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The exterior concept is simple and distinctive: keep the existing Austin stone on the lower portion of the facade, remove the vinyl siding above it, and replace that upper area with cedar shake siding. The appeal comes from contrast—a pale, whitish limestone base set against darker cedar—while the house keeps the grounded character of its masonry.
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This is an inspiration plan, not a report of completed construction. The original post presents a homeowner’s wish for a future remodel, with reference images gathered to explore the look. It does not establish a final design, construction method, price, code approval, or product specification.
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The exterior idea in one sentence
The proposed elevation uses two primary materials in a deliberate vertical arrangement: Austin stone below and cedar shake siding above. In the house shown in the original post, vinyl siding appears on the right side of the front porch, while Austin stone appears on the left. The author imagines removing the vinyl and extending the stone-and-cedar relationship across the facade.
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The stone is described as a whitish limestone. The preferred cedar is darker, creating the tonal separation that makes the concept memorable. Rather than treating the facade as one uninterrupted surface, the design gives the lower and upper portions different visual jobs: masonry anchors the base, while shake siding supplies texture and a warmer, more natural-looking layer above.
The idea comes from “Dreaming Of Home — Stone And Cedar Shake Exteriors,” published by Addicted 2 Decorating on March 28, 2013, and updated December 24, 2015. You can read the original post at Addicted 2 Decorating.
What is existing and what is imagined?
The photographed house
The house pictured in the post already combines materials, but not in the finished arrangement the author wants. Austin stone is visible on the left side of the front porch, and vinyl siding is visible on the right. That asymmetry gives the author a real starting point: the proposed change is not an abstract rendering but a thought experiment based on a specific facade.
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The imagined version retains stone on the lower part of the home and changes the upper areas to cedar shake siding. The post does not say that the work was completed. It also does not provide drawings, dimensions, a bid, a construction date, or photographs of a finished remodel. Any present-day discussion should therefore treat the scheme as a design direction rather than a documented project.
Why that distinction matters
An inspiration image can show the relationship between materials without answering the practical questions that determine whether a particular house can use them. The proportions of the existing facade, the location of windows and doors, transitions at the porch, and local approval requirements would all need to be examined separately. The original post leaves those matters open.
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Why pale stone and darker cedar make a strong visual pairing
The author’s stated preference is for contrast between pale stone and darker cedar. That contrast can be read in several ways without assuming a particular product or finish.
- Weight at the base: Stone reads as a substantial lower band, visually grounding the house.
- Texture above: Cedar shake introduces a small-scale, repeated surface pattern where the stone would otherwise continue upward.
- Clear material break: A change in color and texture makes the transition between lower and upper facade intentional instead of accidental.
- Warmth against coolness: The whitish limestone described in the post appears relatively light and cool, while darker cedar can bring a warmer note.
These are design readings of the author’s concept, not performance claims about either material. The post does not quantify color, texture, weathering, or service life. The key lesson is the composition: two recognizable surfaces, separated by level and tone, rather than a single finish applied everywhere.
How the material transition could organize the facade
The proposed arrangement is most legible when the stone remains on the lower portion and the shake begins above it. That gives the eye a horizontal datum—a line at which the material changes. On a real house, the exact line would depend on the existing architecture, but the concept asks for a deliberate transition rather than scattered patches.
Lower portion: preserve the masonry character
In the source house, the Austin stone is an existing feature the author wants to keep. Retaining it makes the remodel less about erasing the home’s identity and more about completing a material story that is already partly present.
Upper portion: use shake as the visual field
The upper areas are where the author imagines replacing vinyl siding with cedar shake. In this scheme, the cedar is not a small accent. It is the principal upper cladding, allowing its darker tone and texture to balance the broad, pale stone below.
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Porch and transition zones
The front porch is especially important because the existing materials appear on opposite sides of it. Before adopting the concept, a homeowner would need to decide how the new upper material meets porch roofs, columns, trim, corners, and any existing siding that remains. The post does not specify those details, so they should be treated as design decisions to resolve with a qualified local professional.
Reference homes the original post considered
The author assembled several examples to understand how stone-and-cedar combinations can look in different settings. These references are credited images from the original post, not current referrals or endorsements.
| Reference credited in the post | Location identified in the post | How it informed the author’s idea |
|---|---|---|
| TR Building & Remodeling | New Canaan, Connecticut | One of the stone-and-cedar exterior examples used for inspiration |
| Joseph B. Lanza Design & Building | Massachusetts | A lighter-colored house the author considered as a related interpretation |
| JG Development | Wisconsin | A cedar-shake porch example included among the references |
| Emerick Architects | Oregon | Another house used to explore the material combination |
The post also considers a brighter exterior shown in At Home Arkansas. The author notes that the link to that older article no longer worked when the post was written, so that reference should not be treated as a currently available source.
Because the post is from 2013, with an update in 2015, the firms’ current availability, project portfolios, and business status are not established by the article. Use the names only as historical image credits.
Is cedar shake siding common?
