Cladding

Approaching this desert home, an elevated, horizontally clad zinc volume visually and tonally connects with the distant ridgelines while its semi-reflective nature captures the impression of passing clouds 

The desert vibe of this home starts with the minimalist front courtyard and continues with the sandy tones of the brickwork cladding which are also brought inside

Smaller rocks are transformed into this home's signature wall cladding thanks to the expertise of local artisans and builders – forming an ever-present artwork

Timber cladding meets glazed facade – this home's central living zone is transparent, with operable windows/doors playing a part in moderating the interior temperature

Trees as scenery, building material and even to-hand energy source – this mountain home pays homage to a beautiful, sustainable material

Here, Rosenfeld Kidson Truwood modified wood cladding connects with its grand natural surroundings – window reflections complete the scenic picture

Three cladding elements combine on this character family home – Rockcote Spanish-style plaster; timber battens, from Abodo Natural; and La Poma bricks, by The Brickery

An in-situ concrete wall at the front of the property anchors this glass-walled pavilion home into its environment

What could be more empathetic than a home with cedar cladding that will weather and silver naturally, connecting with its forest and lake surrounds

Bamboo X-treme Cladding and Decking by Plantation Bamboo are game changing products for homebuilders – offering, durability, sustainability and a natural aesthetic

Replacing an earthquake-levelled residence, this home on a concrete slab is clad in timber weatherboards – a lightweight solution to withstand future quakes 

Warm wood cabinetry and joinery contrasts and celebrates the use of monolithic concrete forms that continue inside this home as an extension of the exterior cladding

Here, stone pillars look like they've just nipped in from the facade – the rugged touches are balanced with smooth interior detailing, like the marble benchtop

This timber-clad house and landscaping follows the natural grade of the land – ensuring no significant trees needed to be removed from the site

No prizes for guessing that this upper floor forms part of a nautical-look-by-the-sea home – Hebel PowerPanel XL provides the marine-strength cladding

For this accent wall, James Hardie Titan panel, painted with Porters Paint, gives the illusion of Corten steel – a great backdrop to the plantings

The interplay of transparency and solidity across this facade breaks down the building's mass visually – plus, the blockwork provides thermal mass and the louvres allow cross ventilation 

To complete the form of this house, the roof of the carport and the front fence were shaped into forms that harmonise with the surroundings

Even passing sheep look surprised when the cladding parts to reveal the rooms behind on this home – great for a lock and leave scenario

In fact, the stained cladding, timber soffits, wood screens and soaring gable are all on show from within the second floor lounge of this new home

And on the entry side, triple peaks! Two-tone cladding accentuates this home's dynamic Arts and Crafts-inspired, structurally authentic design

Indoors and outdoors have an easy connection on this new home, with larch battens used for cladding and continued inside on the living area ceilings

Plantation Bamboo offers a range of building products, including Bamboo X-Treme Decking and Bamboo X-Treme Cladding  – here's why bamboo is a winner

Dark aluminium and stained Siberian Larch cladding ensure this home stands out amongst neighbouring traditional weatherboard villas while echoing their form

There are bricks, and then there are blocks – this mountain home echoes its rugged location with rugged and varied stone/brickwork cladding

Architect: the design vocabulary of burnished, creamy, concrete finishes flows from the inside out, often appearing almost luminous in its sculptural force

Deep recessed facades and aluminium louvres shield the interiors of this dynamically configured new home from the hot western sun 

There's nothing like toning in with your rustic environment – here, corrugated iron and timber create a rugged skin for a mountain-view home

For this new home, continuous vertical cedar cladding to the garage door and wall makes for the ultimate disappearing act and a seamless street facade

This home celebrates a generational divide, with children given the aluminium scale-clad upper level –  although, bedtime stories can get awkward when the big scaly dragon turns up

This home's semi-industrial street facade includes glass, steel and board-formed concrete – the concrete also runs indoors, creating a textured feature wall

An engineered timber structure is the backbone of this simple cedar clad home, with the love of wood further celebrated on floor, ceiling and joinery

This contemporary home – comprised of a series of stacked metal-clad boxes – brings its own personality to a street featuring diverse home designs

On a native treed plot, this house engages with every element of its site – starting with locally sourced board and batten Silvertop ash hardwood cladding

The exterior of this home – with skylarks often soaring above – is cloaked in a rough sawn larch timber rainscreen, evoking the idea of a bird’s nest 

Clad in a local granite, with a green roof and sustainable mahogany windows, from a distance this house dissolves into its surroundings

In contrast to the wood box that contains the public spaces of this home, the private wing is clad in Corten steel. Both materials sensitive to the surrounding landscape

This façade on a contemporary home comes alive at night with the ability to backlight the polycarbonate façade with colour changing LED lighting

