ᐅ Appearance question: Choosing the right window color to match roof tiles

Arauki11 schrieb:

Maybe you’d like to contribute your thoughts and perhaps some pictures to the forum.

I really like a full wooden cladding on the facade (like yours)! However, I’m concerned that it might not look as good on our house since we have the garage attached to the house and an extension on the south side. I worry that with the wooden cladding, it might look too overwhelming visually.

Salvator2025 schrieb:

I really like a full wooden facade cladding (like yours)! However, I’m concerned that it might not look as good on our house since we have the garage attached to the house and an extension on the south side. I fear that using wood cladding everywhere might be too much visually.

Then just don’t do it fully: use wood only on the gable ends, the front door, and the garage door. Possibly also on the extension.

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Salvator2025 schrieb:

(attached an inspiration picture)

Both look nice, but I prefer image 1 a bit more, especially when I imagine image 2 without the wood. Basically, I understand what you want to achieve. I think that with wood or a higher wood proportion, it’s somewhat easier to keep the overall look attractive even if the area around the house isn’t perfectly tidy. Image 1 also looks nice, but I believe the surroundings need to be tidier; I also like the light gray windows there. I think with that mindset, you can create a beautiful exterior for your house.

Salvator2025 schrieb:

I really like a fully wood-clad facade (like yours)! However, I have doubts that it might not look so good on our house since we have the garage attached to the main building and an extension on the south side. I’m worried that a wood cladding would look visually too overwhelming.

We also have a 6x9m (20x30 feet) carport and a larger covered wooden terrace, and I think it looks quite nice. You can also see with @wiltshire, who left the wood natural on his house, that it still looks modern and stylish. Of course, it’s mostly a matter of personal taste, but I wouldn’t share this concern anymore.

I just looked at your plans again and can also imagine cladding the respective porch extensions on both gable ends with wood and adding a door in a contrasting color. With a red roof, I would find untreated natural wood attractive, and with a gray or anthracite roof, a light gray wood cladding would be nice.

As I said, these are just rough ideas, and there’s plenty of reference material out there. Because of your two extensions, I wouldn’t just plaster those areas but at least clad the extensions; I might even do the entire exterior in wood all at once. Around the house, you’ll have plants, cars, sun umbrellas, and other varied colors, so I prefer a calm, uniform overall appearance.

It’s similar to kitchen photos— in reality, there are always various things present, not just the clean countertop. I still have a whole collection of ideas from my building phase. If you search online for "Wohnhaus Neuenstein F," you’ll find something that inspired me.

Thanks for the input!

Arauki11 schrieb:

Residential house Neuenstein F

Great tip, looks fantastic!

Salvator2025 schrieb:

Basically, we like a “clean” look, but we don’t want the black-and-white style typical of new housing developments.

We built in anthracite and white. My parents already had black windows in their 1970s house, I lived in a stylish, modern townhouse with white plaster (quite rare in northern Germany in the 1980s, where brick facades were preferred) and black windows, so we ended up with a bright white, sun-reflective plaster facade house with anthracite-colored windows that were still quite new and very modern in 2013. Other shades of gray were not common and therefore not offered.
However, I still like the look of our house and would neither want to nor be able to change it, even though I see many nice wooden facades around here. The development plan requires us to have a plaster look. We were allowed to add accents, so we chose wooden slats. Back then, they cost us about 250 to 300 square meters (roughly 2,690 to 3,230 square feet). The south side has since been replaced with HPL panels.

Salvator2025 schrieb:

Alternatively, we would have chosen a red roof with wooden windows and a white facade.

Then go for it! In the end, it’s a matter of personal taste. There’s no point trying to advise or saying how one has built. There are so many options—you just have to use Google. Normally, budget also plays a role, but it seems that cost is less of an issue for you?

Salvator2025 schrieb:

Therefore, for the roof and windows, we might have gone for light gray and added a wooden front door and wooden garage door to add some “warmth” to the overall look. (attached is an inspiration picture)

Then do it. Light gray is flexible, though. Drive around and look at houses. But at some point, you have to make a decision—and no matter what, you’ll always see other color schemes you like. You don’t have to have everything you find attractive. That’s midlife crisis thinking.
By the way, I don’t think your inspiration picture shows wooden windows; rather, they look like uPVC windows with a wood finish—in this case, not the usual anthracite but a wood color. Those still exist.
And nowadays, there’s no shame in protecting forests and choosing other materials that might be more ecologically sustainable in production than natural wood.

Salvator2025 schrieb:

That is why my original question was whether anyone knows of a color tone (perhaps beige, bronze, or similar) that would complement red bricks.

I forgot to mention: it practically doesn’t matter whether it’s beige or bronze, light gray, or RAL xy, due to the way the facade reflects light, almost anything will work. And eventually, these tones will also become outdated and considered boring. We’re not inventing a new trend with the existing surfaces and colors; we’re exactly where we were 15 years ago when anthracite became widely popular.