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A two-story home with a minimalist look, light gray siding and clean lines.
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12 Options for Cladding Exterior Walls

Appearance and longevity — these two elements should be top priority when choosing cladding for exterior walls. Whether it’s home-sweet-home or a commercial property that needs to have an easily replicated look, cladding panels for exterior walls need to provide that combination of performance and aesthetics to be worth the investment.

The problem is that many property owners can’t distinguish between a product that simply looks good on the surface and one that’s built for long-term beauty and stability. With the proper material selection, you can get the best all-around value for your property.

The key is in choosing a modern material that’s uniquely engineered to protect the structure while also showcasing top-quality aesthetics. Take a look at some of the vast design potential that’s possible with cladding crafted from fiber cement.

1. Lap

A two-story asymmetrical home with gray fiber cement siding and white trim.

Cladding exterior walls with a lap look can create a classic appeal. Lap has a familiar feel and it creates linear design qualities, a gentle texture and beautiful shadow lines. An easy choice for most homes, fiber cement lap provides better strength and protection than traditional wooden cladding for exterior walls, which is often susceptible to rotting, color fading and overall deterioration. Fiber cement lap embraces a classic look without the extensive routine maintenance work of wood.

2. Board and Batten

A large white house is elevated on risers. There are white steps leading up to a porch and the front door. Various plants surround the front.

Board and batten, another popular choice, rotates the orientation of individual panels so the cladding creates a vertical design. Often seen in coastal regions and throughout the heartland, board and batten cladding brings an authentic look to homes in a range of architectural styles. 

Modern fiber cement cladding simplifies the installation process — which is traditionally quite labor intensive — by featuring an easy, clip-in cladding system that speeds up the process and minimizes potential installation errors.

3. Earth Tones

A two-story modern style home with sections of cedar and light gray fiber cement siding.

Earth tones are popular in both residential neighborhoods and commercial designs. The benefit of using modern materials is that you can recreate a range of textures and styles with a single product that’s engineered to last.

With a built-in rainscreen that provides moisture management, fiber cement stone cladding for exterior walls can be combined with smooth architectural panels and/or wood cladding for exterior walls that are also crafted from fiber cement. This allows you to mix and match earth-tone exteriors without worrying about the compatibility of different cladding products. Brick-style, stucco-style and wood-style — no matter what look you’re after, fiber cement tile cladding for exterior walls makes the process simple and seamless.

4. Shake

A three-story home with light gray fiber cement cedar shake and two wooden garage doors. There is a large stairway leading to the front door.

Shake delivers an impeccable texture that can be styled to feel refined or rustic, depending on the surrounding features and color selections. Traditionally, wooden cladding for exterior walls was the only option for creating an authentic shake style, but that’s no longer the case. Crafted for superior weather protection and overall durability, fiber cement cladding panels for exterior walls can capture the beauty of shake with greater fire safety and weather resistance.

5. Monotone

A two-story home with a minimalist look, light gray siding and clean lines.

Smooth cladding panels can deliver an exquisite ambiance — one that’s worthy of a luxury residence. A monotone palette embraces the sleek look of the exterior wall cladding and elevates the entire design. Neutral tones that catch the light, like beige, cream or taupe are popular selections for upscale residences.

6. Variegated Approach

A two-story home featuring both horizontal and vertical siding in blue and brown tones. There are brick steps leading up to the front porch.

Mix it up! Working with a modern cladding exterior walls product gives you the ability to play with color, texture, orientation and style — without scrambling to find compatible materials. Fiber cement cladding designs pair together without effort so you can combine a brick-style facade with colorful board and batten or wood grain lap rather easily.

7. Stone Veneer

The corner of a wall utilizing Nichiha KuraStone.

Let’s be honest — stone can be an expensive commodity when it comes to exterior walls. Plus, it isn’t always energy efficient or easy to work with. The smarter strategy is to choose a stone cladding for exterior walls crafted from fiber cement. This allows for much faster installation without the need for a mason, and it results in a beautiful finished product that will last.

8. Brick

A multi-family building with red brick and white trim.

Likewise, traditional brick exteriors require the expertise of professional masons, and the installation process can be slow and tedious. Modern building materials like fiber cement allow the freedom to install exterior wall cladding in no time, thanks to the intuitive clip-in design and large panel fabrication. Easy, fast and built to last, fiber cement cladding for exterior walls is simply the smart choice for getting the bold look of brick.

9. Metal

A Boys & Girls Club with sections of blue and orange fiber cement siding off the main gray building.

A huge benefit of using fiber cement cladding panels is that it’s easy to replicate the look — which is a huge advantage for commercial properties that plan to expand. Different locations can express the same signature style that reflects the organization’s brand and character to create consistency across buildings.

10. Contemporary Color Block Panels

A close-up shot of Mount Eden High School utilizing Nichiha’s Illumination fiber cement cladding in custom shades of green and white.

Colorful exterior walls like this are becoming very popular with commercial organizations that want to stand out from the crowd. Any cladding with big color needs to maintain consistency, so it’s essential to get a durable, long-lasting exterior wall cladding option that can resist color fading from sun exposure. Fiber cement is one such material that’s built for long-lasting beauty.

11. Wood

An office building with cedar fiber cement siding. The perimeter is landscaped with beautiful palm trees and other plants along the sidewalk.

Showing off natural wood grain patterns — without worrying about dry rot, moisture damage or mold — can be a complicated goal. The easy solution? Wood-look fiber cement cladding. Fiber cement wood cladding for exterior walls is more durable and resistant to the elements, so it maintains its allure year after year. Plus, wood-style fiber cement is suitable for both residential and commercial properties.

12. Architectural Concrete Look

A close-up of fiber cement cladding on a building exterior with a blue sky in the background.

For a more urban aesthetic, the sleek exterior of architectural concrete can call attention. Unfortunately, concrete doesn’t always age well, and cracks can become a major concern down the line – both in terms of structural integrity and aesthetics. A concrete-inspired facade crafted from fiber cement can provide a practical solution for achieving this unique look while also setting up the exterior walls for success in the long run.

Nichiha Elevates Every Aspect of Your Exterior Cladding

If you’re looking for a fiber cement that brings form, function and absolute beauty to any project, rely on Nichiha. We are your go-to source for cladding exterior walls with a stylish, durable and long-lasting finish — plus, we have an abundance of exciting design styles and colors to choose from. 

Contact our experts at Nichiha to explore attractive options for residences, commercial properties and more.

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