They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but when it comes to home design, the façade is one of the most essential parts of your overall home aesthetics. Façades come in all shapes and sizes, from the highly decorative and ornamental to the simple, plain, and modest.
Whether you’re building a new home, renovating your existing home, or just looking for inspiration, façades are a good place to begin searching. To help you better understand the importance of a façade, and the differences between façades on the Icon Homes’ Pinterest page, here is our guide to façades and popular styles.
What is a house façade?
A house façade refers to the exterior of a house, typically street-facing or the main entrance. The word “façade” is a French word meaning meaning “face” or “frontage”.
Choosing the right façade for your home is important because it is your home’s first impression—it showcases your home’s personality and style and helps to set it apart from the other homes on the street.
How to choose the correct façade for your home
1. Match your interior style to the exterior
What does the interior of your home look like? Have you chosen a more modern style home, or perhaps you prefer a rustic style home? Matching the exterior of your home to the interior will help to create a more consistent and coherent overall aesthetic.
2. Use the neighbour’s homes as a guide.
Although you probably want your home to stand out from other homes in your street, looking at the façades in your neighbourhood will give you an idea of what might suit your home.
Studying the façades around your neighbourhood will give you a good idea of what styles are the most popular, if any look weather-worn or dated, and more importantly, what styles you like and dislike. Don’t be afraid to research styles that don’t fit your home—if you have a single-storey home but love the look of a double-storey home on your street, the style can be customised to suit your build. Just speak with one of the talented team members from Icon Homes to find out how.
3. Kerb appeal, long-term and resale value
The first thing a buyer or any passerby sees is the façade of your home. Even if you don’t plan to sell your home right away, considering your home’s kerb appeal and resale value now can help attract more prospective buyers in the future. Make sure the façade you choose for your home will withstand time and weather conditions.
4. Use colours and materials that show your personal taste
Once you’ve found a style for your façade, it’s time to play around with colours and materials to make it more to your personal taste. While it may be tempting to paint an entire wall bright red or add a huge stone mosaic to the front of your home, it’s important to stick to the tones and materials associated with the façade style.
If you’re a lover of modern style designs, but your home has a French Provincial façade, choosing a flat roof line may not suit. Instead, you could always introduce some moody tonal colours throughout the French Provincial design. Combining styles requires a good eye for design, something Icon Homes specialises in. Speak with one of our talented team members today to find out how we can bring your dream style to life.
Popular façade Styles
- Hamptons: one of the most popular styles, these façades are welcoming, timeless, and suit most neighbourhoods or streets. A great example of a Hampton’s style design is The Peconic 39. This façade features white panelled walls, a white garage and trimmings, exposed rafters and large windows.
- Contemporary: for a contemporary façade, think of simple geometric shapes, clean lines, some rendered cement and a minimalistic approach. Our Gladstone 23 is a great contemporary home that is perfect for a small block.
- Coastal: a must-have for homes close to the beach or in coastal areas, these façades match the vibes of coastal living and are designed to withstand extreme weather. These façades usually have a palette of whites, beiges, taupes, blues, and natural woods like The Brighton 41 design.
- Modern: Modern façades are easily identifiable by their neat, flat lines and overall symmetry. Modern façades also lend various materials, like cladding with bricks and wood, all with a neutral colour palette, like our showstopping Kallaroo 32.
- French Provincial: known for their steep hipped roofs, these façades usually feature highly symmetrical stone, or brick, with a clean colour palette and ornate finishes. This style is showcased in our Wentworth 46 with a curved staircase for extra detail.
- Mid-Century Modern: often minimalistic in design, with lots of monotone colours and use of natural materials such as timber, concrete, glass and stone just like The Killarney 49
To better understand what different façades look like and imagine how they would look on your dream home, you can browse the Icon Homes Pinterest page, where we display all our different designs. Every home with Icon Homes is entirely customisable–speak with one of our consultants today to find out if your favourite façade can be added to your home.
