Doing Cedar shake shingles is expensive and unless properly maintained can cause you years of headaches as it dries out and moves. Cedar is a great hiding place for bugs and especially bee's/wasps as it has space to make nests. We use the product on roofs and over time our homeowners are forced to use preservatives and stain to maintain the integrity of the product. This is a bold look but how much do you intend to do maintenance is the question.

Hardy Board is a great product for siding as it is usually factory sealed on all 6 sides with a good penetrating stain/sealer product. It is heavier than cedar and lays flatter without extreme movement. The cost associated with it is more than vinyl or wood but less than cedar.

Good Luck!

I appreciate the feedback! Do you think Hardy Board looks as nice as wood siding? Or is its major strength low-maintenance?

You have more options. Truewood http://www.collinsco.com/TruWood/ makes a variety of siding profiles, including shingle and shake. Other manufacturers do too. These need to be painted.

Thank you so much for the great suggestions - greatly appreciated. I think I like the smooth look rather than the grooved or the shingles.

I meant to say I like the smooth look AND the shingles!

Check out another great product, called silbonit, its cement siding, similar to hardie but has a lot more colors and looks great. We are in the process of installing it on our house.