Material Pairings for Outdoors & Facades: 6 Designers' Favourites
Smarten up your street presence and outdoor area with six design experts' five favourite colour and material combos
Georgia Madden
21 May 2022
When it comes to creating a beautiful home, it all starts before you even set foot inside the front door. We asked six design experts to reveal their favourite go-to colour and material combinations for facades and outdoor areas so you can make a great first impression.
Vanessa Wegner’s house in Gladesville, NSW.
1. Vanessa Wegner, architect and principal at Vanessa Wegner Architect
Perfect pairing: Brick and timber.
Brick is such a beautiful building product. There are so many colours and types to choose from and you can really experiment with different brickwork patterns.
They are solid, sustainable and have great thermal mass. Most beautiful heritage buildings are made of brick – and they last.
Bricks also allow for deep window reveals, which add shadow and depth to a facade.
Timber doors and window frames and timber cladding under eaves add another layer of richness to the building palate, and look beautiful paired with brick.
A brick and timber combination suits all architectural styles, from heritage to contemporary homes.
1. Vanessa Wegner, architect and principal at Vanessa Wegner Architect
Perfect pairing: Brick and timber.
Brick is such a beautiful building product. There are so many colours and types to choose from and you can really experiment with different brickwork patterns.
They are solid, sustainable and have great thermal mass. Most beautiful heritage buildings are made of brick – and they last.
Bricks also allow for deep window reveals, which add shadow and depth to a facade.
Timber doors and window frames and timber cladding under eaves add another layer of richness to the building palate, and look beautiful paired with brick.
A brick and timber combination suits all architectural styles, from heritage to contemporary homes.
Vanessa Wegner’s house in Gladesville, NSW.
How would you use this combo?
Painted commons bricks, as seen in our Gladesville house, or Bowral bricks in Chillingham White, as seen in Longueveille house, paired with rosewood doors and windows, with eave linings in cedar shiplap.
Bricks can be painted or left natural. And they’re not just for walls – they can be used for paving, fences and floors too.
Try timber, either natural or painted, for windows and doors and eaves. You could use it for some cladding too, if you are happy for it to weather as it can be a lot of maintenance.
What’s good to know?
Bricks are super durable and, if not painted, require no maintenance. Timber does need quite a bit of upkeep, but less so if you put it under eaves where it won’t be exposed to direct sun. I always let decks weather and silver.
Looking to spruce up your exterior with some fresh colour? Find a painter near you on Houzz
How would you use this combo?
Painted commons bricks, as seen in our Gladesville house, or Bowral bricks in Chillingham White, as seen in Longueveille house, paired with rosewood doors and windows, with eave linings in cedar shiplap.
Bricks can be painted or left natural. And they’re not just for walls – they can be used for paving, fences and floors too.
Try timber, either natural or painted, for windows and doors and eaves. You could use it for some cladding too, if you are happy for it to weather as it can be a lot of maintenance.
What’s good to know?
Bricks are super durable and, if not painted, require no maintenance. Timber does need quite a bit of upkeep, but less so if you put it under eaves where it won’t be exposed to direct sun. I always let decks weather and silver.
Looking to spruce up your exterior with some fresh colour? Find a painter near you on Houzz
Image: Derek Swalwell. Products: Austral Masonry GB Honed bricks in Porcelain, Bowral Bricks Hamlet pavers in Sepia: both Brickworks.
2. Albert Mo, architect and director at Architects EAT
Perfect pairing: Austral GB honed bricks, especially in the Porcelain colourway, paired with Bowral Bricks Hamlet pavers in Ash (both at Brickworks).
I love the versatility of the blocks – there are hundreds of sizes and shapes available. The effect is decorative yet structural. Plus, I adore the chalkiness of the Hamlet pavers.
Both products can be used externally and internally, allowing you to achieve coherence throughout your home. The look is casual, relaxed and unpretentious.
How would you use this combo?
Consider Austral GB honed bricks on the facade, and Hamlet pavers on both the facade and pavers.
There’s no limit to where this combination would work – it’s extremely versatile.
2. Albert Mo, architect and director at Architects EAT
Perfect pairing: Austral GB honed bricks, especially in the Porcelain colourway, paired with Bowral Bricks Hamlet pavers in Ash (both at Brickworks).
I love the versatility of the blocks – there are hundreds of sizes and shapes available. The effect is decorative yet structural. Plus, I adore the chalkiness of the Hamlet pavers.
