skip to main content
Sign In
Join as a Pro
History of Houzz
  • PHOTOS
    KITCHEN & DINING
    • Kitchen
    • Modular Kitchen
    • Dining Room
    • Home Bar
    LIVING
    • Living Room
    • Home Theater
    • Home Office
    • Staircase
    BED & BATH
    • Bedroom
    • Nursery
    • Kid's Room
    • Bathroom
    OUTDOOR
    • Garden
    • Patio
    • Terrace & Balcony
    • Courtyard
    MORE ROOMS
    • Puja Room
    • Wardrobe
    • Exterior
    • Swimming Pool
    • View All
  • FIND PROFESSIONALS
    DESIGN & RENOVATION
    • Architects & Building Designers
    • Interior Designers & Decorators
    • Civil Engineers & Contractors
    • Design-Build Firms
    • Kitchen & Bath Designers
    • Landscape Architects & Contractors
    • Home Builders & Construction Companies
    • Photographers
    • Specialty Contractors
    HOME IMPROVEMENT
    • Furniture & Accessories
    • Flooring & Carpet
    • Tile, Stone & Countertop
    • Bedding & Bath
    View All Pros View All Services
  • STORIES
    LATEST FROM HOUZZ
    • Houzz Tours
    • Kitchen Guides
    • Bathroom Guides
    • Bedroom Guides
    • Decorating Guides
    • Outdoors
    • Architecture
    HOUZZ TV
    HOUZZ RESEARCH
  • ADVICE
    HOUZZ DISCUSSIONS
    • Design Dilemma
    • Before & After
    • Polls
    • Home Decorating
    • Kitchens
    • Living Rooms
    • Bedrooms
    • Dining Rooms
    • Exterior
    • Lighting
    • Paint
    • Building a Home
Architecture
Architecture
Hyderabad Houzz: Allu Arjun's Home is Anything But Conventional
Top Ideabooks
Hyderabad Houzz: Allu Arjun's Home is Anything But Conventional5 Sloping Roofs Styles That are a Cut Above the Rest9 Architectural Elements of the Spanish Revival StyleA Guide To Concrete Floors
Appears in
Recent Ideabooks
Photo Books
Photo Books
22 Ways to Use Colour in Your Home
Top Ideabooks
22 Ways to Use Colour in Your Home10 Spectacular Ideas for Backlit Bathroom Mirrors28 Ideas for Nurseries You and Your Baby Will Love27 Genius Dining Area Ideas For Tiny Apartments
Appears in
Recent Ideabooks

Striking & Unusual Modern Home Exteriors

These 20 homes set the tone with exceptional, showstopper façades

Shristi Nangalia
Shristi Nangalia21 December 2020
Houzz India Contributor, Architect, Architectural Writer and Content Writer. Painting, craft work, pets and good food are my getaways. Cultures and colours always inspire me. Email: shristi012@gmail.com, Business profile: @decoretteindia.
More
Print
Embed
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Advancements in the materials and construction industry are opening up newer doors for designers to create standout exterior designs with a distinct dramatic presence. Here is a round-up of 20 exterior designs with a unconventional yet charming kerb appeal.

You can find out more details of a project and see more of a professional’s work by clicking on each photo.
JD Stairs Inc
1. Firm: assemblageSTUDIO
Location: Las Vegas, USA
Custom fittings of huge woven steel wire-mesh screens envelope the upper floor of this 8000-square-foot home. The triangular screens not only make for a visual delight, but also induce passive cooling by reducing radiant heat gain. The textural layering of mass represents the stratification of the nearby Red Rock Mountains, offering an extraordinary edge to the contemporary design.

Find a designer to help design your home facade
Anagram Architects
2. Firm: Anagram Architects
Location: Delhi, India
This joint family home’s white stone facade sports slanting profiles and a deep crevice that runs through the length of the volume. The cleft that produces the look of a ‘broken monolith’ draws ample light and the wind-tunnel effect brings thermal comfort inside the home.

See more striking home exteriors here
Nobbs Radford Architects
3. Firm: Nobbs Radford Architects
Location: Glebe, Sydney
This two-storey house features a fenestrated textural cement-concrete exterior. The cool grey surfaces, sharp rectangular forms and play of lighting add to its unique charm.

Dare to bare those exposed cement walls?
steimle architekten
4. Firm: steimle architekten
Location: Dresden, Germany
A colonnade of wooden slats on the lower floor gives this contemporary home a special personality. It embodies elegance and timelessness owing to its simple lines and pristine white colour.

