In conjunction with my recent blog post about upgrading your home on a consistent basis, I wanted to share with you my home project in style of a Dwell Magazine article.

My house was built in 1980. It always had some modern elements but it never popped. When we purchased it eight years ago the curb appeal was something to look past and maybe do something about. This was the year to do something about it.

The original vertical cedar siding had warped on the south and west sides to the point where caulk wasn’t doing the job anymore. At a minimum we needed to replace the siding and repaint. But the nagging problem with the curb appeal caught my attention and we decided to change the look of the house.

The house always had some modern design elements. Namely, there are two flat roofed boxes that stand out from the rest of the house. But these modern elements were never highlighted. We had some ideas that were brought to life by our architect Samuel Austin. We decided to change the siding on three areas of the home; the two modern boxes and the wall that bridged the two and surrounded the front door.

We ultimately decided to use large panels attached by stainless steel screws in a pattern like rivets for the boxes and horizontal, stained, natural cedar at the entry. The panels are Hardie Board which are cement based, water proof and resilient to weather. The boards were installed with a rain shield behind and an airspace of a half inch to let the whole thing breath.

The finishing touch was a new garage door to replace the old cedar paneled door. We choose to get a glass paneled door to further enhance the modern look. The door is an aluminum Amarr Vista in black with frosted, tempered glass panels.

It feels like a new house to us and from the comments from the neighbors it was a huge improvement and has inspired many in the neighborhood to look into some larger projects.

Architect – Samuel Austin

General Contractor Elton Randall Construction

Garage Door Installation  The Garage Door Works