Dark stained timber weatherboards are contrasted with white-washed timber details on this passive heating- and cooling-focussed home

This home's street face is pretty low key apart from an artistic horizontal slash of red metal fascia that signals the location of the front door

In pursuit of meeting council laws, this new concrete-clad home heads straight underground while a metal trellis shades what is left above ground

Taking inspiration from surrounding eucalyptus trees, this home's cladding comprises lightly charred wood with the base in concrete and Corten steel

Clad in Cedar Vertical Shiplap Weatherboards, this mountain home's main entrance is defined by timber fixed louvres set in front of opaque glazing 

Welcome! Schist cladding is echoed by an interior schist column in this alpine home, while the front entry is underlit both for drama and safe footing

The next generation in sustainable cladding, made from compressed bamboo fibres – hard, durable and natural – comes with invisible clip/screw fixings – ideal for feature walls, fencing and much more!

At the front of this home, one is greeted by mature trees, while the airplane hangar style garage door, finished with charred siding, 'disappears' when closed

This sustainability-focused home features Timaru blue stone walls at the ground floor level, anchoring the house visually – cedar cladding features above

Vertical Shiplap Cedar cladding on this home is not just on show to neighbours and passers by – the textural finish is also enjoyed from indoors

This home is clad in a mix of no maintenance standing seam metal cladding and Cedar to both ground and soften the rear of the building

This home's distinct Cape Dutch architectural style and bagged brick and Wanaka schist cladding provided inspiration for the interior

Cedar and zinc finishes make for harmonious cladding partners on this contemporary family home, created by house designers Box

This coastal home downplays its size in deference to the wider setting – its stepped design and quiet render and polished plaster cladding both played a part

This home is clad in soft grey vertical cedar contrasted with a light clay-toned brick cladding, and the all grounded by dark plaster render

Split face textured brick cladding seen on this home’s street-facing cladding provides double the impact when also viewed from the interiors

Want privacy? And want car parking, too? An operable front fence in the same finish as this home's distinctive cladding accommodates both

A strong entrance form with copper clad door and copper detailing gives this the home a gleaming first impression

This home’s street face features a glass gallery bisecting wood-clad volumes  – checkout the dramatically different cladding that faces the sea

Whilst the garage is constructed of industrial concrete block work, the remainder of this home has light weight framing – allowing for an open plan ground floor free of obstructions 

Charred Larch timber cladding minimises upkeep and allows this home to appear as a dark volcanic rock, reminiscent of surrounding geology

With two homes destroyed by trees, this owner turned the other cheek creating a cutting edge sustainable (and tree-proof) house like no other

On this home, contemporary board-formed concrete cladding intentionally leaves the tell-tale texture that shows how it was constructed

Brave and daring, The Barnhaus has been innovatively designed to ensure that every room is used every day and no space is wasted.

Expansive and modern on the inside, this home's rugged cladding – standing seam metal, vertical shiplap weatherboard and concrete tilt panel – creates a dramatic, all-together-rustic first impression

Exterior materials help define the interior use in this home – concrete indicates the public/living spaces, while cedar defines the private spaces

Views that go on forever in one direction, but only a few feet to your neighbour's lounge in another? A slatted screen at the end of this home hides near neighbours, while the solid wall beyond mitigates the afternoon sun

Cedar battens predominate on this home's clean-lined exterior but the architect didn't drop the batten there – slatted wood also runs through the interior

No-upkeep standing seam metal cladding and passive temperature control give this home a green ethos. Even the timber access stairs are eco friendly

The premise for this design is quite unusual: a visual artist who paints with fire buys a house on Blackwood Street and builds his studio using burnt wood cladding

This property came out tops as our most popular new home story of 2020. Read on to find out more. 

“Working closely with our clients we've created a home ideal for escaping to on the weekend and making memories with family and friends.” – Jason McGirr, managing director, Fowler Homes Queenstown

So where do you start when designing a home that isn't constrained by budget? Starting with what you love is a good way to begin. The owner's love of a particular Turkish limestone inspired the exterior of this home

Not sure how to clad your home? One effective way forward is to take local inspiration. This mountain home boasts geometric and angled larch rain screen upper cladding that references the site's many Kanuka trees

Designer FuTung Cheng combined board-formed and fair-faced concrete with reclaimed redwood cladding to help define the five structures that make up this 560m² family home.

