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Wood Home Exteriors Branch Out
From rough-hewn planks to sleek screens, wood house exteriors now have a forest of options
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City. I have Bachelor of Architecture and Master in Urban Planning degrees, and over ten years experience in architectural practice, split between Chicago and NYC. Currently I'm focused on writing and online pursuits. My daily blog can be found at http://archidose.blogspot.com
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City.... More »
An extremely important consideration when designing a new house is determining the materials for the exterior. Glass is a certainty for windows, but solid areas can be clad in brick, stone, concrete, metal, wood or a combination of these and other materials.
This ideabook takes a look at some houses that are covered in wood or predominantly feature wood on the exterior. The focus is on the design impact of the material and its articulation on the facade, rather than on its technical attributes.
This ideabook takes a look at some houses that are covered in wood or predominantly feature wood on the exterior. The focus is on the design impact of the material and its articulation on the facade, rather than on its technical attributes.
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| This small house in the redwood forest of Sea Ranch in California is a great example of a building that integrates itself through the use of wood over the whole exterior. Small windows predominate on the upper exterior, but a large window off the living area brings the forest inside. |
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| Another view of the house in the forest accentuates the integration that comes not only with covering the building in wood but also from articulating it vertically, parallel to the redwood tree trunks. |
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| Inside the same house, more vertical wood boards, combined with wood floors, ceilings and structure, further the integration and make the spaces warm and extremely inviting. |
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Wood is also a great material to use selectively. It can be a suitable contrast with other exterior materials, particularly when the colors are dark and light. This wood cladding is shaped to frame the large window and dark surface below.
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Another look at the same house makes it clear this framing is three-dimensional. Besides raw cedar, steel and cement panels are used for the exterior. The three materials seem to interlock, accentuating the house's volume and imparting some verticality to it, especially with the wood.
The top two floors of this house in New Jersey have vertical planks of a grayed wood between various-size windows in irregular placements. The large window on the top floor wraps the corner towards a cantilevered balcony, a piece that draws the most attention.
A closer view of the wood skin shows how the size of the pieces is an important factor in how a building appears.
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| This exterior uses horizontal wood planks, and it's clear why. The long and low building hugs the landscape, accentuated by the horizontal lines of the floor and roof, and by the orientation of the wood. |
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| From the other side of the house, the horizontal pattern of the wood also reinforces the direction of the house's volume. But the articulation of the different woods — a mix of browns and grays — lets the house also integrate itself with the landscape. |
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| Given its lightweight nature, wood can also be used for screens that filter daylight as it enters interior spaces. Wood slats also add interesting detail layered over glass and other materials. The angled screen hung on the front of this building is particularly striking. |
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| Note the difference in effects between daylight (this photo) and after the sun goes down (previous photo). During the day the screen appears almost solid from the exterior, but in the evening the glow from inside is filtered, the reverse of when the sun is out. |
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| This screen and its structure are carefully detailed: Painted white slats are mounted to paired vertical supports that are bracketed to the roof above and horizontal framing below. Browse modern exterior design photos More: Ideabook 911: My Exterior Needs Some Punch! How to Get Your Exterior Paint Color Right |
Ideabook updated on Feb. 26, 2012.
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