7 Exterior Trends That Will Boost Your Curb Appeal in 2024
New year, new trends. While we often have interior design trends on the brain when January rolls around, what about the exterior of our homes? After all, everyone from the dog walker to the mailperson sees it (unlike that bathroom refresh you just completed), so why not give the outside of your home just as much personality as what’s inside? With that in mind, we spoke with Dzinly co-founder Jackie Mosher about the top exterior design trends in 2024, plus tips on how to go about the renovations.
“My biggest advice is do your due diligence; be realistic about your expectations and what you like or what you really don’t like,” Mosher tells us. “Put together your inspirational images and really, really think about it. Sometimes people just need a little change. Try painting your trim or just changing your shutters or your front door color. See if that scratches the itch.”
MEET THE EXPERT Jackie Mosher, co-founder of Dzinly, an exterior design and architecture company that provides online services and design renderings within days.
1. Dark & Earth-Toned Paints Create Friendly, Inviting Spaces
In 2020, there was a boom in demand for home offices as many people began working from home. Although there has been a gradual return to the workplace, Mosher highlights the continued desire for homes to act as warm, inviting, safe spaces that shield us from a tumultuous world. In 2023, she shared that dark and earth tones are in, as well as warm whites, and that rings true into 2024 as well. These tones are ideal for those who want to change up their exterior without straying too much from a classic look.
“White is obviously timeless and a safe choice, but the creamy, warmer whites are being selected more recently versus the icy shade,” Mosher shares. Other hues to consider? Blues. Mosher reports that all her suppliers have picked some shade of blue as their color for 2024. “Grays with the blue undertones, deeper colors,” she notes. “The range is just wild. They’re blue-green, bright, almost tropical. It really does go from one extreme to another.”
PAINT COLORS TO TRY:
- Earthy Browns — Behr: ; Benjamin Moore: ; Sherwin-Williams: Elephant Ear, Poised Taupe and Truly Taupe.
- Blues — Behr:; Benjamin Moore:; Sherwin-Williams: Upward; Valspar: Renew Blue
- Warm Whites — Behr:; Behr:
2. Monochrome Is in, High Contrast Is Out
The past five years have seen an ode to high-contrast looks—picture white houses with black trim and the like—but now the scale is tipping in a monochrome direction. This is all, Mosher says, in a bid for originality.
“We hear people say ‘I don’t want to look like the neighbors. I don’t want to look like every house on the block,’” she tells us.
Since high-contrast paint combinations are so bold, they really stand out. And the more ubiquitous they’ve become, the more they start to feel…cookie cutter. As a result, the pendulum is swinging in the other direction. Monochrome, according to Mosher, is an easy way to achieve a chic and sophisticated design without feeling aggressive. Last year, the HGTV dream house was monochromatic, and she expects that the trend will continue in 2024.
Expect to see the monochrome look really shine when it comes to people’s entryways: “I feel like in the past year or two, people were really excited about a massive pop in the color [of the front door],” Mosher says. “Now, I feel like they want it flowing with the same color as the trim.”
3. Wood, Metal, Stone, Oh My: Mix Up Those Textures
No one said your home exterior had to be all brick, all stone or all wood. Mixing up materials lends visual interest, especially when you incorporate something as an accent piece. For example, Mosher has noticed that stained wood has become a popular choice, finding its way into header beams on a porch, windowsill details, pediments, gables and wood plank siding, just to name a few.
“[Other] great options for the textured materials [are] stone, siding and board and batten. Metal roofs and metal awnings (the cheaper version of the metal roofs) are becoming super popular as well,” she adds.
When it comes to using these materials in your home exterior, Mosher recommends using gables or bump-outs, which will create a different design plane. A more budget-friendly option is to use the same cladding material (whether that’s stone, wood or brick, etc.) across the exterior but to change the color to one in the same complementary family.
“You can pull the darkest or the lightest [color] from the stone or brick, and you would use that color for the gable or the bump out,” she explains. Of all these details, Mosher says that wood accents are the most popular. That includes eave brackets, window accent brackets, porch headers.
4. Trimless, Geometric Windows Are on the Rise
Paint, roofing, siding…and yet there are still more ways to customize your home exterior, namely by getting creative with your doors and windows. Mosher tells us that many are opting for no trim on their windows, which yields an incredibly clean look. And, yes, this is even happening on “traditional” homes like Colonials.
“People are throwing in larger-sized windows where typically they were built much smaller,” she says. “[This creates a] larger, sleeker, cleaner look.” Additionally, geometric shapes are all the rage: From ovals and octagons to the sought-after half-moon, homeowners are saying goodbye to the square and rectangle.
As always, any sort of work you do on your home can be a big decision, and as Mosher advises, it’s best not to rush into things. Don’t be afraid to make inspiration boards, grab all the paint swatches, and go out to see the materials for yourself.
5. Bigger Is Better
Pinterest predicts that 2024 will be the year to “make it big.” While the trend focused on beauty and jewelry, it extends to home design, too. In addition to ginormous windows, Mosher says that even the details are getting bigger, as shown above in the gable and corbels. “People want almost oversized wood headers, corbels and eave brackets. The lighting, [which is often seen as the jewelry of the home], is also something that is very trendy to see oversized.”
6. Outdoor Living Spaces
Outdoor living spaces remain a stronghold, even post-pandemic. “[Even people with much smaller homes want] patios, outdoor fireplaces, ovens and entertainment areas,” Mosher says. “[They want] delegated areas for this. [They’re asking], ‘How can we make this fit? How can we do this on a budget?’ It’s important to them; it’s in the criteria [of their home design].”
7. Smart Home Technology
Sure, you use your Roomba and Alexa basically runs your house. But people are also turning to smart home technology for the outdoors. “I think that’s another one where people are definitely getting used to this is the new normal,” Mosher says. That includes lighting, doorbells, security, sprinklers and even locks.
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