Mid-Century Modern Exterior Finishes

Alright, let’s talk about what I have in mind for the outside of the house. Here is what the front elevation looks like on my blueprints….

And here is a mood board I put together of everything I’m planning for the exterior.

I would love to play it cool here and tell you that when I look at that picture I’m like “Yeah, that’s nice…it will probably look good or whatever.” 

But honestly, when I look at that photo, I’m 100% this girl…

I can’t even contain myself; it just makes my insides ridiculously happy.

I’d love to be super impressive and overlay the finishes on that blueprint exterior image like it’s no big deal, but no….that stuff takes me like a hundred hours. You should see how fast all the kids in my college classes whip out stuff like this. It’s absolutely insane. And I’m over there, old enough to be their mother, staring at SketchUp on my screen like I’ve never seen a computer before.

Point is, you’re going to have to use your imagination.

I’m totally up for chatting about it though, so let’s dig in.

Mid-Century Exterior Finishes

Vertical Blue/teal/aqua siding –

Since the goal is to make this house look like it was built in the mid 1900’s, using materials that were used then is preferable. And back then, vertical siding was the thing.

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There are a few options (you can read more about them here) and I chose to use wide vertical sheet panels. Unfortunately, due to the state of the world these days, those were so far back ordered that there was no way to use them. So I defaulted to the plain lap siding that you see everywhere these days.

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Then I hated my decision and decided it had to be vertical, even if it was the wrong kind of vertical. Luckily the siding hadn’t been ordered yet, so my pain-in-the-ass-ness was kept to a reasonable level. So, the house got board and batten siding, just like my last house. It gives it a much more modern look than I wanted, but it is what it is, and it is already up and looks great.

As for the color, I want a dirty aqua/teal color. I have a whole post coming up on choosing the exact color, so I won’t go into more detail here.

Horizontal wood siding and porch ceiling –

The real reason I changed my blue siding from the horizontal lap to vertical board and batten is because of the wooden accent wall I have on the front. It will be horizontal, and I wanted that visual change in direction to keep things interesting and defined.

The product I’m using is by Silvastar, and I chose the color on the bottom right called Butter Pecan.

Breezeblock

The design in the mood board image is the exact design going on my house. Not because it’s my favorite, but because it is the only reasonable option I could get my hands on. It is an 8x12x12 Cloverleaf design from Best Block in San Antonio. The price is $4.28 each (one sq ft). I’m also using regular cinderblocks on my house in conjunction with the breezeblocks, which are cheap at $1.60 each.

My first choice was this sunburst design from Clay Imports in Austin, but at $15 a sq ft I ditched that dream real fast.

It’s pretty though, right? I’ve never seen one like it.

Desert/Xeriscape landscaping –

My goal in this house is to have no grass. I don’t want to pay for it, water it, mow it, or think about it in any way. I love plants and landscaping and think it can totally make or break a house, but my landscaping will consist of plants that love the sun, hate water, and refuse to be eaten by deer. And the rest if it is going to be left natural or be covered in landscape rocks.

Here is a link to a fantastic article about landscaping styles. After reading it I would say I want something that falls between informal and modern.

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The front of my lot is really sloped as well, which means I can build some natural retaining walls out of all that limestone they chipped out to pour my foundation.

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Gold accents –

I mean….what would a blue, black, and orange Mid-Century home be without gold sputnik lighting and house numbers?

So there you have it; that’s where we are headed!

In the next episode we’re going to dive into framing this dang thing.

*Click here for all the posts about designing and building this house*