Intriguing, Easy-to-Execute Home Exterior Design Ideas
Discover how easy-to-execute exterior design enhancements can create the perfect first impression—while enabling just the right dose of intrigue.
By ABBY winstead
Design Specialist
Your home's exterior should captivate at the very first glance. Whether you’re welcoming guests, preparing to sell, or want to get more enjoyment out of your outdoor space, a well-designed facade can make all the difference. Investing in your exterior design not only enhances your lifestyle but also increases curb appeal and property value.
With over 50 years of home remodeling and improvement experience, Barron Designs is uniquely positioned to provide you with exterior home design ideas that have all the right ingredients: Appealing looks, affordable prices, and DIY-friendly installation ease.
Let’s explore eight standout exterior design recommendations that will bring timeless beauty and modern functionality to your home’s exterior and outdoor spaces. We’ll introduce beautifully versatile and cost-efficient design products and DIY-friendly resources to help you achieve your vision—no contractor required!
Trends in Outdoor Living Spaces
Today's exterior home design trends revolve around natural textures and rustic beauty. From classic ranch homes to contemporary A-frame cabins, homeowners are embracing wood, stone, and brick to bring warmth and character to outdoor living spaces.
Installing real wood, stone, and brick can be an expensive and daunting prospect. Fortunately, there are more cost-efficient, equally stunning, natural material alternatives like faux stone, wood, and brick siding and faux stone wall panels, like Kentucky Dry Stack panels that offer the authentic appearance of natural materials without the upkeep or expense.
With Barron Designs' lightweight, easy-to-install materials, your dream outdoor living space is well within reach. All you need is a DIY spirit, simple tools, and an extra pair of hands. Below, we’ll explore a couple of ideas that will help you elevate outdoor living areas.
Functional and Elegant Outdoor Living Spaces
Seamlessly blending indoor comfort with outdoor beauty is a hallmark of modern home design. A thoughtfully crafted outdoor space extends your living area, creating a sanctuary where fresh air meets sophistication. With a thoughtful design, you can create a spot where you can spend time in nature while also enjoying the comfort and convenience of modern life. Fresh air and functional living—what’s not to love?
Whether you're looking to perfect your outdoor patio, pergola, seating area, or kitchen area, you can integrate natural harmony into your outdoor area with faux columns, real or faux wood beams, and faux stone panels. For example, in the outdoor living space featured above, the homeowners used Woodland Faux Wood Beams in Java to create contrast while adding elegance and architectural interest to the area.
Create a Charming Covered Back Porch for Instant Relaxation
Imagine unwinding on a beautifully designed back porch that offers both shade and serenity. Whether you opt for a covered porch with a cozy swing or an open-air patio bathed in natural light, Barron Designs provides the perfect materials to enhance your space and help you slip away from the world’s distractions.
On this back porch, the homeowners used a couple of different products to create a comfortable space. The border around the edges of the porch features Colorado Dry Stack faux stone panels in Sierra Brown, and the columns and ceiling framework are made with Wire Brushed Wood Beams in Cocoa. Paired with a wood floor and ceiling, and set against the backdrop of beautiful stone siding, this look blends polish and sophistication with rustic beauty.
Standout Exterior Siding Ideas
Siding and foundation coverings define your home's exterior aesthetic. While authentic stone and brick can be expensive and labor-intensive, Barron Designs' faux stone and brick panels provide a durable, cost-effective alternative that delivers the same high-end look—without the hassle. Let’s explore a few exterior siding ideas next.
Marvel at Mortarless Stone Veneer Siding
Evolve Stone is revolutionizing home exteriors with its stunningly realistic mortarless stone veneer. Crafted for effortless installation and exceptional durability, Evolve Stone elevates any outdoor space, from existing siding to garden walls to outdoor areas.
Here, homeowners have used Evolve Stone to create a wonderfully cohesive look that strikes a contrast even as it helps marry various architectural details together. The dark shade of the stone veneers stands out from the lighter brown of the siding—and at the same time, its rich, earthy tones mesh well with the home’s darker trim and natural wood elements.
If you’re looking for additional ways to use Evolve Stone, here are a few more ideas:
- Entryway & Front Porch Enhancement: Evolve Stone can give your entryway a refined aesthetic and complements traditional, rustic, and modern architectural styles.
- Front Facade Facelift: Make a lasting impression with a strong stone-accented exterior.
