Exterior Home Design Trends by Region

What’s hot in home improvement and home design this year depends on where you live.

From lighter colored roofing out West and richer colors in the South to beach-inspired design in coastal areas, the varying climates and styles of the United States influence the design elements homeowners choose for their homes. Even the style of the home itself can vary by region.

What’s on trend where you live? Hover over the icons on the photo below to learn what home improvement trends are cropping up in your part of the country.

The East Coast

In coastal communities like Miami, it’s all about the beach lifestyle. Exterior features include outdoor showers, plunge pools, shady porches and verandas all designed to create the feel of a day at the beach for family and friends. More importantly, though, is protection from hurricanes in areas along the Gulf Coast and up the Eastern seaboard.

• Windows: Forget about nailing boards to your windows at the last minute. Coastal homeowners are creating permanent exterior answers to Mother Nature’s fury, such as impact-resistant glass for windows and Bahama shutters that you can close at the first hint of a storm.

• Roofing: Roofs are designed to withstand the uplift”winds hurricanes produced.

• Doors: Garage doors are designed to stand their ground against high winds.

The Mountains

Whether you live in the Rockies or the Tetons, bringing the outdoors inside is a trend that starts with the exterior of your home. Denver home improvement projects will see a lot of the following trends.

• Siding: In the mountains, Mother Nature’s colors are reflected in exterior home trends. Green, putty and brown dominate.

• Windows: Walls of windows make the sweeping landscape part of your living room.

• Flooring: Flooring that extends from your home outside to your patio or outdoor room brings the inside out and the outside in.

• Roofing: Roof overhangs create shade for outdoor sitting areas, and remember to install built-in infrared heaters to keep you cozy on chilly nights.

The Pacific Northwest

Home exteriors in the Pacific Northwest tend to be inspired by the lush landscape around them. Home styles are all over the map, from contemporary to traditional.

Siding runs from traditional shingles to wood to laminate, all in the colors of nature. Greens, blues and grays, reminiscent of the ocean and woodlands, are common in this part of the country, especially for Seattle home improvement projects.

The Midwest

The weather influences Midwest exterior design trends, especially in the northern areas like Chicago, where winter can dominate the year. When Midwesterners can get outside, they want to be outside, so a hot trend right now is toward outdoor living spaces in which to enjoy the fleeting days of spring, summer and fall.

• Doors: Outdoor rooms are nothing new, but the Midwest is seeing modern touches like sliding glass doors that open up an entire wall of the home.

• Siding: Tones here skew toward browns, tans, putty and greens.

• Roofing: Metal roofs can be good for shedding snow, but asphalt shingles continue to be the most popular choice among homeowners.

The Southwest

The idea here is for the home to blend seamlessly into the landscape. Hacienda-style accents like brightly colored house numbers or mailboxes and landscaping with desert plants such as cacti round out the look.

The colors of the desert drive siding trends here — terra cotta, cream, colors of sand. Construction materials tend to run local as well — adobe and stucco dominate.

The South

Here, it’s all about Southern hospitality. And homeowners aren’t afraid of a little color, especially in fun metro areas, like Dallas home improvement projects, where you’ll find bright and colorful trends.

• Doors: Down South, welcoming front porches, double doors that add a splash of bright, bold color to your home and shady verandas are all popular.

• Siding: In the Southeast, you might see a little darker colors, desert tans and whites, but you’ll see some brown wood and driftwood as well.