The author calls cedar shake siding timeless and says it is uncommon in the author’s area. Those are personal impressions, not a survey of regional building practice. “Common” can vary sharply from one neighborhood to another, so the post cannot answer how frequently cedar shake appears where you live.
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A useful local check is visual rather than statistical: look at nearby houses, note which materials are typical, and ask a local designer or contractor how the proposed combination would relate to surrounding homes. That conversation can address issues the inspiration post does not cover, including whether the design fits local expectations and which approvals may apply.
Questions to ask locally
- Do nearby homes use cedar shake as a primary upper cladding or only as an accent?
- Are there neighborhood, historic-district, or association rules that affect exterior materials?
- Who can evaluate the existing stone, siding transitions, and porch conditions before a design is finalized?
- Which color samples should be viewed outdoors against the actual stone?
Using the concept for an exterior color plan
For a painting or exterior-design discussion, begin with the colors that already exist. The source describes the stone as whitish limestone and the preferred cedar as darker. That gives you a starting contrast without assigning an unverified paint name or stain color.
Start with the fixed element
Photograph the Austin stone in morning, midday, and late-day light. Stone can appear different as the light changes, and the author’s concept depends on the stone remaining visibly pale. The photographs are for comparison, not a substitute for viewing physical samples at the house.
Choose the cedar tone in relation to the stone
The post favors darker cedar against pale stone. Collect several sample tones and place them beside the actual masonry, including at the porch where the existing materials meet. The goal is to judge the relationship the author describes—light lower plane, darker upper plane—rather than selecting a color in isolation.
Keep trim decisions separate
The original post does not identify trim, door, shutter, or porch-ceiling colors. Treat those as later choices. Deciding them after the stone-and-cedar relationship is clear prevents secondary accents from obscuring the main two-material composition.
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Record the intended hierarchy
Write the design brief in plain language: retain the existing Austin stone at the lower facade; use cedar shake above; preserve a readable transition; favor a darker cedar tone against the pale limestone. This short description can keep estimates and sample reviews focused on the concept instead of allowing the project to drift into unrelated finishes.
What the original post does not establish
The inspiration is useful for appearance, but it is not a construction specification. The following items are not supplied in the post and should not be inferred from its photographs:
- Measurements, elevations, or a material takeoff
- Installed cost, labor rates, or bids
- A cedar species, grade, profile, thickness, or finish
- Installation steps, fastening details, or moisture-management details
- A maintenance schedule or expected service life
- Fire, wind, moisture, or other performance ratings
- Building-code approval or permit information for any location
- Confirmation that the author completed the remodel
Those gaps do not weaken the design idea; they define its proper use. Treat the post as a visual brief and obtain project-specific information from qualified professionals who can inspect the property and account for local requirements.
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- Document the current facade. Photograph each elevation, the porch, corners, windows, doors, and the existing boundary between stone and vinyl.
- Mark the intended material zones. On printed photos or a measured drawing, indicate which lower areas remain stone and which upper areas would become cedar shake.
- Collect physical samples. Compare pale stone and darker cedar tones outdoors, at several times of day. Keep the samples together so the contrast remains the focus.
- Review transition points. Ask a qualified local professional to examine porch edges, roof lines, openings, corners, and any place where materials would meet.
- Check local constraints. Confirm applicable permits, neighborhood rules, and material requirements before selecting products or scheduling work.
- Request a written scope. The scope should identify the areas affected, preparation, removal of existing siding, treatment of the retained stone, proposed cedar product, trim assumptions, and cleanup. The source post supplies none of these terms, so they need to be defined for your house.
- Approve a sample or mock-up. View the proposed combination on the actual facade before committing to a full exterior change.
How to evaluate whether the look suits your home
Check the proportions
The concept relies on a visible lower band of stone and a substantial upper field of shake. If the stone occupies only a very small area, the intended balance may not read as clearly. If it dominates nearly the whole facade, the cedar may function more like an accent than the primary upper material.
Check the existing architecture
Look at roof shapes, porch depth, window spacing, and the lines where floors or additions meet. The original post does not state that every house can adopt the arrangement unchanged. A local professional can determine whether the proposed horizontal transition follows the home’s existing geometry.
Check the neighborhood relationship
The author’s observation that cedar shake is uncommon locally is part of the appeal, but it may also make the choice more visually prominent. Decide whether you want a quiet variation on nearby homes or a clearly distinctive facade, and communicate that preference before drawings and samples are prepared.
The central design takeaway
This exterior works as an idea because it is specific: pale Austin stone below, darker cedar shake above, with the change in material doing as much work as the change in color. It is not a claim that cedar shake is universally appropriate, inexpensive, maintenance-free, or approved everywhere. It is a clear visual direction that can guide photographs, samples, and a conversation with a local design-build professional.
If you are drawn to the concept, preserve the hierarchy that makes it recognizable. Keep the stone as the grounded lower element, let the cedar read as the upper field, and resolve every porch, corner, opening, and trim transition on the actual house rather than assuming the reference images answer those questions.
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