Home facade meaning, is the exterior design of a house, and specifically the front facade, house frontage, or the side that faces the street.

It’s what people see first when arriving, walking or driving past, and where first impressions are made on your home design, finish, and style. We talk about “street appeal” or “curb appeal” being important when designing your new modern home — because although you might not judge a book by its cover, people do make assumptions on the value and interior design of your home, based on its exterior design. That’s why it’s important to give your home exterior colours and style, as much consideration as you do the interior, and to make sure the materials and design of both inside and out complement and match perfectly.

It’s not uncommon to see homeowners pour their heart, soul and budget into their home interior design, and largely overlook their facade and home exterior. But not you! We’ve put together nine aesthetic and modern home facade design ideas to add head-turning street appeal to your new or existing facade… #letsgo

1. Facades That Make An Entrance

The key to impressive street appeal is first impressions. Making a memorable entrance to your home comes from considering the finer details, and adding design features to your home facade that perfectly align with your interior home style.

The first things visitors and onlookers will be greeted with are your front fence and gate, front door and house numbers. Investing in a custom front door that stands out in the street can provide instant wow factor, and the perfect focal point for your house facade. For house numbers and letters, colours and materials should complement your home exterior design, and match lighting or other features, so that everything feels connected and cohesive.

2. Facade Texture + Pattern

One of the most effective ways to add visual interest to your home design facade is with texture and pattern. It creates instant depth and can be easily achieved by mixing a range of exterior cladding, materials and finishes.

Popular exterior materials include battens, weatherboard, panels, stone, brick and glass, all of which can work to provide contrast, texture and grounding and create a dynamic look to the exterior of your home. Even minimal, modern house facades need a bit of pattern to make sure they’re not boring, which can be achieved using a simple, monochrome or neutral colour scheme of not more than 2-3 like colours and finishes.

Z+S Tip • Facade design success is not achieved by choosing a certain style of home, but rather by achieving visual balance of both depth and colour. Simple, minimal home facades can have as much, if not more impact, than traditional homes with period features like coloured bricks, stone and fretwork.

3. Facades With Symmetry + Balance

To create a sense of balance and harmony, you can emphasise or add symmetry on your home facade design. The eye naturally loves the repetition of lines and shapes, and a symmetrical home frontage will always feel balanced and timeless.

You can achieve balance on your home facade by aligning windows and doors evenly, as well as opting for a few select materials and repeating them throughout your exterior design — so that the eye naturally travels across the entire facade instead of one particular focus point.

4. Integrating Greenery In A Home Facade

Landscaping and planting are often left to the end or an afterthought when building or renovating. But prioritising natural green elements and features in your facade design is simple and effective, and not only makes your home stand out in the street, but also softens hard materials and finishes like concrete, brickwork or even plain white rendered walls. Put simply, adding greenery makes your home look and feel more purposeful, and integrated into the site.

Add nature to the front of your house by incorporating greenery and landscaping elements like hanging plants, built-in planter boxes, vertical gardens and feature tress, or if space is a commodity, a simple grouping of large planters at the front door can be equally effective and create the wow factor that’s lacking.

5. Facades With Neutral Colour Schemes

When it comes to selecting the exterior colour scheme for a house facade, we follow the same principles as we do when designing interior spaces — neutrals all the way!

Why do we love neutral exteriors so much? A neutral colour scheme is the best investment! - ensuring classic, timeless house designs that stay on trend for years after the paint dries… plus it also sets the tone for what to expect in your house interior. And the secret to achieving interior and exterior design cohesion? Keep your color scheme consistent from inside to out — opting for similar colours, tones and materials, and where possible, continue the same finish from inside to outside, for the ultimate indoor/outdoor flow.

6. Add Depth To Your House Facade

One of the key elements to creating a designer home facade is depth. In fact we’d argue you cannot achieve design success without it! Incorporating variations in height and depth across your facade, results in a home exterior that’s visually appealing, interesting and balanced.

You can add depth by offsetting walls, installing cladding with varying thicknesses, adding a balcony, rebating or offsetting windows, integrating hoods or awnings and with the addition of a range of features like battens, screens and blockwork. Adding depth can start early in your home design, by designing rooms on your facade at different planes. Or if you’re renovating and stuck with what you have, a simple exterior design idea like adding a roof or hood to the front entrance, can make a world of difference and completely transform your existing facade.

7. Home Facade Must-Have: Feature Lighting

Outdoor lighting has come a long way, with seemingly endless options to add beautiful, modern illumination to facades. And when planned with a bit of foresight, it not only adds practicality and convenience — but will transform your home facade by night, into a dreamy and sophisticated entry.

Exterior lighting should be planned to highlight architectural features, the entry or pathways, and overall enhance ambience on the facades. Do this by strategically considering the best lighting plan to effectively illuminate areas across your facade. Use uplights, downlights, and spotlights to illuminate and direct light to key areas and textures, and exterior wall lights, garden lights and softer lighting to create ambience and visual interest after dark.

8. Prioritise Functionality For Your Facade

Functionality should always be front of mind when designing or adding features and materials to your home facade. Consider factors such as privacy, ventilation, and energy efficiency, choose durable materials that require minimal maintenance and invest in features like insulated windows and efficient lighting fixtures for longevity.

In terms of elements to include in your facade design, consider a covered entrance or porch for weather, a clearly defined entry and path, as well as house numbers that are visible night and day. And consider adding a gate to your front fence to achieve both security and formalise the entrance to your home.

9. Facades With Street Appeal

Achieving street appeal is the ultimate goal when designing a home’s facade. You want your home’s exterior design to shine from the street and stand out from your neighbours (for the right reasons, of course).

All the features above, including a neutral colour scheme, balance and symmetry, depth, texture and pattern, when combined successfully, achieve that coveted street appeal for a home. Once you have a basic plan for your home facade, work to add those extra touches and introduce the right materials that will stop people in their tracks. And if your budget is limited or home is reasonably new, and a large revamp is not feasible, use planting, hedges + lawns, fencing and even change small items, such as your front door handle. All these elements together can completely transform or elevate your facade design and the overall look and feel of your home’s first impression.