When we talk about a home’s curb appeal, what we’re really addressing is its façade – which in French means face or frontage – that ever-visible exterior of your house that’s supposed to tell a story, reflect your personality and offer a visual handshake to the street. But as with all things in construction, what meets the eye is only part of the narrative.
We often get called in for façade renovations on homes that are anywhere from 30 to 100 years old, and here’s the thing: You can’t just slap on some new siding and call it a day. A proper facelift means understanding what lies beneath and honouring the original intent and the inevitable aging of the building envelope systems that came before it.
Age and assembly
Know what you’re working with
Before the first hammer swings or Hardie board is ordered, start with a simple question: What are you working with here?
Homes built in the 1930s-50s era are vastly different from those built in the 1980s or early 2000s –not just in style, but in how they’re assembled. The wall and roof assemblies from those time periods used different materials, insulation strategies and moisture management systems (or sometimes, the lack thereof). Understanding these legacy assemblies is crucial to ensuring any new cladding, insulation or architectural detail is not just pretty, but performs.
For instance, a double-brick construction from the 1920s behaves differently in terms of moisture movement and thermal performance than a platform-framed home from 1975, clad in aluminum siding. Updating that older brick home with exterior insulation and acrylic stucco without considering vapour drive or dew point migration could spell disaster, trapping moisture where it doesn’t belong.
So, façade renovations aren’t just a beauty contest; they’re an archaeological dig. And like any good dig, you don’t disturb the layers unless you’ve mapped the site.
Marrying the outside with the inside
One of the most overlooked aspects in a façade renovation is the transition zone, the architectural and functional connection between the outside and the inside. We always tell our clients: You can’t modernize the face of your home while ignoring how it functions in concert with your interior spaces.
Take windows and doors, for example. Upgrading to triple-glazed units not only affects the visual proportions of your façade, but it also impacts how the interior feels in terms of light, comfort and sound. Similarly, extending overhangs or changing cladding thickness will influence natural light penetration, room views and even furniture placement.
We design these transitions holistically. If you’re pushing the exterior wall out with a rainscreen assembly or adding foam insulation, you’re effectively changing your window reveals and possibly your trim details. If the new cladding is dark steel, how does that play with your interior palette? These aren’t just design questions; they’re user experience questions.
Material choice
Aesthetics meets longevity
Let’s talk about materials, because this is where homeowners can get excited and overwhelmed. Fair enough. There’s no shortage of beautiful options: Wood, fibre cement, engineered stone, steel, stucco, brick veneer. But behind every design inspiration folder should be a reality check: What does this material require in five years? Ten years?
Wood, for example, offers incredible warmth and richness. But it comes at a cost: Regular sealing, potential warping and vulnerability to UV and moisture unless maintained properly. Conversely, pre-finished metal siding such as standing seam steel offers sleek lines and near-zero maintenance but can feel cold or industrial unless softened with natural elements.
It’s a balancing act between tactile experience and tangible effort.
One principle to follow: Materials should offer more than just colour. They should bring depth, texture and rhythm to the façade. This could mean mixing vertical and horizontal planes, using battens to add shadow lines, or introducing contrasting textures such as charred wood beside smooth plaster.
Beyond the visual layer, consider longevity in our climate. Toronto’s freeze-thaw cycles, UV exposure and high-humidity summers are brutal on exteriors. Material selection must account for expansion, contraction, breathability and the ability to resist water ingress, and allow its escape for the eventual seal failure. That’s where our understanding of modern rainscreen assemblies and vapour management comes into play.
Detailing
The difference between ‘nice’ and ‘wow’
Good design lives in the details. It’s not just about picking cedar over composite, it’s about how that cedar meets the stone base, what the reveals look like around the windows, and whether the soffit aligns with the eaves in a way that feels intentional.
Too often, we see homes where the new cladding looks ‘stuck on.’ That’s usually a symptom of skipping the design development phase and going straight into build mode. A truly transformative façade renovation needs architectural planning, not just contractor enthusiasm.
Here’s one example: A recently renovated 1990’s subdivision home had aged into the ‘ugly duckling’ category. Rather than fighting its original bones, we leaned into the geometry, replacing the entire front wall of the building, expanding the entry, raising ceiling heights across the vestibule and living room, and creating a private rooftop patio oasis off a bedroom on top of an expanded three-car garage. The new front included a white brick and stone façade, deep soffit band and contrasting black framed windows and doors. This, coupled with the black standing seam roof, visually anchored the house and brought a sense of contemporary style and scale back to the property.
The client’s favourite feature? The way the white oak window and door jambs match with the white oak panelled concealed millwork storage and the herringbone oak floors. Oh, and the maintenance-free exterior. The combinations of aluminum roof and windows, fiberglass doors, concrete walkways and lintels coupled with clay masonry, provides a durability that will ensure long-term performance.
Maintenance and the myth of ‘set it and forget it’
No matter how modern or maintenance-free a product claims to be, every home will require some upkeep. The key is to understand what you’re signing up for, and to select materials and assemblies that align with your lifestyle and appetite for ongoing care.
If you don’t want to stain wood every three years, maybe a wood-look aluminum cladding is your better bet. If you love the look of aged copper but not the cost or runoff risk, consider painted steel in a weathered finish.
The best façade renovations are honest about their materiality. They don’t try to fake a look. They execute a vision with integrity and forethought.
Final thoughts
A façade renovation is more than skin deep. It’s a chance to reconnect your home’s public face with its private heart. Done right, it elevates not just curb appeal, but energy efficiency, durability and the emotional experience of coming home.
Every home has a story – and a future. When planning your own home project, there is real value in working with a professional to design and build or remodel the space. Start your search at renomark.ca, the home of the renovation professional, now represented all across Canada.