A cohesive look and style is important when designing a new home – architects call it the “language” of the building. From the materials chosen to the colour palette selected, it is important to create a home that feels resolved and complete.
This is just one of the reasons to start the design process with the façade. The exterior aesthetic can set the tone for the interiors and give visitors a hint of what they might expect as they enter the front door.
Start from the exterior
It’s all about cohesion, as exterior palettes flow through to the interiors – sometimes using the same shades, sometimes layered with complementary tones. Take the PGH Style Quiz online to discover the home design that works for you, then overlay colour palettes to create your personal style and dream home.
One way to create cohesion is to pick a key exterior material and continue it inside. Alternatively, details outside can be replicated inside, from weatherboard paneling to decorative cornices.
This could involve creating an interior feature wall of PGH Stone to complement a stone façade, or perhaps add hallway detailing such as wainscoting using Cemintel cladding, reflecting the exterior treatment. The streamlined features of Hebel cladding can be replicated with internal walls, or even kitchen cabinetry, while decorative Gyprock decorative cornices can reflect exterior trims or complete the home design. PGH Brick flooring in utility rooms, such as laundries or mudrooms, can reflect external materials and textures, while Bradford Insulation throughout will help to maintain optimum temperatures and comfort levels.
You can even use the colour and finish of Monier roof tiles or trims – or Bradford Roof Ventilation – to frame the front door and carry this through to the bathroom fittings, such as a shower screen frame, or tapware.
Details matter when it comes to the materials of your home – they add the finishing touches. For roofing, assess whether you want tiles with a flat or classic profile, and which style of ridge capping you prefer. The traditional method is lapped ridging, while a more modern style is known as A-line ridge capping, which aligns the capping of the roof end-to-end in one clean, straight line, with no steps. For more cohesion, match the colour of your roof ventilation to your tiles.
Assess how your bricks are laid (known as the bond) – the most common bond is the stretcher bond, which are full bricks offset by half a brick from one row to another. Stacked and Flemish bonds are also popular, or you can choose hit-and-miss brickwork (especially popular for screening), which allows natural light to shine through. Mortar colours and styles will also play a part in the final look of brick.
Cladding systems such as Cemintel can be installed in myriad ways. Classic homes often suit an overlapping, or ship-lapped joint system, while Contemporary designs might be better suited to more streamlined joints. Most exterior cladding systems can be installed in different orientations; vertical grooved panels will help to elongate a home’s exterior and create a more modern aesthetic, while horizontal panels will make a building seem wider and suit a Classic façades.
Hebel cladding have different types of edging, through Hebel PowerProfile, which can accessorise a facade to replicate the look of traditional standing seam, metal cladding systems. Two profiles in three colours are available to customise your home design.
Internally, Gyprock decorative cornices can frame a room beautifully, bringing design elements together and adding character to the interiors, while Gyprock Superchek is three times tougher than regular plasterboard, which means that less noise is transmitted between the rooms for privacy.
What you can’t see
CSR products are designed for the Australian lifestyle and climate. Creating a home that not just looks good, but performs well is the key to creating a low-energy comfortable home. Bradford Gold™ and Gold™ Hi-Performance wall and ceiling insulation batts act as a thermal barrier to slow down temperature changes, keeping your home cooler in summer and minimising demands on heating during winter.
Bradford SoundScreen™ Acoustic Insulation and Hebel PowerFloor help with sound insulation, while Bradford Enviroseal™ Wall Wrap helps to reduce the risk of condensation damage. Cemintel’s Constructafloor® external and internal flooring provides a lightweight but solid substrate.
The perfect products
There is a multitude of CSR products to choose from at all levels of your build from the exterior to the interior. Use our website to explore the ranges and material palettes available. Choose from classic or streamlined profiles in tiles and bricks, through to modern (and maintenance-free) fibre cement cladding and Hebel AAC products along with technology-led, energy-efficient ventilation and robust plasterboard products. All CSR products are available in a variety of colours, sizes, profiles and textures, allowing you to build the style you want, from the outside in.
For example, a Contemporary or Barnhouse-style of homes in CSR’s Bold Black material palette can continue the monochromatic theme inside with similar strong shades, or you could showcase whites as a contrast. Rich Browns palette when applied inside can add warmth to an Industrial home design, while a Pure Naturals palette harmonises well with interiors inspired by Modernist designs. The possibilities are endless and can adapt to your personal style and to suit your lifestyle.