Both products can be used externally and internally, allowing you to achieve coherence throughout your home. The look is casual, relaxed and unpretentious.
How would you use this combo?
Consider Austral GB honed bricks on the facade, and Hamlet pavers on both the facade and pavers.
There’s no limit to where this combination would work – it’s extremely versatile.
Image: Derek Swalwell.
What’s good to know?
I’ve always tried to educate our clients on the beauty of letting building materials age. I love it when products started to react with the environment and show the passing of time.
With these materials, there’s no need for continuous maintenance. A little rain stain is fine, a bit of green moss is natural – don’t go against it.
One way to achieve sustainability is to make your building last longer, and with this brick and paver combo, we are designing for the long haul. In the case of Bellows House, shown here, we are expecting a lifespan of 100 years.
In addition, Brickworks has a carbon-offsetting program, which is helping our industry make a positive impact on the environment.
What’s good to know?
I’ve always tried to educate our clients on the beauty of letting building materials age. I love it when products started to react with the environment and show the passing of time.
With these materials, there’s no need for continuous maintenance. A little rain stain is fine, a bit of green moss is natural – don’t go against it.
One way to achieve sustainability is to make your building last longer, and with this brick and paver combo, we are designing for the long haul. In the case of Bellows House, shown here, we are expecting a lifespan of 100 years.
In addition, Brickworks has a carbon-offsetting program, which is helping our industry make a positive impact on the environment.
Image by Tom Ross.
3. Ali Galbraith, design lead at Breathe Architecture
Perfect pairing: Brick and natural timber.
Brick and timber complement one another so effortlessly. When paired together, their contrasting textural and tonal qualities simultaneously celebrate the lightness and warmth of the timber and the tactility and solidity of the brick. There’s an unmatched simplicity and elegance about it.
This combination suits such a wide range of architectural styles. Just changing the brick colour can take the material from an urban, inner-city context to a light and coastal one.
The use of timber also creates a unique opportunity to source a material native to the project location and respond to the contextual landscape we are building in.
3. Ali Galbraith, design lead at Breathe Architecture
Perfect pairing: Brick and natural timber.
Brick and timber complement one another so effortlessly. When paired together, their contrasting textural and tonal qualities simultaneously celebrate the lightness and warmth of the timber and the tactility and solidity of the brick. There’s an unmatched simplicity and elegance about it.
This combination suits such a wide range of architectural styles. Just changing the brick colour can take the material from an urban, inner-city context to a light and coastal one.
The use of timber also creates a unique opportunity to source a material native to the project location and respond to the contextual landscape we are building in.
Image by Andrew Wuttke.
How would you use this combo?
Anywhere from the facade of a house to an apartment kitchen.
On a facade, we strive to use brick and timber where people can experience and touch them, where they interact with the built environment at the ground-floor interface.
Browse more images of beautiful Australian courtyards on Houzz
How would you use this combo?
Anywhere from the facade of a house to an apartment kitchen.
On a facade, we strive to use brick and timber where people can experience and touch them, where they interact with the built environment at the ground-floor interface.
Browse more images of beautiful Australian courtyards on Houzz
What’s good to know?
Timber is one of the few renewable materials that contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions, absorbing and storing carbon from the atmosphere as a tree grows. This makes it a great material to specify to reduce embodied carbon in buildings.
It is important to understand the natural durability properties of different types of timber, which can help guide their suitability for different applications, such as the use of hardwood timber externally, which will grey off naturally when exposed to the weather.
Brick is a durable and low-maintenance material with high thermal mass, making it well-suited to external walls and paving. The firing process typically results in high embodied carbon, so when specifying brick, our first preference is for locally recycled bricks that have paid down their carbon in a previous building or carbon-neutral bricks.
Timber is one of the few renewable materials that contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions, absorbing and storing carbon from the atmosphere as a tree grows. This makes it a great material to specify to reduce embodied carbon in buildings.
It is important to understand the natural durability properties of different types of timber, which can help guide their suitability for different applications, such as the use of hardwood timber externally, which will grey off naturally when exposed to the weather.
Brick is a durable and low-maintenance material with high thermal mass, making it well-suited to external walls and paving. The firing process typically results in high embodied carbon, so when specifying brick, our first preference is for locally recycled bricks that have paid down their carbon in a previous building or carbon-neutral bricks.