Why say yes to a white building facade?
Bruns Architecture
5. Firm: Bruns Architecture
Location: Milwaukee, USA
Sitting amidst a backdrop of lush greenery, this modern home’s slanted roofs and patterned screens elevate the exterior design to create a memorable look.

Möhring Architekten
6. Firm: Möhring Architekten
Location: Berlin, Germany
This home’s steep pitched roof wraps multiple windows and a portico cut from the mass on one side. While the materiality make the house look like a traditional barn, the modern details and sharp lines give it a contemporary advantage.


How to integrate wood into a building’s exterior
Burr & McCallum Architects
7. Firm: Burr & McCallum Architects
Location: Berkshire, USA
Located on the crest of a slope, the exterior faces of this contemporary home are clad in Vermont slate over steel framing. The sombre colour scheme subdues the sharp lines of the elevation and the stilted volume captures beautiful views of the meadow around.
na architects
8. Firm: na architects
Location: Hyderabad, India
Thoroughly contemporary, this three-tiered home dons sleek edges and modern finishes. However, the waterfall and the cantilevered roof on the top floor break up what would be a monotonous facade.
Preeti Singh
9. Firm: Architecture Paradigm
Location: Bengaluru, India
Atypical angles and strong lines are softened by greenery in this modern home exterior design. Wood accents are used to create focal points and stabilise the dynamic composition.
Brickworks Building Products
10. Firm: Matyas Architects
Location: Sydney, Australia
Thanks to the dark bricks and timber, this home exterior oozes an intriguing allure, where the colours and textures of the different materials and shapes come together in a balanced whole. The patch of slanted brickwork creates interesting shadows and adds personality to the home’s design.

See how brick accentuates these 6 contemporary Indian homes facades
アトリエオーブ
11. Firm: アトリエオーブ
Location: Mie, Japan
The grey siding on the wall at the right understates itself, allowing the finished wooden surface in front to stand out on this industrial-style home.
Fabi Architekten BDA part gmbb
12. Firm: Fabi Architekten BDA part gmbb
Location: Regensburg, Germany
A modern colour palette embraces this two-level house with a black structure cantilevered on another cuboid. The unique geometry negates the need for decorative embellishments to create a striking exterior.
zanon architetti associati
13. Firm: zanon architetti associati
Location: Venice, Italy
The creeper-covered country home’s exterior is further enhanced by installation of a living area extension in glass with Corten steel frames.
The reflective panels are installed in such a way that it makes the block seem see-through.

Need ideas to grow climbing plants and vines at home?
Ace Associates
14. Firm: Ace Associates
Location: Ahmedabad, India
While the cement-grey and wood tones keep the colour palette consistent, the sliding screen panels that mask the upper floor give this contemporary home an eye-catching identity.
Ace Associates
See how beautifully it lights up at night.

Find out about 6 common outdoor lighting features and the right ways to use them
Gabhart Investments, Inc.
15. Location: San Diego, USA
The pop of peach colour on this home exterior makes a strong statement from the street. While the basic geometry echoes a laid-back vibe, the soft, bright colour subtly makes a presence.

Check out these 7 unusual exterior paint colour combinations for homes
Malik Architecture
16. Firm: Malik Architecture
Location: Alibaug, India
This asymmetrical, faceted exterior is nothing like any standard modern home design. Concrete and stone surfaces nod to a brutalist appeal, while the unusual shape and orientation captures panoramic views of the surrounding valley.

Take a tour of this home here
Architect Show Co.,Ltd
17. Firm: Architect Show Co.,Ltd
Location: Fukuoka, Japan
To achieve a sculptural design, this modern house’s exterior is finished in white deep-slanting eaves over two blocks clad in red cedar.
Kevin Daly Architects
18. Firm: Kevin Daly Architects
Location: Los Angeles, USA
The fully glazed elevation of this two-storey home is shaded by an interestingly shaped, perforated metal skin on an aluminium frame. The screen not only adds to the wow factor of the exterior design, but helps maintain privacy and thermal comfort in the interiors.

Here are many ways to shade a building from the sun to ensure natural cooling
Warren Techentin Architecture
19. Firm: Warren Techentin Architecture
Location: Los Angeles, USA
The two-toned contemporary structure of this garage-turned-home features timber cladding, white surfaces and glazed panels. The volumes fold and stretch strategically to tailor a green design that is friendly to the existing site.
TASCHEN
20. Firm: Sou Fujimoto architects
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Breaking away from the customary RCC structure, this 914-square-foot transparent home is made of white steel frame. The reformist house brings 21 individual floor levels together to pull off the concept of ‘living within a tree’. Fenestration and curtains are tactically placed to allow privacy and ventilation.