Saying it with steel – on this home by architect Murali Bhaskar, a black steel pergola provides an architectural flourish on the rear deck

This home's emphasis on sustainable architecture starts from the ground up. Excavated rock from the steep site was repurposed for use in the basement walls

There's concrete, then there's reclaimed redwood timber – then there's the effect of seeing them side by side. Combining cladding options increases your aesthetic options

An elevated, exposed site often comes with drawbacks such as heat gain. Designed by architect Aaron Jones, of Urban Function Architecture, this clean-lined family home's response is passive and effective

Stylishly clad in burnt larch with cedar inlays, all the attention in this new home is turned out toward the sweeping harbour views 

Board-formed concrete leaves the marks of the wood framing in its surface, for a rugged textural look. See what other materials go with such a character surface in this home

Flanked by single storey wings, the two-storey central concrete building on this contemporary Wanaka home gives way to geometric and angled larch rain screen upper cladding which took inspiration from the site's Kanuka trees.

Abstracted artworks in their own right, the street-facing facades on this home comprise wood-look battens, textured masonry blocks and angled slat fencing to name only some feature materials

Interesting window shapes, a facade that steps in and out, cladding in Turkish marble and white plaster and deep bronze aluminium fins all combine to make this home visually appealing while also downplaying its size.

This spacious, modern home offers an unmistakable nod to the modest, rustic early cottages that the surrounding area is known for. Stone cladding plays a key part in the new home's connection to the area.

With mesh panel strategically positioned in front of the upper floor bedroom window of this large family home, occupants can enjoy the outlook, while the view into the interior is screened from passers-by.

With deep, deep foundations, great street presence and a build height respectful of rear neighbours, this home responds to its environment in several ways

Environments don't come more rugged and beautiful than the surrounds of Lake Wanaka in the Southern Alps. This home design echoes that ruggedness while offering cosy interiors to beat the mountain weather

Tilt-slab construction and 3m-high floor-to-ceiling glass come together to shape a spectacular home, where the views and interiors jostle for attention

Walls of glass, deep overhangs and prominent parapet bands create a horizontal emphasis in this rural home

An industrial modern home for a family of eight cleverly caters for everyone to be together or in their own individualistic spaces

The stacked stone cladding on this reinvented home has also been brought inside, climbing to the ceiling and framing inset mirrors – part of the drive to create a modern interior aesthetic 

Strong, solid, high-density Bamboo X-treme Cladding, from Plantation Bamboo, is relatively new to New Zealand – here are the key reasons builders love it

This house sits modestly within the landscape with a natural materials palette of wood, concrete, and glass elements – retaining existing native trees was another key assimilating aspect

As the waves reflect the ocean, so the cedar screens on this Balinese inspired sanctuary echo and complement the MetalCraft ribbed roofing

Here, a garage door outline appears in the custom-designed cast aluminium panels to the left while a car turntable makes for an oh-so-smooth turn around

Limestone-clad walls all but disappear into the spreading mature oaks that front this renovated property – the same rustic look is continued indoors

As part of this future-proofing renovation, two homes were demolished to the slab and rebuilt with a sustainable envelope and long-lasting materials

White-painted recycled bricks, from Beaver Bricks, and black-stained cedar battens flank this entry, floored in cool grey concrete

From the street, this comprehensively renovated home presents an elegant composition of black battens and white brick and render

The new addition in this renovation departs from the main home in terms of cladding, but black detailing draws the all together

Sometimes the more obvious way is also the best way – here, timber cladding connects with deck and stairs for a natural feel

Vertical cedar cladding elements bring touches of warmth to this open, predominantly white coastal Mid-century renovation

This extension embraces the warmth of wood cladding – as part of the growth plan, it's also worth checking out the once tired, now repurposed garage

With so much beautiful architecture behind us why always reinvent the wheel? This elegantly clad extension draws on Plantation and Hamptons style

The rustic brickwork seen here is indoors not outdoors – a new addition brings light but leaves the original exterior on interior display

Post renovation, a new upstairs bedroom springs into being – finished in James Hardie Axon vertical shiplap cladding to keep things visually simple

This renovation offers a clean response to a busy environment – light, white cladding avoids overwhelming the varied surroundings

With a refined material palette of stone, timber, concrete, and natural tiles the outdoor spaces blend seamlessly with this modern home

A circular motif features in this home renovation – this references the Japanese concept of Shakkei, providing the house a sense of serenity and activity

Well this restored classic frontage doesn't give too much away – not even a hint of the new, contemporary two-level extension at rear

This brownstone face has been lovingly restored – however, while the cladding is classic, the interior thinking for this home is brand new and sustainable

Opened up for fun, swimming and sunshine by a modernising renovation at the back, at the front this home retains a demure red brick face

A unique feature of this renovation is the central cone-shaped, brick-clad wall that sits in prominent position – seen from inside and outside the home

Not all outdoor living spaces are a huddle of trees and bench seats – however, this al fresco retreat gets its fair share of nature from the lake setting directly in front

For this seaside renovation/transformation, the home's original brick walls are covered with recycled hardwood cladding 