- Outdoor Area Design Optimization: Evolve Stone offers a durable and visually appealing surface enhancement for outdoor entertainment areas like bar surrounds and accent walls in patio areas.
Faux Stone Siding: Timeless Beauty and Modern Convenience
There’s something undeniably inviting about a home wrapped in stone. Faux stone siding exudes the character and warmth of a cozy cottage in the English countryside, offering a pastoral elegance that complements traditional and contemporary homes alike.
Available in a variety of hues and textures, Barron Designs' faux stone exterior siding allows homeowners to customize their look with ease. For example, the home above uses NovikStone Fieldstone faux stone siding in Grand Canyon to create a timelessly traditional look that creates a beautiful contrast with the darker wood siding above.
Not sure which style fits your home? Order siding samples to see and feel the difference firsthand.
Create a Warm & Welcoming Front Porch Using Stone Panel Styles
Another great way to update your exterior siding is to try something like what these homeowners did. They used our Anson Fieldstone along the lower walls and as column wraps to create a welcoming and relaxing front porch perch.
This look takes existing Craftsman-inspired elements—like tapered columns, a wood ceiling, and traditional shutters—and builds on that theme by adding the look and feel of stone to the mix. The result is a much more visually interesting front porch that draws the eye and adds to this home’s curb appeal.
Get the Richness and Warm Look of Real Brick
Everyone loves the classic look of a brick home—but most homeowners would rather avoid the installation expenses, tuck-pointing, and maintenance needs that come with real brick. For homeowners who want to enjoy the best of both worlds, our NoviBrick Faux Brick siding is a great solution. As you can see on the home above, it looks just like the real thing—and even better, it’s more cost-effective than the real thing, easier to install, more durable, and it doesn’t come with the maintenance hassles of traditional brickwork.
Pulling this theme off is all about creating the right contrasts. In our example, white trim contrasts nicely with the red brick—but the light mortar shades help marry this look together.
Other Great Ways to Elevate Your Home’s Exterior Design
While outdoor living spaces and exterior siding are two of the largest design elements to consider, there are other ways that you can add interest and curb appeal to your home’s exterior. Next, we’ll share a couple of unique ideas that are certain to inspire you.
Add Architectural Interest With Trusses
If you’re looking for a simple way to create a striking visual element that really catches the eye, exterior trusses are an ideal option. Trusses are a popular feature among classic styles like Craftsman or Tudor, but they also look great on contemporary homes like the one pictured above, too.
In this example, the homeowners went with our Heritage Faux Wood Beams in Java because they were the perfect match for the earthy brown shades found throughout the home’s trim, roofing, and stone elements. Positioned to adorn this peak above the garage door, this truss design draws the eye upward to not only provide additional visual interest, but also to create a sense of height and grandeur.
Freshen Fencing & Gate Pillars With Post Covers
While fencing and gate pillars may not directly enhance the look of your home’s exterior, they can increase the overall curb appeal of your property. Here, these homeowners used our Ashford Ledgestone Column Post Covers in Gray to create elegant gate pillars that flank the driveway.
On their own, these post covers look amazing—but for best results, make sure that your own post covers pair well with one or two elements of your home’s exterior. For example, if your home’s color palette is in shades of brown, choose column wraps and sleeves in shades to match.
DIY Home Exterior Design Installation Resources
Barron Designs sells lightweight panels, siding, post wraps, and other products that are uniquely easy to install. You don't need an elaborate tool collection or construction experience to work with our products. We'll send you easy-to-install siding panels and instructions to make your job easier.
Our customer service team is available to provide support throughout the installation process. If you have questions, you can always give our team a call. We also post a range of home design project resources on our website, including faux panel interior installation instructions and exterior siding installation instructions.
Need more help? Check out our online installation instructions page as well as our FAQ. And explore our reference materials page for color charts and more.
Explore More Exterior Design Examples & Inspiration
Your home’s exterior sets the stage for first and lasting impressions alike. Why settle for ordinary when you can create extraordinary curb appeal? With the ideas above, you can create beautiful outdoor living spaces, elevate the look of your home’s siding, make porches and entryways more inviting, or even add beautiful architectural elements like trusses to enhance curb appeal.
No matter which idea you choose to pursue, Barron Designs offers a vast selection of beams, columns, panels, and innovative siding solutions to bring your vision to life. Whether you're dreaming of a rustic retreat, modern sanctuary, or classic colonial, we have the home exterior enhancement products to bring your vision to life.