10 Exterior Home Trends You’ll Be Seeing Everywhere, According to Experts

Cosentino

Undoubtedly, the biggest trend is blending indoor and outdoor spaces together—and it’s easy to see why. Not only does it fit in perfectly with a popular interior design trend (biophilic vibes that help us connect with nature), but it also allows homeowners to feel like their home is bigger and that the outdoor space is actually an extension of the inside—something that is invaluable, especially as new homes get smaller on average.

Designers and home companies are well aware of this trend, so, as Claudia Afshar, international interior and product designer, tells us, it’s more important than ever to choose materials that work both inside and outside to really drive home the idea that both spaces are connected. Afsher, who collaborates with Cosentino, mentioned the brand’s Dekton material. This ultra-compact stone is comprised of more than 20 minerals and is abrasion-, scratch- and impact-resistant is the perfect example of a material that bridges the gap and encourages more cohesion between the spaces.

In addition to using similar or the same materials inside and outside, you can help your home’s interior and exterior blend together by extending the size of glass doors, adding an outdoor kitchen or generally amplifying the outdoor area as an entertainment space (we’ll touch on these more in just a second!).

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On that note, another trend taking center stage in exterior home design is adding amenities that rival those in your indoor space. With these additional amenities, your guests won’t even necessarily have to go inside for anything (nor will they want to!).

We’ve seen designers and brands take on this trend by decking out outdoor kitchens with luxury appliances like induction stovetops and full-size fridges, as well as over-the-top fire pits and plush outdoor seating. If you have the real estate, many exterior home designers have even taken to leaning into dedicated zones outside for cooking, eating and relaxing, sometimes even separated by barriers or walls. Essentially, anything that helps make the outdoor space feel like the primary entertaining space is fair game.

Michael Partenio

Outdoor lighting is an essential decorative and home safety element in any outdoor space; however, recent home trends encourage you to think beyond simple lighting mounted on the side of your house. Just like inside your home, adding decorative lights like chandeliers or hanging lights with fun lampshades and colorful bulbs, all have a place in the great outdoors.

“I love an unexpected lighting solution in an outdoor space,” says Kathleen Walsh, an interior designer in the Access to Design program at The New York Design Center. “Hang chandeliers on a screened-in porch and watch it develop a new personality. Wireless table lamps have been getting really good recently which opens up a whole world of opportunity for side tables and outdoor dining.” This is also the perfect time to consider solar lighting.

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While you can certainly still pop a few folding chairs on the deck in a pinch, we’ve recently seen designers and homeowners investing seriously into their outdoor spaces. As more people spend a large chunk of their time outdoors, especially in the warmer months, it makes sense that the quality of the outdoor items would match that time investment.

You can up your outdoor decor and hardscaping game in many ways, but it often means opting for more comfortable outdoor furniture, luxury outdoor kitchen appliances and high-quality materials suited to your specific climate so that they’ll last for years to come.

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Over the past few years, using sustainable materials has been a focus inside the home and is now showing its staying power for outdoor spaces as well. Homeowners increasingly want exterior materials with sustainability at the forefront. Multiple studies have shown that consumers looking for sustainable materials are willing to pay more for them and are increasingly concerned about the effects of climate change. Companies and home builders are answering the call.

Representatives from James Hardie told Forbes Home about the company’s commitment to sustainability, striving to reduce absolute Scope 1+2 GHG emissions by 42% by 2030 (compared to a 2021 baseline) and working towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The brand shared how important sustainability is when it comes to the materials used to create products (prioritizing locally sourced materials and working with suppliers that use lower-carbon cement) but also how it plays into the lifespan of exterior home products.

“We know the climate is changing and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, and we’re seeing customers and consumers demand higher-quality, sustainable products,” says Jill Kolling, vice president, ESG and Chief Sustainability Officer at James Hardie. “When it comes to building products and sustainability, homeowners think about durability—you want products that protect what matters to you most, inside and outside [of] your home.”

