Why It’s Important to Have a Cohesive Front Façade on a Home

Everyone cares about the appearance of their home, but how often have you really thought about what makes a good-looking home? Is it the quality of the materials used in the siding, roof, garage door, etc.? Is it the custom designs of the exterior features? The answer is “yes” to both, but there is another important factor to consider when designing a home: the cohesion of its exterior features. 

What is Exterior Home Cohesion?

Homes that have a cohesive exterior façade have matching features, shapes, colors, and other design elements that make them more pleasing to the eye. This architectural harmony, whether blatantly apparent or subtle, creates a home that more people naturally find attractive. Symmetry has long been associated with beauty in art, and it’s a standard in historical and modern architecture. Simply put: when things match, they are more aesthetically pleasing. Unsymmetrical and mismatched features can be jarring, hard on the eyes, and have even been known to cause anxiety.  

It’s this harmony that makes a home beautiful just as much as the materials with which it is built.  

How to Create Cohesion in Home’s Design

When working on the exterior features of a home, there are many ways to create a look that is harmonious, beautiful, and cohesive: 

• Match shapes: if arches, rounded corners, and soft edges are prominent, extend those features into your garage and entry doors, gates, and shutters. If hard, rectangular edges are more common, implement those into your custom designs for these elements. 
• Use complementary colors: matching colors work, but there is a limit. You don’t want to have a house that is strictly one color, or even a single color family (i.e. warm, cool, neutral.). It’s essential to break up block of single colors with complementary colors, shades, etc. 
• Stick to one material: mismatching materials on a home can create a confused look. If your garage door is made of wood, it’s not a good idea to have a wrought iron entry gate or door. Stick with wood or metal and try not to mix the two whenever possible. 
• Match your garage and entry doors: if you have a custom wooden garage door, get a front entry door with the same matching design, millwork and other customized features. You can also do the same with your entry gate and shutters. Matching the exterior features of your home is an easy way to create a pleasing and cohesive aesthetic. 

Work with a Company Who Can Help You Achieve Cohesion

While it may seem like a good idea to shop around for different manufacturers of custom garage doors, entry gates, shutters, and front doors, this could create a chaotic look on a home. Using different manufacturers and designers can create a “too many cooks in the kitchen” situation, which can have disastrous results on the cohesiveness of a home. If you are looking for custom millwork and exterior features, find a reliable company and stick with them for the entire project. 

Want to see some of the cohesive designs CAMBEK has created for its customers? Take a look at our gallery.

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