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HELP!! Advice needed on stone and siding combo.

6 years ago

We are currently in the process of building and are having a hard time deciding what we are going to do for the exterior of our home.

The property site is in the middle of the woods on top of a hill so I would like for it to have an old rustic, woodsy charm feel. I had originally thought most of the house would be stone but we have had to incur some unexpected costs with extra dirt work and retaining walls. I have included a couple of pictures of our house below. Any help would be appreciated!

Maybe something like this? Not sure how I would work it on the front of the house.
the far left and right sits about 3ft closer to the road compared to the entry
I had thought something like this would have looked nice but now I’m afraid that much stone will be too expensive

Comments (15)

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    Seek local professional assistance.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

  • 6 years ago

    I have to agree with PPF. Nothing rustic or woodsy about the house and you can't add lipstick to change it into something it's not.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    Have you started construction?

  • 6 years ago

    Yes. So I said woodsy/rustic but I think I could have described it a little better. We didn’t want it looking like a cookie cutter home in a neighborhood so we tried to go with more of a low profile roof and the entry will actually come out a little ways. We worked on the interior layout first and really didn’t want to modify it much so the outside kind of turned out like it did based on our floor plan. I’m not thinking log cabin, just need to know if there is a good way to use stone and siding.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    How far along are you? I've spent a good bit of time looking at your front elevation over the past several days and have a difficult time seeing anything other than stucco.

    What sort of windows will you have -- type -- grids?

    We worked on the interior layout first and really didn’t want to modify it much so the outside kind of turned out like it did based on our floor plan.

    I'm not surprised as that's how your drafters seem to work.

    From their website:

    Standard Design Process

    Step 1 – Initial Meeting

    • Customer and Designer meet and fill out the Service Contract.
    • Designer creates job # for Customer and gets Customer contact information.
    • Designer gathers information from customer about layout and wanted rooms and
      function of the house. Customer gives Designer a budget of Sq Ft to work with.
    • Designer gives Customer homework to work on. Typically – wants on materials and
      style for front elevation, feature rooms. Set appointment for 2nd meeting

    Step 2 – Second Meeting

    • Designer shows customer a rough draft of Floor plan. – This should be a rough Cad drawing
      showing room placement, door placement, typically sizes of main rooms and total heat/cool Sq Footage
    • Customer and Designer discuss changes to be made to Floor Plan. If necessary, they can
      work at a CAD station to layout difficult rooms like; bathrooms, kitchens and sometimes Game rooms.
    • Customer’s homework of compiling likes and wants for the exterior of the
      house is reviewed. Discuss windows wanted throughout the house.
    • Customer is to approve Floor Plan layout for Designer to create Front Elevation.
    • Set appointment for 3rd meeting

    Step 3 – Final Design Meeting

    • Designer shows Customer final Floor Plan and concept for Elevations.
    • Customer is to approve with changes final Floor Plan and Front Elevation.
    • Designer to schedule Final Review of plans by Customer.
    • After meeting, MPSstaff is responsible for making a set of construction prints
      for Final Review by Customer.
  • 6 years ago

    It's too late for you, but for those lurking, this is why it's so important to design all floors and the elevations at the same time. To think in 3D right from the beginning.

    To the OP, I again agree with PPF that the best bet is probably stucco.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    I'm not sure stucco is big in Arkansas ...

  • PRO
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    My scale is a bit off, but you get the idea.


  • 6 years ago

    Thank you so much for your time and advice. I’m a little confused on the drawing. The roof lines don’t seem to match our plans. Were you just giving an idea on siding and stone? I’m trying to wrap my head around this. Thank you again for your help.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    You have not given us much to work with.

    What do you think of the front of the house?

    My rendering shows what I would like to see.

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago





    The aesthetic qualities you are seeking will not be achieved with cladding materials. You need to redesign the exterior of the house first.

    To take a shot at it we would need to know exactly the stage of the work and if the windows or other exterior materials have been bought or ordered.

    If all you can do is change the cladding I recommend real cedar shingles with no corner boards or stucco and larger roof overhangs. It would help to raise the central roof a foot or two.

    Google Tuscan Villa and Renaissance Revival.







  • PRO
    6 years ago

    "We worked on the interior layout first . . . "

    Who is "we"?


  • PRO
    6 years ago

    The front elevation of your home is quite similar to buildings in our office complex. They have corner boards, a large freize, double-hung windows with wide trim, square columns, Hardie Plank siding and architectural shingles. In my opinion, they look nice (full disclosure: we didn't design nor do we own any of the buildings.)

    I'd suggest you limit the stone to the foundation only.