Top 50 Best Brick And Stone Exterior Ideas

1. Craftsman

The basic Craftsman bungalow is one of the most easily-identifiable home designs today. The first Craftsman or Arts-and-Crafts style homes were erected in America around the turn of the 20th century. With their simplicity of style, they were seen as a rebellion against the ornate formality of the Victorian homes that ruled at the time.

 

One classic feature that distinguishes the Craftsman is its front porch columns. These supports generally have a wide stone or brick base topped with a four-sided beam that tapers as it nears the roof.

Craftsman homes may use a combination of stone and brick cladding or brick and wood siding. They tend to be painted in muted browns, greens, or earthy golden shades that coordinate well with natural stone or brick. However, their simple design can also make them a good canvas to carry brighter colors.

Craftsman bungalows often feature a central dormer with a low profile. Its front and sides can be a good place to repeat the brick or stone used on the stylized porch columns. Brick or stone paths and steps provide an impressive entrance path into your classic Craftsman abode.

2. Tudor

When Tudor design mentioned, it immediately brings to mind life in 16th century England. Homes designed in the Tudor style today are modern takes on architectural features common in the late Medieval era. They can include a mixture of brick and stone cladding, decorative half-timbering, and tall, leaded-glass windows beneath a steep roofline. Some Tudor homes have a castle-like appearance with flattened, pointed arches on doorways and windows, and multiple, exaggerated chimney stacks.

 

A classic Tudor color palette will include warm grays, a range of brown tones and cream or white accents. However, modern Tutor homes can feature wooden shutters and beams painted in soft shades of earthy sage green or other non-traditional colors. It is common to see an arched wooden doorway framed in stones of varying sizes serving as the focal point of a brick Tudor home. A modern Tudor revival home may feature a flagstone path and steps leading up to a wide Gothic limestone arch framing the front door.

3. Cottage

Cottage-style houses became popular in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. Soldiers returned from WWI wanted to replicate the cozy cottages they saw scattered throughout the English and French countryside. A cottage’s charming simplicity of design helps showcase any type of stone or brick cladding. It’s common to see small cottages with painted or bare bricks along the bottom third of their exterior walls, with shake shingles or plank siding applied to the sections above.

Stone cottages are reminiscent of the English countryside and one dwelling may be clad with a combination of stone types and sizes. Limestone, sandstone, and river stone were often used to build British cottages. Traditionally, builders would use whichever stone was most readily available in the area. Although natural stone can be an expensive way to finish exterior walls today, the wide availability of manufactured stone panels can make it easy to replicate the appearance of natural stone while sticking to a budget.