4. Marylou Cafaro, trend forecaster, interior designer at Wattyl
Perfect pairing: A really popular pairing for outdoors is Caesarstone Midday, which evokes the look and feel of white-tinted concrete; Wattyl Earth Child, a fresh, greyed-off white paint; Wattyl After, a surf-spray blue; with cabinetry in a mid-tone or charcoal oak, such as Polytec Prime Oak or Empire Oak.
This combination is ideally suited to beachside suburbs, weatherboard beach houses and garden apartments.
How would you use this combo?
Try Wattyl Solagard After on weatherboards with contrasting trims in Wattyl Earth Child. Caesarstone Midday can be used on outdoor benchtops and furniture, such as tables and seating.
Perfect pairing: A really popular pairing for outdoors is Caesarstone Midday, which evokes the look and feel of white-tinted concrete; Wattyl Earth Child, a fresh, greyed-off white paint; Wattyl After, a surf-spray blue; with cabinetry in a mid-tone or charcoal oak, such as Polytec Prime Oak or Empire Oak.
This combination is ideally suited to beachside suburbs, weatherboard beach houses and garden apartments.
How would you use this combo?
Try Wattyl Solagard After on weatherboards with contrasting trims in Wattyl Earth Child. Caesarstone Midday can be used on outdoor benchtops and furniture, such as tables and seating.
Caesarstone Outdoor in Midday.
5. Brydie York, APAC general manager of marketing at Caesarstone
Perfect pairing: One of the biggest trends right now is for sophisticated, outdoor kitchens that are an extension of the indoor kitchen. The sophistication is not only in terms of cooking appliances, but also in the design of these areas, which allows for a seamless sense of flow between inside and out.
How would you use this combo?
The surfaces you choose for outdoor areas should be specifically designed to resist our harsh weather conditions – hot sun, heavy rain and salt-laden air. Caesarstone Outdoor sustainable quartz requires no sealing and is non-porous, stain-, scratch- and fade-resistant. Wattyl Solagard exterior paint is self-priming and has a 25-year warranty against flaking, peeling and blistering.
5. Brydie York, APAC general manager of marketing at Caesarstone
Perfect pairing: One of the biggest trends right now is for sophisticated, outdoor kitchens that are an extension of the indoor kitchen. The sophistication is not only in terms of cooking appliances, but also in the design of these areas, which allows for a seamless sense of flow between inside and out.
How would you use this combo?
The surfaces you choose for outdoor areas should be specifically designed to resist our harsh weather conditions – hot sun, heavy rain and salt-laden air. Caesarstone Outdoor sustainable quartz requires no sealing and is non-porous, stain-, scratch- and fade-resistant. Wattyl Solagard exterior paint is self-priming and has a 25-year warranty against flaking, peeling and blistering.
6. Steve Drougas, building designer and director at Concept Studio
Perfect pairing: Stained cedar with freeform ledge stone [where the stone is stacked horizontally in a freeform pattern].
The warm tones of cedar combined with the textural stone pattern create a modern and stylish aesthetic with a uniquely rustic charm.
It’s a combination that suits various architectural styles, including heritage and mid-century homes.
Perfect pairing: Stained cedar with freeform ledge stone [where the stone is stacked horizontally in a freeform pattern].
The warm tones of cedar combined with the textural stone pattern create a modern and stylish aesthetic with a uniquely rustic charm.
It’s a combination that suits various architectural styles, including heritage and mid-century homes.
How would you use this combo?
As a feature or focal point on a facade.
What’s good to know?
Stone will maintain its appearance on a facade when exposed to the weather, but timber will grey off over time unless regularly maintained and recoated.
Your turn
What’s your favourite pairing for a facade? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save these images, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Interested in seeing designers’ perfect pairings for bathrooms? Don’t miss these Material Pairings for Bathrooms: 9 Combos Designers Love
As a feature or focal point on a facade.
What’s good to know?
Stone will maintain its appearance on a facade when exposed to the weather, but timber will grey off over time unless regularly maintained and recoated.
Your turn
What’s your favourite pairing for a facade? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save these images, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Interested in seeing designers’ perfect pairings for bathrooms? Don’t miss these Material Pairings for Bathrooms: 9 Combos Designers Love
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I'd like some ideas as to what I can do with a combo of timber and with brick to 'dress up/revitalise' the front of our house: