Vertical as you’ve shown is the best for this house, though I’m not a fan of vinyl.

You will not get vinyl board and batten in that length. Some companies have a 12'6" length, but Alside only offers 10' length. The siding has to fit into a J channel to allow expansion and contraction or you have to add a 'belly band' to stop and start the siding.

IMO the color positions should be reversed. I would not want to walk up to a dark entrance at night. I would consider a lighter entrance when compared to the balance of the house.

Figure out when to start and stop the vinyl before you make your final decision.

Beverly gave you great ideas on the vinyl. For the front door I would look for something much more modern with more glass.

Porch first please. It will be much more difficult and expensive with flashing and detailing to bring a porch to siding that bringing siding to a porch.

How about the dark for the main part and some clear natural cedar for the entry area I have to say vinyl siding is not my go to ever. Something like this combo.

go dark. (please, no light gray on that house!)

these colors. (and notice the wood soffit/eaves. I love that look w/the dark siding)

This is my (roughly) idea, only I'd use that teak color above, or something like this walnut.

And, you could paint the door a diff color if you like.

Or, this natural wood color w/this type of veritcal siding:

are you doing a diff roof color? if and when you do, go w/a charcoal

a metal roof would look cool tool.

go dark just like this. with vertical siding if you like (tese are more like batten panels)

I think the dark colors w/the natural stone look great

this one is similar to yours, minus the stone accent. They did add it to the after. Notice the vertical siding on the upper portion, (and the black roof)

Landscaping will be 50% of the overall look, so try and copy some of these front yard ideas too.

designer Lauren Leiss did a nice makeover on hers.

after - front

After-rear She actually has the same color roof as you do, so this should give you an idea

Similar color stone like you have. they went w/a warm charcoal color siding. Try Kendall Charcoal

This one is also very similar to yours. look at the windows. same size. also notice the front door w/the windows right over it. Look what propsed in the after rendition:

Brick and Batten has many make over renditions of that style. pay close attention to what they've used. You'll notice, they all used a dark color. if you don't like the black or charcoal, look into a dark forest green. (SW Jasper is nice)

This one is somewhat like the color combo you want to use. To me, the warm wood planks (whether real wood or a composite cedar, is a must)

back yard idea:

similar roof color w/the lighter gray siding. I don't like this as much as the dark siding

I really like this type of siding, and this color. (please, no vinyl. these homes were all done w/natural cedar siding. doing vinyl would be a downgrade

@HALLETT & Co. Thanks for the thumbs up on vertical siding! Instead of vinyl, what would you suggest? The few contractors we've talked to keep suggesting vinyl, but I'm starting to wonder if it's because it's just easier to install...

BeverlyFLADeziner Good point about inversing the light/dark placement. We assumed there'd have to be a break in the vertical siding like there currently is. The next step is being decisive and deciding where. The house currently has the siding meet between the two left windows, so we're assuming the belly band would just go there. Do you think the belly band has to be right in the middle or do you think we should consider other options?

RedRyder I do like the idea of a glass door that mirrors the format of the thin frame rectangle windows. We'll keep playing with options and try some of those too. Thanks!

Joseph Corlett, LLC Ahhh, we never thought of that... Crap. We'll definitely bring this topic to the table when we discuss our goals with our potential contractor this week. Thank you!

Patricia Colwell Consulting Oooo! We love natural wood but are highly anxious about using it on the exterior. Isn't cedar siding high maintenance?

Beth H. I think you've hit the nail on the head with the mix of dark + wood + the current stone. Do you have any knowledge or thoughts of steel siding that looks like cedar? We love so many of the examples you provided though and I think we're strongly considering going dark. Thanks for your time and effort with your varied suggestions!

aubrey, sorry I do not. steel siding? what about a composite or cement siding that looks like cedar? James Hardie and many others carry that.

I read an article awhile back that had pros/cons of diff types of siding. if you research it you'll prob find it

Builders recommend vinyl because it’s inexpensive. Look at the James Hardie options. They have nice colors. Many houses here in Middle Tennessee have Hardie board.

Here's another mockup. Any thoughts on colors used and/or placement of the black vs. faux wood siding? For the contrasting faux wood siding, we're looking at using brands like WoodTone or TruCedar steel siding to resemble real wood without the cost and maintenance of real wood.