New entertaining spaces and kitchen are tied to the cladding and character of the original home in the application of face brick and brise soleil walls

For this renovation, the fineness of the repetitive steel screen and balustrade is contrasted by the solidity of the mass board-formed concrete planters

Along with the architecture of a home, its skin has a massive design impact – check out these diverse, sometimes surprising cladding solutions 

It's easy to see where the original brick home stops and the extension starts in this bold, light-bringing extension with dividing garden space

Existing schist cladding was retained on this renovation while plaster surfaces got the heave-ho – replaced with more in keeping vibrant cedar

While one side of this rounded master bedroom addition opens up to the views with glass walls, this plywood-clad side presents a private face 

Black and modern to the left, existing and refreshed to the right. The cladding on this renovation makes a clear distinction between old and new

This renovation and expansion expands on the original home's functionality while better aligning the home with neighbouring properties. Part of this was creating a new façade that skirts around a mature tree

During this renovation, the designers decided to retain most of the charming Victorian cottage and add modern functionality

The owner of this property wanted a house that blends with nature and the outdoors. Suffice to say the architect delivered. 

The villa is a timeless New Zealand style that, when renovated, can look every bit as good as the day it was built

Mid-Century Modern gets a new twist in this suburban home. The exterior boasts a strong composition while the interior features light-filled volumes 

Contemporary extension to traditional Californian bungalow in major renovation project provides large open-plan family living area, lap pool

With extensive glazing and exterior materials running into the interior, this living space has the feel of an outdoor room. Above the fireplace, a bedroom wing is clad in the same cedar panels as the exterior. Concrete floors and steel elements also appear indoors and out

Take a classic log cabin and add a contemporary addition – on top! See how the architects approached this tricky renovation move. The outcome speaks for itself

Along with a new guest house, this home has been comprehensively reinvented with only accents and the original floor slab retained. The new home boasts space, light and a character all its own

Continuing the tradition of refurbishment of Auckland’s heritage housing stock, this renovation is a re-interpretation of the ‘lean-to’ form. Traditionally used as service spaces, the ‘lean-to’ here is re-cast as living space, opening the house up to the north facing backyard

Greatly reducing energy consumption and producing more energy than it will use over its lifespan, Snøhetta's Energy Positive Powerhouse goes even further – creating a welcome sign post for environmentally, socially and economically sustainable architecture

Part of a major renovation and extension, floor-to-ceiling sliders open the main living areas up to this rear deck which is sheltered from the street by the carport. Feathered slats on the carport soften its form and admit natural light while a pergola roof defines the deck area

Indoor and outdoors are separated by glass sliders when required as the front of this house opens up to its outlooks. A change in flooring styles also helps delineate indoors from out

A dramatic cladding rethink and manipulation of internal spaces, including raised ceilings, has brought this home a more contemporary sensibility

Featuring a carefully chosen colour palette, arched window frames and patterned brickwork, this home's new extension opens the interior up to the back garden in an architectural way 

Timber cladding wraps round and under the overhanging wall plane to form the soffits on this home by Janik Dalecki of Dalecki Design

Painted weatherboard on the upper storey and Exotec panels on the ground floor exterior create a contemporary contrast for this renovated inner-city home. The windows are screened by fibreglass mesh, which is commonly used to build walkways on local commercial fishing boats.

This home underwent a major facelift to give its dated exterior a stylish new look. The combination of fresh cladding and a staggered street front façade add interest to the overall design. Click to find out more about this renovation project 

The new black-clad carport contrasts and accentuates the warmth of the sandstone walls on this 1850s coach-house turned family home. Click to see more modern-meets-heritage moments

Along with looks and protection, your cladding can be put to other uses. As part of this renovation, an angled column appearing as a continuation of the roof form doubles as an entry arch and hides downpipes

Introducing natural slatted timber cladding brings rhythm, texture and a modern sensibility to this originally plaster-clad home.

You can reduce the bulk of a large home by using different exterior materials. Timber cladding, dark brickwork and a painted steel garage door create a compositional balanced facade on this home

The redesign of this home preserves the existing structure but transforms it into an open, daylit home – rethinking the windows played a big part

This restoration involved a cluster of Cape buildings in a valley beneath the Swartberg mountain range, consisting of a main house and two barns, plus a store. 

After years of muddled renovations and ad hoc alterations, Bijl Architecture stepped in to overhaul this inter-war cottage

Hidden behind the original facade of a former shop is a beautifully considered family home. Discover how it manages to make a dramatic statement while treading lightly on the land

An 1850s heritage sandstone coach-house is given a 21st century makeover that highlights its rugged origins

By building up the land in front of this home the owners cleverly avoided the need to have balustrades, thus keeping costs down and leaving the impressive views uninterrupted