Read on:
What Contemporary Facades Do
9 Cladding and Design Ideas for Facades

Tell us:
Which home exterior did you like the most and why? Share your thoughts in Comments below.
Print
Embed
Facebook
Twitter
Email
See 3 comments
Explore Related Topics
ArchitecturePhoto Books
Read Related Stories
Hyderabad Houzz: Allu Arjun's Home is Anything But ConventionalHyderabad Houzz: Allu Arjun's Home is Anything But Conventional
By Amanda Peters·34
Houzz Tours
5 Sloping Roofs Styles That are a Cut Above the Rest5 Sloping Roofs Styles That are a Cut Above the Rest
By Rebecca Gross·47
Architecture
9 Architectural Elements of the Spanish Revival Style9 Architectural Elements of the Spanish Revival Style
By Debbie Snider·32
Houzz Around the World
A Guide To Concrete FloorsA Guide To Concrete Floors
By Rebecca Gross·41
Decorating Guides
Inspiring Skylights, Glass Ceilings & Angled WindowsInspiring Skylights, Glass Ceilings & Angled Windows
By Kate Shaw·31
More Room Guides
7 Winning Ways to Integrate Wood Into a Building's Exterior7 Winning Ways to Integrate Wood Into a Building's Exterior
By Pooja Khanna Tyagi·2
Outdoors
Did You Know About the 3 Types of Balance in Design?Did You Know About the 3 Types of Balance in Design?
By Gabrielle Di Stefano·9
Decorating Guides
Do You Know About Flexible Floor Plans & Function-Fluid Spaces?Do You Know About Flexible Floor Plans & Function-Fluid Spaces?
By Rebecca Naughtin·6
More Room Guides
Pros & Cons of Double-Glazed WindowsPros & Cons of Double-Glazed Windows
By Pooja Khanna Tyagi·1
Decorating Guides
Why Bamboo Is Emerging as One of the Preferred Building MaterialsWhy Bamboo Is Emerging as One of the Preferred Building Materials
By Pooja Khanna Tyagi·2
Architecture
14 Striking Ways Stacked Stone Can Make Gorgeous Walls14 Striking Ways Stacked Stone Can Make Gorgeous Walls
By Georgia Madden·5
Decorating Ideas
Colour Used As Architecture in Milan Flat Inspired by CorbusierColour Used As Architecture in Milan Flat Inspired by Corbusier
By Claudia Schiera·85
Houzz Tours
Iconic Architect: The Life & Works of Louis KahnIconic Architect: The Life & Works of Louis Kahn
By Cathy Rebecca·28
Architecture
Retrospective: The Unprecedented Architectural Contribution of IM KadriRetrospective: The Unprecedented Architectural Contribution of IM Kadri
By Meghna Mehta·8
Architecture
Lessons From Vernacular Architecture That Apply Even TodayLessons From Vernacular Architecture That Apply Even Today
By Shristi Nangalia·0
Decorating Guides
People who liked this story also liked
Hyderabad Houzz: Allu Arjun's Home is Anything But Conventional
Hyderabad Houzz: Allu Arjun's Home is Anything But ConventionalFull Story
5 Sloping Roofs Styles That are a Cut Above the Rest
5 Sloping Roofs Styles That are a Cut Above the RestFull Story
9 Architectural Elements of the Spanish Revival Style
9 Architectural Elements of the Spanish Revival StyleFull Story
A Guide To Concrete Floors
A Guide To Concrete FloorsFull Story
Inspiring Skylights, Glass Ceilings & Angled Windows
Inspiring Skylights, Glass Ceilings & Angled WindowsFull Story
7 Winning Ways to Integrate Wood Into a Building's Exterior
7 Winning Ways to Integrate Wood Into a Building's ExteriorFull Story
Did You Know About the 3 Types of Balance in Design?
Did You Know About the 3 Types of Balance in Design?Full Story
Do You Know About Flexible Floor Plans & Function-Fluid Spaces?
Do You Know About Flexible Floor Plans & Function-Fluid Spaces?Full Story
Pros & Cons of Double-Glazed Windows
Pros & Cons of Double-Glazed WindowsFull Story
Why Bamboo Is Emerging as One of the Preferred Building Materials
Why Bamboo Is Emerging as One of the Preferred Building MaterialsFull Story
  • India
  • ABOUT
  • MOBILE APPS
  • PROFESSIONALS
  • BUTTONS
  • FAQs
  • CAREERS
  • ADVERTISE
  • Terms & Privacy
  • © 2021 Houzz Inc.