Exterior home design styles: a visual guide

Every house style is a particular answer to the same five questions: the shape of the roof, the material of the walls, the rhythm of the windows, the way you enter, and the detail that finishes it. Learn to look for those and styles stop being a list of names.

The hero changes only one answer: timber on the upper floor. The same house reads as Nordic. Change the roof to clay tile, as in the next example, and it starts to read Mediterranean.

The styles below are all included in Omriss, so you can try each on a photo of your own house.

• Modern farmhouse. White or board-and-batten walls, black window frames, gabled roofs and a generous porch.
• Scandinavian. Simple volumes, timber cladding, muted colors and steep roofs with little ornament.
• Contemporary. Clean lines, flat or low roofs, large glazing and mixed cladding materials.
• Craftsman. Low-pitched gables with wide eaves, a deep porch on tapered columns and natural materials.
• Mediterranean. Warm render, clay-tile roofs, deep-set windows and planting such as olive and lavender.
• Cottage. Small scale, steep gables, climbing plants and a cosy, irregular character.
• Victorian. Steep roofs, bay windows, decorative trim and tall chimneys.
• Georgian. A symmetrical front, a central door, sash windows and brick or render in calm proportions.
• Mid-century. Low horizontal lines, large windows and a strong connection to the garden.
• Coastal. Light colors, weatherboard or render, and porches that face the view.
• Tudor. Half-timbering, steep gables, tall chimneys and leaded windows.
• Mountain cabin. Heavy timber, stone bases and big roofs with deep overhangs.
• Industrial. Brick, black steel-framed windows and simple, practical forms.
• Japandi. Natural timber, restrained colors and low, calm lines. See Japandi style for the interiors.

The most convincing makeovers work with the house’s bones rather than against them. A steep gable suits Scandinavian or cottage treatment; a low hipped roof suits a mid-century or Craftsman look; a flat roof suits contemporary. Forcing an unrelated style onto the wrong shape tends to look like a costume.

Look at the street, too. A facade that sits comfortably with its neighbours usually works better than one that argues with them, and some areas have rules about colors and materials.

Colors and details are the easiest things to change, and the roof shape is the hardest. Start with what is cheap to change: the wall color, the front door, the window frames, the planting. The examples below change a single element each: a red clay-tile roof, and a sage render with dark window frames.

It is far easier to see this in a picture than to imagine it, which is the point of trying styles on your own photo before you commit. Compare modern house exterior ideas, or the front door and entrance in house front design.

Omriss includes the exterior styles above and lets you change the roof, windows, siding, doors and porch separately. Photograph your house, pick a style, and compare the result with the original. It is an illustrative AI image, not an architectural drawing, so treat it as a way to explore.

Try AI exterior house design on your own front.