With the mild winter we’ve been having here in southern Ontario you might be starting to think about doing some renovations on your home. If you’re thinking about making some updates to your exterior and upgrading the curb appeal of your home, now is a great time to start that conversation. Not only will you catch contractors before they start to fill up their spring schedule, you’ll be able to incorporate some of the hot styles that are showing promise for 2021 and beyond.
Housing design trends are changing
In 2021 the exterior home design trends look like they’ll be leaning into a more modern and symmetrical look. While the farmhouse style is still a very popular trend, homeowners are starting to pull away from this love of gabled roofs and wood siding and moving into more of a sleek space. Angular and boxy exteriors with flat roofs, bold colour choices and metal accents are beginning to take hold both across Canada and in the Halton region.
We’re also seeing homeowners wanting to focus on high quality, durable materials that will stand the test of time and keep their home looking amazing for years to come. When making the decision to invest in your home by updating the exterior, you no doubt want to ensure that the money you put in is a good investment and that your materials won’t need to be replaced anytime soon.
Siding is replacing brick
The style of featuring brick exterior, either on your entire home or just as an accent, has been around for many years and offers a solid structure to a home. However, homeowners and home designers are starting to shift away from the brick and move more into the world of siding. With many styles and colours of siding available, homeowners and builders are finding that the infinite style opportunities that come with siding are offering a more timeless and modern look than brick. The ability to customize siding into something that suits your style is appealing to anyone looking to renovate this year.
So many options with siding
The beauty of choosing to go with siding rather than brick is that you have so many options available to you. Whether you’re interested in a simple, neutral coloured vinyl siding or want to go with something more modern like metal, you’ll have a ton of design choices to work with. Vertical vinyl siding is a great way to modernize your home, add uniqueness and curb appeal, and still stay within your renovation budget.
Though vinyl is one of the more popular siding choices that you’ll see on homes this year, you may also find materials like wood, metal, stone and fiber cement. Stucco was once a popular choice for siding thanks to the durability and ease of painting and therefore customizing it, but stucco is actually quite labour intensive to install so is likely to increase your budget significantly.
Big windows are in
With homes feeling more rectangular and boxy from the front, big windows are a style trend that blends well. Having a large window as the focal point of your home when looking at it from the front allows you to showcase the modern and sleek style of your newly renovated home. What was once the trend of smaller windows under a gabled roof is starting to disappear from around the GTA in favour of sleeker and more streamlined spaces.
Home exterior colours make the home
Regardless of what kind of siding you choose, it’s the colour that will truly make your design choices pop. The trend this year is to choose slightly more neutral colours like grey, white or cream and allow the door to offer the bold pop of colour that we crave in a modern exterior. Alternatively, you can go with something a bit brighter for your siding like blue or green and offset the brightness with a neutral white or grey on the windows and door.
No matter what kind of siding or colour scheme you go with this year, your home renovations are sure to give you the update that you’ve been looking for.