We’ve seen durability become a larger focus in many exterior home brands. Durability can help products last longer, making them a more economical and green choice because you likely won’t have to replace them as often. But to Kolling’s first point, as more Americans deal with extreme weather events caused by climate change, durability will become an even more vital factor in the sustainability conversation.

“In a climate where we’re seeing more extreme weather events, it’s important to choose products that are built for resilience,” says Kolling. “A home’s exterior is the first line of defense against extreme weather, and there’s never been a greater need to build climate-resilient homes than right now.”

Pam Coker/James Hardie

With limited free time, who wants to spend a large chunk of it repairing chips in your siding, resurfacing your driveway or getting your deck back in tip-top shape? Of course maintenance projects will always be necessary for a well-functioning home, but more and more companies are focusing on outdoor materials that require a lot less TLC.

For instance, metal roofs have been popular for a few years and are only growing in popularity thanks to their long lifespans of 40 to 70 years on average. Other durable and low-maintenance materials include fiber cement siding, composite decking and even PVC.

And this low-maintenance ethos extends to the yard as well. Recent years have seen homeowners shifting to drought-resistant gardens and clover lawns that can withstand increasingly volatile weather and require less maintenance.

Sasha Bikoff

It’s not uncommon for trends to come back into fashion, but this year especially has seen an emergence of cozy, vintage accents largely replacing colder, more modern ones. And while this is a bit more obvious inside homes, we also see it reflected in exterior touches.

Some of our favorite ways to channel vintage exterior ambiance include accents that mimic wood, wrought iron fences and outdoor decor items using materials made popular decades ago with a fresh new twist.

For instance, Sasha Bikoff, an interior designer in the Access to Design program at The New York Design Center, created the chair above with Walters Wicker to showcase a fresh new take on wicker, a material particularly popular in the 1970s. Other vintage takes on outdoor decor include colorful fabrics and unique vintage lawn art pieces.

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Another trend coming back into style is warm colors. While black and white exteriors will always be in style, we’re seeing more homeowners opt for warmer, off-white tones, browns, tans and other warm colors in addition to warm metal accents like gold and brass.

And although it’s still relatively rare to see a home exterior completely in bold colors like reds, pinks and oranges, homeowners are embracing some warm and bold colors in accents like door colors and trim.

Because color can be so difficult to envision, especially on a large part of your home like its exterior, some brands are using emerging technologies to help homeowners feel more comfortable with bold color choices (or any type of siding changes) before diving right in. For instance, James Hardie is partnering with exterior home design mobile app Hover to help homeowners visualize potential colors on their home’s actual exterior via a 3D model.

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Often combined with a few trends, like bolder accents and warmer tones, designers are seeing a surge in texture on the exterior of homes. While this can be achieved in various ways, one of our favorites is adding natural materials like stone. We’ve seen this on the siding of homes, in backyard hardscaping, pillars and other structural elements.

Although you may think only a particular style of home can “pull off” stone accents and other textural elements, designers assure us that’s not always the case.

“A few years ago, it would have been harder for me to convince clients that the home needed stone, without them saying, ‘Oh, this isn’t a mountain home,’” says interior designer Shea McGee when speaking about her collection with Kohler. “And now they’re embracing that warmth and that heavy texture. And so we’re seeing a lot of that in our exterior materials– heavier textures and warmer tones.”

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If you’ve ever designated a spot on the couch as your dog’s seat or found yourself arranging your furniture to allow for a cat tree, then it shouldn’t be a surprise that pet-friendly trends have made their way to home exteriors as well.

Some of our favorite outdoor design trends that keep pets in mind include water spigots perfectly at dog bowl height (or even water features with built-in dog bowls), as well as landscaping that’s safe for dogs or lawn designs specifically made for dogs. And don’t worry; we’ve also seen plenty of cat-friendly outdoor additions like enclosed decks, aka “catios.”