Make it all vertical board and batten...! :-)

Do you have pics of that style of home completed in both ways that you are deciding between to show us? Where is this house being built; are there other homes nearby with those colors or is it on a large plot of land with no close neighbors?

I tried to find the siding colors you mentioned but without a brand name on two of them, I could only find Oceanside -

and Irish Thistle -second row center below.

Irish thistle is by variform.
all the shake is by Certainteed

no houses very close by. we are building out in the country. I wish I had some examples. that's what I need to see.

All your choices sound nice! And your house will be so pretty.

Here's a rough mock up with board and batten. I couldn't find a flat/straight on picture of the other shingle colors otherwise I'd mock up those, too.

Have you priced the Certainteed Vinyl Shakes? That may well help you make your choices easier.........................

Because of the joints and jogs at the middle of the house, I think shakes would be perfect.

Do you plan to use CertainTeed Cedar Impressions Polymer Shakes or their Northwoods Vinyl Shakes? Will they be 7" or 9"?

You should definitely avoid vertical corner boards or corner trim.

Here are the CertainTeed corners

Oddly, they call the wraparound corner pieces "mitered corner posts"

I think they might only be available for Cedar Impressions Double 7"' straight edge perfection polymer Shakes which seem to look the best anyway. The vinyl seems quite fake to me in the photos.

I've put red and white cedar shingles on many houses but I've never actually seen an imitation shingles. If they're never going to fade, I would use the natural red cedar color.

Here is a video of the Shakes being installed. The mitered corner posts are called that because they are 3" wide in each direction and overlap the regular shake panels. I was disappointed that the panels and mitered corners looked so plastic.

Thanks for much JDS! That is very useful information.

Well...if you're going to consider all shingles (which is a good idea for many styles of architecture), have you considered Shaker shingle panels...?

I was going to suggest Shakertown panels but I suspect it will be too expensive.

I'll open to options as I've just started venturing into this concept. I do have a budget in mind, hence why I didn't first go with hardy plank. But I am willing to spend a little more if it will last and look nice.

If your house and it's long term appearance are important to you, listen to JDS. I did my house using Shakertown shingle panels and never regretted it.

I'll look into those. never seen it in person or heard of it. thank you all. this is all new to me.

The Shakertown panels are 8 ft long and in different exposure heights with a real red cedar panel bonded to plywood. The appearance of Individual shingles is created with sawcuts in the cedar. The panels are not cheaper than real cedar shingles; the savings is in installation time. I haven't used it but its been available for 50 years.

If available in your area, check these out. A little nicer than the plastic shakes imo.

https://www.beachhouseshake.com

Looks nice in the photos. Apparently its hollow polypropylene, a thermoplastic “addition polymer” whatever that is.

All the synthetic shingles install like vinyl siding with J channels at trim. That's not going to work for me.

If you are going to use plastic or vinyl for your siding, there are probably better choices than shingles.

On the other hand, if you truly like the appearance of shingles and want a long lasting and maintenance free material, consider the Shaker shingle panels.

If you want something more economical, then it's back to my vertical board and batten siding recommendation using hardee board, O.E., and synthetic battens.

If it's a budget situation, then you're looking at vinyl lap siding...

We have a brick home with vinyl soffits. The vinyl soffits have aluminum trim. several times a year we have to go around with a hammer and reset all the nails. They pop out because of the cold,heat and wind. It's such a pain. We are planning to build and I really want shake but not liking the idea of painting in the future.

Cedar shingles and shakes should not be painted, they should be left natural or have a clear or pigmented preservative stain. Red cedar is also available pressure-impregnated in colors. So you have a choice of recoating in 20 years or 50+ years. Pay now or later.

The definitions of red cedar shakes and shingles can vary regionally but here's what the Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau says: “Generally, a shingle is sawn on both sides and is thinner at the butt than a shake. A shake is typically split on one or both sides. … Shakes are still manufactured by hand, but most are now made using powered equipment. Certi-Split shakes are made by taking the wood straight split from the block, and sawing it end-to-end at an angle. This creates a shake that is sawn on one side and split on the other, often called a ‘handsplit and resawn’ product. Medium shakes are shakes that measure nominal 1/2 in. at the butt. Heavy shakes are shakes that measure nominal 3/4 in. at the butt. Other differences also occur due to the fabrication processes. Being sawn, shingles exhibit some cross grain due to cutting, whereas shakes, being split, follow the grain more closely. For the same reason, shingles are more uniform than shakes. ”

Shakes last longer and are more expensive than shingles so they are are usually used on roofs.

Then there are sawn eastern white cedar shingles that need to be stained and pressure treated pine shingles in colors.

JDS I am currently looking at the Certainteed polymer shakes in the color Moss, Ivy Green, or Spruce. the mitered corners would be perfect for my house like you said! We have GAF Timberline HD weathered wood shingles for the roof so looking for good cookie choices. I've never seen shake as the dominant siding around where I live
I think it would be perfect and different.

currently and choices

It looks great in the photos but watching the installation photos reminded me of assembling a snap together plastic toy. I would need to see this on a house and touch it; a sample would not be enough. It requires J-channels around trim just like vinyl siding.

This Azek trim might work.

I'm still skeptical.

Shingles work well as siding and are a very traditional siding material in many parts of the U.S. They weather well and need little to no maintenance.

JDS advice above is on the money.

Shakes, are much thicker, heavier, and irregular. IMO, they are not a good siding material for most types of architecture. They are a good roofing material where a rugged, irregular natural wood product is desired.

These Shingle Style houses have western red shingles. If you like the dark and light weathering they will last longer than you are likely to be in the house.

this house is the look I love. I just found it is stained cedar shakes. is this very expensive? I would love to have this look. (I'm not sure how expensive this is but I do need to keep budget in mind)
Also, who stains them? the company? or I need to hire for that?

If they are real red or white cedar shingles they can be dipped in stain at the factory. White cedar with a stain is cheaper. Maibec in Canada offers 16" resawn Eastern white cedar shingles pre-assembled and as pre-cut woven corners in 100 colors.

Its what I have always used.

These Maibec's will run about twice what Hardi lap siding costs. Labor will be pretty close. Red cedars will be more than whites.

http://www.maibec.com/us/wood/products/shingle

A big part of the cost of wood shingles is the installation. Here is a video showing how the Maibec system works.