This is one of the doors my partner and I both agree upon but the hue doesn't seem quite right yet. We're getting our doors replaced through ProVia so our options, although varied, are limited to them if that helps.

I'm starting to see why people pay for design consultation (i.e.: Brick & Batten) for exterior remodeling projects... Just the slightest change makes a huge difference and frankly, we don't have all the answers. Any feedback is much appreciated!

I also would rethink the vinyl. There are a lots more choices out there. My personal choice would be cedar, but, not everyone likes that.

Thanks, @cat_ky I agree; real wood is beautiful, especially cedar. However, we're trying to get away from real wood due to costs and upkeep where we live.

I know Hardie plank comes in colors but i don't know if they have the dark charcoal color you need. Another option for the wood look is that wood look porcelain or ceramic tile. I have seen it on exteriors of commercial buildings but the install might be steep in price.

Thanks, @kathleen MK I didn't even think of porcelain or ceramic tiles. Appreciate the suggestions.

We've two new design renderings. Hadn't considered mixing horizontal and vertical siding. Preference between the two?

Let’s return to the front porch (which doesn’t appear to have a path to it?). I would widen it to encompass the entirety of that middle space so that it appears more welcoming. Wide steps, too.

Beth H. Yeah, we weren’t too sure about the mixed directions for siding. I think your “eh” validates our reaction. And I agree; the more open glass door fits the rest of the house better, plus it repeats the window shape throughout the house. Would you suggest the horizontal wood looking portion around the door just go in the deepest part of the entry/around the door, or also extend to the left side that extends beyond the entry? I like your rendering but can’t tell from the wood placement.

@ptreckelThere’s a path to the front porch but it’s old and lacking + the front porch needs to be replaced. We were thinking of stone, but unsure if we’d try to match the current stone or go for something else. Any suggestions? I like your suggestion to extend/widen the steps too. The current situation is definitely not very welcoming.

I think that a wooden deck is in keeping with your home’s style (which is fabulous, by the way!). You could explore using Ipe or a synthetic decking material in a dark tone. I don’t think that you will be able to match the stone on your home, so I wouldn’t even try. You might also explore better, more interesting modern lighting for your entrance way to make it more inviting. Do you require house numbers anywhere on your facade? In the end, I am sure, you will explore a renewal of your landscaping. But I would keep the porch in the forefront as you work on siding. Your house will be beautiful when you are done!

@ptreckel You're probably right. Given that the house was built in 1987, I imagine it'd be even more difficult to source a similar stone, even if we wanted to. We have a solar-powered sign with house numbers at the start of our driveway but would like to place some metal backlit numbers on the house, possibly on the middle wall to the left of the porch walkup and door.

Thanks for the kind words! We're so anxious to get started on this project. Hoping we can find someone that's not too busy/willing to take it on now.

I live in a country setting identical to yours and find it hard to understand what you like about a black house ..in the woods🤷🏼‍♀️

My house is not pink!..it is taupe🙀

The pink dirt is kinda pretty…

Don’t I mthe directions of the siding so much. Agree to keep it simple, and use a full glass door.

*Don’t mix

@btydrvn You're welcome to your preferences *shrug*

@RedRyder Agreed. Mixing siding directions doesn't enhance the structure. Thanks for the validation!

I realize after all these years I never shared the final decision and results! I don't know if this'll populate as "new" in the Houzz feed in any way, but I hope this is satisfying to any who stumble upon it.

For cost and aesthetics, we went with a mix of CertainTeed "tuxedo black" vertical board & batten vinyl siding and horizontal Hardie Board in a few spots we wanted to gently accent (painted to match the tuxedo black siding). We kept the same steel doors for cost and repainted them with SW "copper pot," and the decking with Behr premium solid color deck stain in "slate."

Future plans: This spring, we're replacing our roof with a black textured metal roof. Happy to update pictures once that's done if anyone's interested. After that project, we'd like to improve the exterior further with new landscaping and hardscaping.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions and feedback on this project!

Thanks for sharing the result. Looks great. Put your house in an AI tool and play with colors before you decide. Those roofs aren't cheap and you'll have to live with it for a long time. If you're keeping the stone, it needs to tie in somehow

Wow. The final result looks gorgeous. I agree with @tozmo1 that roofs are long-lasting features so do some AI renderings first. A really dark metal roof sounds severe, and will attract even more heat than other colors. Most roofing websites have programs to see the new roof before making the change.