark window frames and architectual features, contrasting well with the rendered finish of the walls.
Balboa Island Residence
Balboa Island Residence
lohrbachstudiolohrbachstudio
Inspiration for a white contemporary two floor house exterior in Orange County.
Monopoly House - Exterior
Monopoly House - Exterior
Demerly ArchitectsDemerly Architects
Photo by Greg Murphey
Design ideas for a medium sized contemporary two floor house exterior in Indianapolis with a pitched roof.
Tree House-Kiawah Island
Tree House-Kiawah Island
The Anderson Studio of Architecture & DesignThe Anderson Studio of Architecture & Design
Photo Credit: Holger Hobenaus Description: The owners of this home travel extensively and appreciate the great outdoors. Global travels shaped their desire for a home that embraces nature. The bridge connecting the sleeping and living structures allows cool ocean breezes to pass from the marsh to the front yard; decks and stairs to pool and terrace visually connect inside and out. Most walls from the street are solid, providing privacy, yet they open to rooms of glass, timber and soaring ceilings with views of Bass and Cinder Creeks and Folly Island.

Contemporary Two Floor 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.
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