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Small Contemporary House Exterior Ideas and Designs

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Ingersoll Road
Ingersoll Road
McLaren ExcellMcLaren Excell
corten
Photo of a small and red contemporary house exterior in London with three floors, metal cladding and a flat roof.
Aralia Black
Aralia Black
Steven Allen Designs, LLCSteven Allen Designs, LLC
Design + Built + Curated by Steven Allen Designs 2021 - Custom Nouveau Bungalow Featuring Unique Stylistic Exterior Facade + Concrete Floors + Concrete Countertops + Concrete Plaster Walls + Custom White Oak & Lacquer Cabinets + Fine Interior Finishes + Multi-sliding Doors
Pearlhaus
Pearlhaus
Frits de Vries Architect Ltd.Frits de Vries Architect Ltd.
Small contemporary detached house in Vancouver with three floors, mixed cladding and a flat roof.
Clarendon House
Clarendon House
Benedict DesignBenedict Design
The rear extension is expressed as a simple gable form. The addition steps out to the full width of the block, and accommodates a second bathroom in addition to a tiny shed accessed on the rear facade. The remaining 2/3 of the facade is expressed as a recessed opening with sliding doors and a gable window.
Seattle Boat House
Seattle Boat House
UserUser
A uniform and cohesive look adds simplicity to the overall aesthetic, supporting the minimalist design. The A5s is Glo’s slimmest profile, allowing for more glass, less frame, and wider sightlines. The concealed hinge creates a clean interior look while also providing a more energy-efficient air-tight window. The increased performance is also seen in the triple pane glazing used in both series. The windows and doors alike provide a larger continuous thermal break, multiple air seals, high-performance spacers, Low-E glass, and argon filled glazing, with U-values as low as 0.20. Energy efficiency and effortless minimalism create a breathtaking Scandinavian-style remodel.
The BSB Laneway House
The BSB Laneway House
Deviate Design Inc.Deviate Design Inc.
We designed the BSB Laneway House to fit a narrow (7.6m / 25’) lot and achieve 3 goals: 1. Maximize interior living space; 2. Preserve privacy between the suite and its existing neighbours; and 3. Meet all bylaws without relaxations. The massing follows the side and height chamfering setback rules, leaving us with some creative solutions to fit everything in. We stacked 2 of the 3 parking stalls within a single-wide garage using a lift & pit system for any-time access to either vehicle. Next to the garage is the third stall, which recesses the entry away from the lane and can double as a patio. The main floor hosts the front entry and master suite, both filled with natural light from the perimeter transom windows that are high enough to limit sight lines to/from neighbours. Linear millwork closets provide ample storage and concealed utilities. The upper level is a wide-open floor plan, perfect for entertaining. Skylights and large windows at either end flood the space with light throughout the day. The raised kitchen and dining space leads out to the rooftop terrace above the garage. There’s even an optional basement for even more usable space and storage!
A house in Yarema
A house in Yarema
E HOUSE ARCHITECTSE HOUSE ARCHITECTS
Design ideas for a small contemporary two floor detached house in Other with wood cladding, a pitched roof and a metal roof.
The Shack
The Shack
Quin Wyatt Building DesignerQuin Wyatt Building Designer
Peter Heffernen
This is an example of a small and gey contemporary bungalow detached house in Melbourne with metal cladding and a pitched roof.
Exterior View
Exterior View
MATA ArchitectsMATA Architects
Peter Landers Photography
Photo of a small and black contemporary terraced house in London with three floors, wood cladding, a flat roof and a green roof.
Exterior Rear View
Exterior Rear View
ODS ArchitectureODS Architecture
Rear facade is an eight-foot addition to the existing home which matched the line of the adjacent neighbor per San Francisco planning codes. Facing a large uphill backyard the new addition houses an open kitchen below with large sliding glass pocket door while above is an enlarged master bedroom suite. Combination of stucco and wood breaks up the facade as do the new Fleetwood aluminum windows.
Chelsea ADU - Dusk
Chelsea ADU - Dusk
Davey McEathron ArchitectureDavey McEathron Architecture
Leonid Furmansky
Inspiration for a black and small contemporary two floor detached house in Austin with wood cladding and a flat roof.
Motorcaoch CC Lot 93
Motorcaoch CC Lot 93
Desert Isles Inc.Desert Isles Inc.
Design ideas for a small and beige contemporary bungalow house exterior in Other with stone cladding, a hip roof and a tiled roof.
Tiny Home
Tiny Home
Arbor South ArchitectureArbor South Architecture
Erik Bishoff Photography
Inspiration for a small and gey contemporary bungalow tiny house in Other with wood cladding, a lean-to roof and a metal roof.
Ampudia Home Remodel - Bay Park
Ampudia Home Remodel - Bay Park
FLOCK ARCHITECTUREFLOCK ARCHITECTURE
The remodel features a curving roof at the sunken entry. The remodel involved the enlarging of the master bedroom and remodel of the entry and living room.
Hyde Park Residence
Hyde Park Residence
Mezger HomesMezger Homes
Inspiration for a white and small contemporary bungalow detached house in Austin with mixed cladding, a pitched roof and a metal roof.
SaltBox Tiny House
SaltBox Tiny House
Extraordinary StructuresExtraordinary Structures
The kitchen window herb box is one of a number of easily attached accessories. The exterior water spigot delivers both hot and cold water from the unit's on-demand water heater. Photo by Kate Russell
Foxrock house
Foxrock house
Optimise HomeOptimise Home
Donal Murphy
Design ideas for a small and multi-coloured contemporary bungalow extension in Dublin with mixed cladding.
Mobile Forschungsstation
Mobile Forschungsstation
studio3 architektenstudio3 architekten
Foto: Matthias Prüger
This is an example of a small and white contemporary split-level house exterior in Munich with wood cladding.
Mar Vista Residence
Mar Vista Residence
Hsu McCulloughHsu McCullough
Outdoor living room on raised deck with hardscape ties the main house to the detached accessory dwelling unit over garage in this Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Photo by Clark Dugger
Ferienhaus am Pönitzer Sees, Schleswig-Holstein für Thomas Dietrich Architektur
Ferienhaus am Pönitzer Sees, Schleswig-Holstein für Thomas Dietrich Architektur
Corporate Video + FotografieCorporate Video + Fotografie
Thomas Ebert
Photo of a small and brown contemporary two floor house exterior in Hamburg with wood cladding and a pitched roof.

Small 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.
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