Mid-Century Modern design is a dramatic departure from homes that came before and is still influencing architecture and homes being built today. In fact, for the last several years, there have been numerous trends that incorporate aspects of Mid-Century Modern exteriors into existing homes to help increase their curb appeal.
If you have a Mid-Century Modern home you’re looking to update, or you have another style of home that you’d like to incorporate some Mid-Century design ideas into, there are many ways that you can get a fresh new look using house siding. From architectural paneling to shingles, there are several ways you can get the look you want with fiber cement siding.
Hallmarks of Mid-Century Modern Design
To better incorporate this style into your exterior, it helps to know some of the elements that help define this style. Mid-Century Modern homes often emphasized the landscaping and surroundings, featuring windows that could open to a view, patios, and landscaping that enhanced the use of the home and its appearance, utilizing colors that coordinated with the area. Homes were often one-story but could be two or more stories if using elements that created a squared-off look, such as flat roofs, and crisp edges.
Porches and overhangs were common, and usually featured sculptural columns and often brick as well as wood. Fieldstone and brick were both used as accents over the exterior, along with a variety of exterior siding materials including wood, concrete, and stucco.
Mid-Century Modern Siding Design Ideas
Whether you’re remodeling a home that was built in this style or you just want to incorporate a bit of it into your home, these 7 design ideas for your exterior can help you reach your goals:
1. Heavy Architectural Trim
This home has many Mid-Century Modern vibes, from the brick, to the columns, and to the heavy trim that frames the windows. The trim is important, because it gives the windows a more substantial look, coordinates them with the rest of the exterior features, and captures the style of the design. Make sure you pay close attention to your trim when siding your home to ensure a good match.
Completing the look for this property is also the change in siding on the bump out on the side. This small detail really goes a long way toward elevating the design of the property by calling attention to this area, rather than attempting to make it blend in.
2. Long Lines
Mid-Century Modern homes were often longer than they were tall. To emphasize this, consider opting for thinner horizontal lap siding. The thinner lap siding creates more lines for your eye to follow, which in turn creates the illusion that the home is longer and lower than it actually is, helping to create the design you want.
The way that this home is built into the side of the hill gives you the opportunity to capture those lines even more. Simply following them around the deck area to the stairs draws the eye outward, and helps capture the landscaping and surroundings at the same time. All of this helps complete the Mid-Century Modern look.
3. Shingle Texture
Not every Mid-Century Modern home needs to play up its lines; some homes already have that look covered. In that case, consider using shingles for the exterior in place of lap siding. Shingles can help capture some of the natural texture that’s so popular with this style, while giving your home a more unique appearance. Done in a natural color that calls to mind the forest, this home really stands out and captures the spirit of Mid- Century Modern homes. To create a truly standout design, remember, people expect lap siding; giving them something different can increase the curb appeal of your home.
4. Landscaping Emphasis
The outdoors and landscaping both play a big role in Mid-Century Modern design. This home’s landscaping really plays that up, and the fieldstone fireplace column helps to create a cohesive look. Rather than contrast that with traditional lap siding, this exterior is clad in a shingle that mimics the texture and color of the fieldstone nearby, creating a unified and harmonic exterior.
The fieldstone wrapping around the bottom half of the home also helps to complete the design. In this case, it makes the home appear more as though it’s rising up from the landscape.
5. Color Contrast
Lots of long lines and windows are two elements frequently seen in Mid-Century Modern design. So is having a natural wood stain on the siding. But too much of anything can make a property seem boring. This home switches things up by contrasting the natural wood stain with a dark gray siding in a different width. This makes the naturally-colored panels stand out, completing the design while giving it more interest at the same time.
The long lines of both colors of siding are helping to emphasize the shape of the home as well. This helps give it the low, long lines that are so popular with this style.
6. Wood-Look Panels
Panels and large expanses of material can help create a more modern look, ideal for the Mid-Century Modern style. This wood-look architectural paneling helps achieve that goal perfectly. The look is very modern, but still has a natural appearance that’s often at the heart of Mid-Century Modern homes. Paired with some smooth gray panels for contrast, the wood look panels really bring this look to life.
The trim used with the panels also helps create the ideal look. It adds contrast, and interest, but also helps to define the panels, calling attention to them and drawing the eye.
7. Contrast and Interest
For larger properties, you need to keep changing things up, or the exterior is likely to become bland and boring quickly. This facade features architectural panels in two colors, broken up by traditional lap siding in a natural wood stain. The result is fresh, modern, and totally in keeping with Mid-Century Modern principles from start to finish.
Get Your Perfect Exterior Design
Fiber cement siding comes in so many different shapes and styles, it’s possible to accent any type of home. If you’re looking for ways to give your home more Mid-Century Modern flair, try any of these 7 design ideas from Allura for the perfect fit.
