When it comes to siding designs, split-level homes can be so much fun. They’re known for their unique architecture — multiple rooflines, staggered levels, and bold exterior shapes that are packed with design potential. With the right siding choices, you can turn the distinctive features of a split-level house into something that truly captures attention.
Ready to get started? Whether you’re planning a full home renovation or looking for ideas to spruce up your exterior, we’ll show you how designers approach siding for split-level homes.
How Does a Split-Level Home’s Architecture Affect Siding Design?
Unlike single- or two-story homes, split-level homes generally feature unique architectural designs that give them an asymmetrical look. At the very least, you’ll have multiple levels of rooflines to design around — and the exterior shape can usually be broken down into several different zones.
Before you get started on an exterior renovation, it’s crucial to look at the outside of your home and identify these zones. Beautiful siding for split-level homes often relies on creating designs that specifically accent each zone rather than blending them all together.
From the outside, most split-level homes can be broken down into three distinct zones:
- The upper zone, which is usually the area featuring the home’s bedrooms
- The middle zone, which usually includes the kitchen, dining, and living spaces
- The lower zone, which is the garage and basement area
Not all split-level homes fit this exact design. While most feature these three zones, smaller homes may only have two levels or zones, and in rare cases, large split-level homes may have four or more levels or zones. Once you’ve identified them, you can create visual separation between zones through different siding colors, styles, or textures.
Design Tip #1: Create Balance With Vertical Siding
Vertical siding isn’t just for barndominiums or homes in the modern farmhouse style. It’s also a great choice if you want to give your split-level home a makeover. Let’s examine why this siding style works — and how you can use it in your exterior remodel.
Why Choose Vertical Siding for Split-Level Homes
One common problem when it comes to split-level home exteriors is that the multi-level rooflines and asymmetric exteriors can lead to an unbalanced or disjointed look. Vertical siding styles can help homeowners overcome this challenge in a couple of ways.
For starters, vertical siding’s lines draw the eye upward, which creates a sense of increased height. This can help balance a home design where low rooflines feel too squat.
Some types of split-level homes feature exterior designs with bump-outs, which are small room additions or overhangs that make the interior design more spacious while creating even more asymmetry within the exterior design. With this type of exterior, horizontal siding can create a stair-stepped look that makes the whole house look boxy or disjointed. Vertical siding is a great solution for this because it creates a continuous series of vertical lines across the home’s facade, which can look much more cohesive.
How to Use Vertical Siding for Split-Level Homes
Now that you understand what vertical siding can do for a house exterior, you can think about ways to use it to best effect on your home’s exterior. Here are a few ideas:
- Use vertical siding throughout to create a continuous, cohesive look all the way around your home.
- Use vertical siding to make shorter areas seem taller — and balance the look by using horizontal siding to make taller zones seem shorter.
- Give the central entry zone or area around the front door a sense of grandeur and height with vertical siding.
- Use vertical siding beneath gables to make them feel taller.
Design Tip #2: Lean into Asymmetry With Mixed Siding Designs
The true beauty of a split-level exterior is that its natural asymmetry allows you to mix and match siding colors, styles, and textures without creating an oddly blocky look. Many homeowners choose two or more siding materials to create designs with loads of visual interest. Use the following tips to create a look that truly reflects your home’s personality.
Create Visual Interest by Mixing Horizontal and Vertical Siding
When it comes to mixing horizontal and vertical siding, you can create a lot of visual interest — but you’ll need to work with your home’s exterior zones, bump-outs, or gables to pull it off.
- To mix siding styles by zone, try vertical siding on the lowest zone to make it seem taller and on the highest zone to give it a soaring look. Then use horizontal siding on the middle zone to balance out the other two zones.
- You can also use either vertical or horizontal siding throughout — but use the opposite siding style to accentuate bump-outs. For example, use horizontal siding as the home’s main siding, and horizontal siding on the bump-outs.
- Another way to mix horizontal and vertical siding is to use horizontal siding throughout, but use vertical siding beneath the gables to make them seem taller. While it’s less common, you can do this in reverse, too — vertical siding throughout and horizontal beneath the gables to make them feel lower.
Using one of these methods to mix horizontal lines with vertical ones creates a nicely varied look that prevents the home from looking overly bland or blocky.
Add Accents to Draw the Eye to the Right Places
Another great way to mix up the look of your new siding is to add accents in the right places. For example, you can make the home’s exterior appear more grounded by using stone or brick to side one of the zones. However, keep in mind that these materials give off a weighty feeling, so it’s generally best to use them on middle or upper zones to prevent the lower portions of your home from feeling too heavy.
You can also use the look of natural wood, brick, or stone to draw attention to entryways, or you can add trim in contrasting colors where different siding styles meet to create both contrast and separation.
As you’re considering accents, don’t forget light fixtures, garage doors, and even how the landscaping will look against your siding. These features can all be focal points on their own, which means you’ll need to design carefully so that you don’t create exterior areas that are overly busy in some spots, but too plain in others.
Design Tip #3: Elevate Curb Appeal With Color Palettes
Color plays a huge role in how balanced and visually appealing a split-level home looks. Because these homes naturally have multiple zones, color placement can either make a dramatic improvement on your home’s new look — or unintentionally emphasize awkward features. Use these tips to infuse your color scheme with as much curb appeal as possible:
- Choose lighter colors for lower levels. Just as stone and brick can create a heavy look that overbalances the bottom of the home, so too can dark colors.
- Save trendy dark colors — like TruLog’s Dark Charcoal, Musket Brown, or Evergreen — for upper levels where they’ll feel bold without overwhelming the home’s balance.
- Pair dark palettes with light trim, shutters, entries, and garage doors to create eye-catching contrasts.
- Make sure to match your undertones. Pair cool grays with cool-toned weathered wood finishes or warm colors with rich, warm wood tones to keep your palette looking coordinated. TruLog’s line of HD Woodgrain finishes features a great selection of undertones to help you get the perfect match.
Get Beautiful Siding for a Split-Level Home With TruLog
When it comes to siding for split-level homes, you’ll need to pay careful attention to the details. Start by identifying the home’s major exterior zones, then blend siding styles, textures, and colors in strategic ways that suit your home’s overall look and feel.
If you’re in the market for new siding that comes in today’s most popular colors and styles, look no further than TruLog steel siding. We offer board and batten, lap, and log siding in a variety of trendy colors — and our siding is engineered for maximum durability, longevity, and energy efficiency. Download our free catalog to learn more about what our siding has to offer.
