Weatherboard homes: three looks (that aren’t Hamptons!)

Australia’s love affair with the weatherboard look can be seen in many of our historic and most popular styles – from the Queenslander to coastal and new, contemporary designs.

“Weatherboard is extremely versatile and is embedded in Australian home design. Traditionally, timber has been the go-to, but today, we have more advanced options, like Linea Weatherboard, which open up new design possibilities for personal style to shine through,” says Steve Pisani, national builder business manager, Scyon Walls.

Here, Steve offers his top tips for achieving three of the most authentic Aussie home designs with cladding:

Contemporary

Combining a mixture of materials when building or renovating allows homeowners to increase visual interest, add personality and make the style of the home their own. Often built to create an immediate impact, these stand-out designs can be softened to suit suburban surrounds with the addition of more traditional materials like weatherboard.

Most modern contemporary designs use a number of types of cladding. Linea Weatherboard is narrow with clean lines and deep shadows. The smooth texture and square profile boards provide crisp definition and can be painted any colour for a contemporary look. For larger expanses use the 180mm boards to create a larger feel and scale down to the 150mm in smaller areas to enhance the perception of space.

The mix of materials can add to the functionality of a home while instilling a strong sense of individual style and character to the home.

Coastal

The main elements of the coastal style mirror the beach itself, light, breezy and open. Choose a colour palette of whites, creams, greys and blues that reflect the hues of the beach and add to the easy-going, simple feel. The architecture of the house should accentuate the view and blur the line between the indoors and outdoors. When designing the home, opt for large, open-plan rooms with many windows and skylights, to allow sunshine to flood in and create clear sightlines to the outdoors.

If the house is located in a coastal area, selecting materials that can withstand the harsh climate is vital. Linea Weatherboard is able to achieve the deep shadow line look of traditional timber options without the maintenance, as it is less prone to flaking, warping or swelling, and is resistant to fire and damage from termites and moisture.

The Queenslander

Developed in the 1840s, the uniquely Australian Queenslander is a design response to the sub-tropical climate of north-eastern Australia. Today we see modern interpretations of the classic Queenslander style with elements including elevated spaces, heritage detailing and partially enclosed verandas that extend the indoor living space and provide relief from lengthy, warm summer days.

When building elevated homes, keeping the weight of building materials to a minimum is key. Choose light timber frames with weatherboard look cladding to achieve the classic aesthetic and functionality of the Queenslander. Linea Weatherboards are lightweight and easy to install, making a crisp, clean timber look quick and easy to achieve.

The Scyon™ brand is owned by James Hardie Technologies™ Ltd and was invented in the research and development facility at James Hardie Rosehill, NSW. Launched in 2006, Scyon products are made from sand, cement and cellulose. Scyon is manufactured at plants in Rosehill, NSW, Carole Park, QLD and Penrose in Auckland, New Zealand.