Cedar Shake Siding

Does anybody on here have tips for picking out the best brand or style of cedar shake siding to use on your home? I must admit that when we first set out on this exterior renovation mission, I had no idea everything that was involved or how many options there were to chose from (and decisions I would have to make).  First we started looking at house siding colors and quickly realized that color was not something we wanted.  Both my husband and I definitely gravitated more towards the natural look of cedar shake siding, in part because it would weather and change over time.  Now I am sure that not all shake exterior siding is equal, so what should be looking for in a product and how much should we expect to spend?

Living up here in New England, cedar shake siding is absolutely everywhere so it is not as quaint and unique a look as people in other regions of the country feel it is.  For this reason, you need to get a little more creative with the coloring, architectural details, and application of your cedar shingle siding if you want to standout at all up here.  That desire is what lead me to the photo gallery where I found this stunning home.  It utilizes cedar shingles along the top area of the home below the roofline, but it is only an accent to the traditional hardboard used on the first floor.  I love how they tied their house siding ideas together by painting it a lovely beige color and added a pop of red for the front door.

For anybody on here that has cedar shake siding, do you think that it is pretty durable or would you have chosen something different if you could go back in time?  I have heard that installing cedar shake siding can be quite expensive, but that the look and how it ages over time makes it worth it.  We live in a pretty mild area as far as weather goes, so I don't think that we need to worry about durability as much as homeowners on the coast or a similar location would.  I have always been so enchanted by the quaint look of cedar shingles even on a home as large as my inspiration property in these photos.  They can make just about any structure, large or small, feel so welcoming and full of personality.

I love the quaint country (or coastal depending on where you live) charm that cedar shake siding can bring to a house.  Building your own home can be a lot of pressure due to all of the decisions that have to be made.  Luckily, siding ideas were the one item on the checklist that I had decided on years ago (I know that a lot of people struggle with that one). We have a pretty temperate climate so I saw no reason to second guess my decision based on potential weather.  Plus, I knew that I wanted to go with the subtle cozy grey tone like the home in this photo.  We will have some wood portions on the exterior (to cut down on cost), so I am going to make the Hardie siding colors as close a match as I can to the cedar shake.

Cedar shake siding is definitely among one my favorite exterior materials, because it immediately envelopes the house in such a welcoming charm.  Something about the rustic nature of the siding material and the architectural style of the homes it is used on, has a fairy tale quality that is well loved.  These pictures of cedar shake siding paired with natural stone accents and white trim are a perfect example of why I love it so much.  The entire exterior has an overall neutral color palette, but the textures are what give it depth and dimension.  As with interior shades, I definitely think that the best siding colors tend to fall in that neutral family, so it is especially important to incorporate textures and vibrant landscaping to keep things interested and well-styled. 

I have been on the hunt for other textures to pair with classic cedar shake siding in order to break up the single-material design of our home as it currently is.  A lot of people told me that brick is the best siding for house designs from a functional and visual perspective, but I had never wanted to commit to that as our entire siding material.  Cedar siding had always held a level of charm for me, but cost is definitely a factor as well as the fact that it can look a bit boring if it is not accented correctly.  I really like how this homeowner broke up the cedar with a brick foundation, fireplace and other accents.  It provides a fantastic balance to the grey tone of shakes and probably reduced the cedar siding cost by quite a bit.