After narrowing in on the look we were going for, we set out to finding the right materials to accomplish it.  As it turns out – we simply live on the wrong coast.  Who knew??  Apparently the exact type of house we love is so popular on the other side of the continent that it’s coined it’s own style.  A quick google search of ‘West Coast Modern” and you’ll know what I’m talking about.  We found a ton of information on expressed joint panel systems, & cedar cladding materials in the Pacific North West, but were hard pressed to find building practices & materials for that style of home locally.

Panel Cladding

Many, MANY google searches, builder forums & manufacturer websites later, we found that we could use HardiePanel fibre-cement vertical siding to achieve the look.  By simply installing it horizontally with a recess or express joint between the boards, the HardiePanel is transformed from traditional to modern.

Traditional installation of HardiePanel vertical siding via houzz

Modern HardiePanel siding with EasyTrim via stormxconstruction

Siding

With the panels sorted, we set out to source our siding.  It didn’t take us long to figure out that as beautiful as cedar siding is, it was going to be cost prohibitive for us (not to mention the maintenance that would be required to keep it looking pretty year after year).  As an alternative, we opted for HardiePlank fibre-cement lap siding.

HardiePlank lap siding via James Hardie

Stone

Contemporary exterior with stone via househunters.ca

There’s just something sexy about the right mix of materials.  Sharp lines & industrial cladding, mixed the with earthy feel of stone somehow speaks to me. So to ground the whole exterior look, we’ll be including a hint of stone across the bottom third of the house. We haven’t quite made our final decision on our choice of stone veneer just yet but maybe we’ll put it to a vote in a later post.

Any suggestions on a stone product you’ve had good experiences with or one you think would work with our design? Let us know!