Top 10 Exterior Products 2016
by Rachel Lyon, Editorial Director for The House Designers
It’s finally time to wrap up our top products of the year with the ones you see first when you come home every day! Exterior products might not be as played up as the fashionable fixtures and finishes that go inside, but they definitely pull double duty when it comes to durability and beauty. Many make your home safe and comfortable by keeping out the elements, while others enhance your property to make it easier to enjoy the great outdoors, so check out our list whether you’re planning to build, remodel, or simply add to the home you already love!
3. Synthetic Slates with Quarried Looks
Natural slate has textural character from quarrying, but quarries cause environmental devastation and their products are heavy, expensive to ship, and prone to breakage in transit. For a more eco-friendly choice,
DaVinci Roofscapes offers durable synthetic slate tiles, and they rolled out an improved profile this year that mimics the look people gravitate toward. Deeper impressions with random shaping around the edges of each piece of slate reproduce that charming natural roof from within a factory in Kansas, and it comes with a lifetime limited warranty! Better yet, these tiles are completely recyclable, so you won't ever have to add them to the landfill.
Model: DaVinci Roofscapes Multi-Width Slate in Aberdeen | Contact for a Quote
4. Beautiful Engineered Wood Shakes
There’s nothing quite like cedar shake siding, but upkeep concerns deter many homeowners. For a much lower maintenance solution,
LP® SmartSide® has attractive shakes available in aligned and staggered panels to suit your style. Straight and swirling grain patterns might make you think it has been split from logs, but this siding is actually engineered wood, treated with the
SmartGuard® process, which includes waxes, zinc borate, and industrial-grade resins and binders to produce a more water-, insect-, fungus-, and impact-resistant shake that addresses the worries that come with raw wood. It’s the answer many have been waiting for!
Model: LP® SmartSide® Cedar Shake Siding | Contact for a Quote
5. Massive Slide-Away Patio Doors
Extensive glass displays in residential homes are a rapidly growing trend, and the category of patio doors keeps expanding to meet the demand. These are so much more than your average sliding and swinging varieties—
Marvin® Windows and Doors offers stunning
scenic doors that bring the beauty of your surroundings in and seamlessly open to your property. Between the large dimensions, panel configurations, and modes of operation available, there’s a stunning option that will help you effortlessly blend interior and exterior spaces. Just imagine having clear panoramic views through a glass wall that you can hide away when you want to enjoy the breeze!
Model: Marvin® Ultimate Lift and Slide Door | Contact for a Quote
6. Stylish Weather-Resistant Shutters
Shutters add personality to a home, and they’re practically requisite for many types of architecture, but nobody really wants to maintain them so they last and keep the house looking its best. That’s why the new shutters from
Fypon® are a welcome addition to their already extensive catalog. With natural woodgrains accenting durable polyurethane, you get the best of beauty and resilience—and there are plenty of styles from which to choose! Whether you want spaced plank shutters or joined board and batten ones, rectangular shapes or rounded tops to match arched windows, or you’re particular about how the battens are arranged, Fypon
® has you covered.
Model: Fypon® 2 Batten Board & Batten Woodgrain Shutters | Contact for a Quote
7. A Toasty At-Home Campfire
If chilly weather prevents you from enjoying your outdoor living spaces, you’re in luck! With the
Artisan Fire Bowls from
Eldorado Stone, you can spend more time outside comfortably and in style, too. There are models with crisp modern lines and others with subtle curves, and a variety of finished textures and colors allow you to create the perfect look to match your exterior design. Eldorado’s fire bowls even give you the option to tap into your existing natural gas or liquid propane line or connect to a portable propane tank, so they’re practical no matter what your fuel situation is. Now, just imagine being able to gather around a fire at your leisure! All it takes is a turn of a key.
Model: Eldorado Stone Mezzaluna Firebowl | $3,999.00 MSRP
8. Sustainably Produced Outdoor Living Areas
Building a deck, porch, gazebo, or pergola? You should carefully consider the material you choose. The beauty and character of real wood is always admired, but many are wary of upkeep. That’s why we’re glad to see a boom in the popularity of redwood, which is naturally insect resistant and stronger than other woods and composites, and even weathers beautifully when left unfinished thanks to its inherent durability. Better yet, redwood is carbon negative—it removes more CO
2 than is released during manufacturing—and will eventually biodegrade so it won’t end up in a landfill. See
Humboldt Redwood™ to learn more about this California-grown, environmentally responsible choice!
Model: A Pergola Built with Humboldt Redwood™ | Contact for a Quote
9. A Truly Fitting Color
On the hunt for the perfect hue to come home to? Choosing paint is tricky business—the color you love on a swatch is often overpoweringly saturated when applied to a whole house— but the wide spectrum available from
BEHR® surely has just what you’re looking for, and their range of durable, mildew-resistant exterior paints will help keep your home looking great for the long term. Check out their
Exterior Inspiration Gallery to see the possibilities! You can easily filter by type of house or color temperature if you have a specific starting point in mind, so start envisioning your own home’s finished look!
Model: Siding Painted with BEHR® Laid Back Gray T17-09 | Price Varies by Product
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