Thanks for sharing! What you say is what I was thinking. I don't think my contractor has put this stuff up on anything other than new construction, but he's trying to convince me I'll regret the smooth, especially if in white or a very light color. It's completely stressing me out. Well...that and just this whole project. It's a hefty one. One problem I think he's seeing are the large expanses of lap siding that will go up. This is a very humble farmhouse. So the Hardie seams are going to show and I think he thinks the wood grain will, overall, hide some blemishes and mask those seams better. (I also think that it's harder to make the smooth look good, and that it takes more time at installation, but I'm kind of guessing.)

Hi there - We are trying to make the exact same decision. What did you decide to do and are you happy??? Thanks!

What did y'all decide? I'm also trying to decide between the 2!!

We just signed a contract for Hardie siding, and must decide between the smooth or Cedarmill texture. I believe the paint finish is not identical on both styles. The smooth has a rougher, almost porous feeling to it, and seems to show more scuffs. The Cedarmill paint seems more refined and has a bit of shine. I usually avoid materials that are fake look-alike, but in this case I wonder if the Cedarmill will hold up better because of the paint finish.

We went a completely different direction. We decided we wanted wood and put up stained cedar shingles. We were warned that Hardie doesn't wear well in a light color and this farmhouse had to stay white

I don't like fake wood grain, so I'd default to smooth, however, I haven't seen the samples that are in competitions.

Jenny Z, kids like puddles, don't they?

I'm not sure. But it scared us away. My husband was very very uneasy about a non-wood product anyway. We saw houses with light Hardie and thought the dark Hardie looked better.

I ordered samples of both and I'm still undecided... haha I was going to go with white boards too but we are also thinking about doing a darker color with the Hardie Board shake style. My brother in law's is holding up great after almost 11 years!!

Cedarmill (woodgrain) and Smooth siding look the same from a distance. I am being told to get the cedarmill since my installer says that the smooth shows every little thing (even if you put your hand on it to lean against it, he says it shows). He is recommending 8 1/4" siding. Which to choose? Does the woodgrain mold like the smooth? I am also needing help selecting trim colors to go with my bricks. The trim was painted toast/brown initially.

Jeny what did you decide and how did you like your finished project? Any photo to share? We are in the same boat - installer said cedarmill is better for our Dutch colonial mansard but I'm afraid it would look fake compared to the smooth plank. We have our eyes set on Deep Ocean and wonder if every imperfection will show up more with the smooth planks...

We are considering Hardie board for board and batten style modern farmhouse. Thinking to go with cedarmill wood textured back panels, but smooth hardie board for the trim- giving a more modern look than just cedarmill board and batten, but still some wood texture (from the back panels). Has anyone else tried this? Alternative was to go with Borel product for the trim- but that's a fair amount more expensive and likely out of our budget... would appreciate thoughts and experiences here!

DSC--would love to know what you ended up doing. We're considering Hardie B&B panels and prefer the cedarmill look to smooth but are being told it's not avaialble in the cedarmill?