Get instant street appeal with a mixed-material façade

Every beautifully designed home begins with a striking, decorative exterior. For instant street appeal and a house that turns heads, try creating a mixed-material façade.

As the Australian urban landscape changes, so do our houses. Where older, more traditional-style homes tend to favour bricks or weatherboard, a contemporary home design often calls for a striking contrast of colour, material and texture.

The best thing about mixed-material façades? They have undeniable street presence. Layering different colours and textures together helps to create a dynamic, rhythmic exterior that instantly draws the eye. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to bring a bit of individual style, personality and flair to a home.

When designing a mixed-material façade, the possibilities are practically endless. A combination of brick and steel can be used to create a modern-industrial look; weatherboard and render for a classic Hamptons style; or render and timber for a contemporary home that seamlessly blends indoor and outdoor living.

Start with a good base

When it comes to creating a beautiful and striking facade, Hebel is a great place to start. As Australia’s leading manufacturer of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC), we provide strong, high-performance and – perhaps most importantly – versatile building products that elevate homes inside and out.

Hebel PowerPanel^XL external wall system is a particularly versatile design choice for residential façades. The fact that it can be rendered with practically any finish means you can use it to achieve a variety of different looks, ranging from crisp and coastal to modern industrial. Pair it with other materials – brick feature walls, stone panels, timber accents and more – to create a façade that stands out from the crowd.

For their latest project, boutique home builder Thomas Archer did precisely that. At the Lynden Residence, Hebel PowerPanel^XL was specified for the external walls and finished with a concrete look render. By contrasting the clean, concrete-looking render with dark timber cladding, Thomas Archer delivered a bold architectural façade.

“Hebel’s PowerPanels provide a perfect balance of style and quality to our homes as they align with our clean, modern aesthetic while also providing a more solid base support for our homes,” says Alex Adams, Principal Architect at Thomas Archer.

 Choose a decorative design

For added visual interest, residential façades can be elevated with decorative PowerProfile. PowerProfile is available in two styles and three popular Colorbond® colours – Dune®, Basalt™ and Monument® – which gives countless design options. Or, you can select panels with pre-routed ‘V’-grooves from our PowerPattern range, and combine them with rendered Hebel walls to create a stylish, composite design.

 

For Veronica and Mark King of King Homes NSW, the superior design flexibility of Hebel PowerProfile was a natural fit for their recent build in the outer suburbs of Sydney. PowerProfile was used in lieu of bricks and paired with a crisp acrylic render, taking the façade of their Spice Home project to the next level.

“Hebel added striking interest to the front of the home which really appealed to a large group of buyers. As builders, we love working with Hebel for its high-quality finish and straightforward installation,” says Mark.

So impressed with the Hebel range, the Kings took their work home with them, using Hebel to create a distinctively eye-catching, designer façade for their own forever home.

Create layers of texture

When paired with other textures and materials, Hebel can help you create an array of desirable looks. Many Hebel homes feature timber elements – cladding, panels, louvres, pillars and more. Sturdy yet lightweight, timber is a highly versatile building material that instantly draws the eye. When integrated into a home’s exterior, it provides a youthful, contemporary feel.

If you’ve fallen in love with the elegant and ever-popular Hamptons trend, try overlaying smooth, light-coloured rendered Hebel panels with neutral-tone weatherboard cladding and charcoal trims. Or, for a gorgeous Tuscan-style home, take inspiration from award-winning Queensland builder, Homes by CMA – by incorporating natural materials like stone into some of their façade designs, they have provided a contemporary take on a classic Mediterranean look.

If you’ve got your heart set on a modern, minimalist façade, then look no further than Newport Homes’ array of stylish designs. Their Catalina display home has a particularly striking facade, with its rendered Hebel base, dark, textured timber and fascinating glasswork. A modern-retro house with breathtaking street appeal, it’s enough to make passers-by look back in wonder.

“With Hebel, we can achieve that beautiful, monolithic effect given it works as a sealed cavity, so there are no weepholes to interrupt the render, which brings immediate impact with a street appeal that is so highly sought after. Hebel have really set new standards in street appeal when it comes to rendered finishes and I don’t see a decrease in demand for this trusted, timeless look anytime soon,” says Anthony Camilleri, Director at Newport Homes.

Adding to Hebel’s appeal is the trusted technical reputation of Hebel materials. For Anthony, Hebel has immediate brand recognition. “One of the first questions we often receive is, ‘Do you use Hebel?’ Customers know Hebel provides a long-lasting façade that won’t crack or peel, which is a big draw card for customers wanting to build their forever home.”

Learn more about using Hebel in your home’s façade:
www.hebel.com.au/segment/houses/#segment-applications

Hero image courtesy of: Latitude37 Homes