When you think about what makes the outside of a house look really fancy it usually comes down to the materials that are used together. Material pairings that define an exterior are what set these houses apart from the rest.

The material pairings that define an exterior are a big part of what makes a house look expensive. Certain materials just look better together. That is what makes the outside of a house look really nice. Material pairings that define an exterior can be things like wood and stone or metal and glass.

These material pairings that define an exterior are used by architects and builders to make houses look their best. The right material pairings that define an exterior can make a big difference in how a house looks. Material pairings that define an exterior are something that people notice when they seem a house.

In architecture people do not think luxury is about having a lot of fancy details anymore. These days the outside of expensive buildings are actually pretty simple. They often have timber on the front, which makes the building look warm and genuine.. Timber is not usually used by itself. The real beauty of timber comes out when it is used with materials that go well with it.

When you are building a house by the beach in Byron Bay or a big office space, in Melbourne the things you use with wood make the project good or not. Stone makes it look serious. Concrete makes it look cool. Glass helps you see inside and outside at the time. Metal details make it look really nice and finished.

The question is not whether we should use timber, it is what we should pair the timber with. If we get this right we can create exteriors that look modern. Will last for a long time. If we get it wrong then even the best timber will not be able to make the exterior look good. This is where knowing about materials makes a difference between good buildings and really great buildings. When we talk about luxury it is not about how much something costs, it is about how clear and well thought out the design is and how well it is made, with a focus, on timber.

Natural materials are really good at working all the time. Stone and timber are examples of this. They have been used in buildings for a long time. The reason for this is that they get better with age. They start to look nice and old. They have a special kind of charm that is hard to find in things that are made in a factory. Natural materials like stone and timber just seem more real, than other things.

Limestone and sandstone work well with timber facades. Sandstone has a color that looks great with lighter timber like Silvertop Ash. The way they look together is very natural because they both have colors that come from the earth. This makes them easy to match. Limestone is a color and it goes well with darker timber, like Spotted Gum or Blackbutt. Limestone and sandstone are both choices because they have colors that our eyes are used to seeing together. You will see this combination of things in really nice houses in the eastern suburbs of Sydney and the coastal areas of Perth, where homes need to look fancy and also be able to withstand tough conditions. This combination is something that people like to use when they want their homes to feel fancy and strong at the time like homes in Sydney and homes in Perth.

The way things look is important. So is the way they feel. Stone makes a building feel solid. It gives the building weight. Makes it feel like it will be there forever. This is a balance to the light feeling of wood. When you walk by a house that has wood strips on the outside and a stone foundation you feel an order. The stone says this house is stable and the wood makes it feel cozy and warm. This is what architecture is supposed to do. It is supposed to make you feel something because of the materials that are used. The stone and the wood work together to create a feeling. The stone is like a base that keeps everything steady. The wood adds a nice rhythm to the house. It is like music, for your eyes. The architecture of the house is creating a feeling of you and that is what it is supposed to do.

Think about how limestone and timber work together in different sizes of buildings. If you have a house in the city the limestone can be used at the bottom and the timber can be used for the rest of the house which makes the house look like it is not as heavy as it really is. On a farm the limestone can be used to make whole sections of the house and the timber can be used to make certain parts of the house stand out. Limestone and timber can be used in many different ways, which is why you see them used together in small houses and also in big buildings, like schools and hospitals.

There is also a part to think about. Both stone and timber handle the weather in Australia well. Stone does not get damaged when it is out, in the sun. Good quality timber that is looked after properly can last for a long time. When you use stone and timber together they make buildings that get better with age. Stone and timber are materials because they make buildings that age nicely instead of looking old and worn out over time.

Architectural concrete is really good. It does not get the credit it deserves. When people do it correctly like making off-form concrete with board markings or smooth surfaces it looks very nice. It has lines that make the timber façades look better. The architectural concrete does not try to be the focus, it just helps the timber façades look good. Architectural concrete is very good at this.

This combination of materials really works well in factories and buildings that have shops and homes in them. The concrete gives the building a simple look. The timber adds a touch. The way the rough concrete and the natural timber look together creates a contrast that looks like it was done on purpose. I have seen this in warehouses that have been turned into new spaces, where they keep the old concrete and add timber to make it feel warmer. I have also seen it in office buildings, where they use concrete for the main structure and add timber to the outside to make it look more friendly and less cold. The concrete and timber together make the building look more interesting.

This combination of timber works really well because of the way it looks in different light. Concrete does not look the same all the time. It looks soft and bright in the morning. It has a lot of shadows in the afternoon. Timber also looks different at times of the day. You can see the patterns in the wood clearly and the natural oils in the timber shine when the sun hits them. When you put concrete and timber together you get a building that looks different at times of the day. Concrete and timber are always interesting to look at because they're never the same. The concrete and timber combination is really nice to look at.

You will find that this approach works well in climate zones where thermal mass is important. Concrete gives you that mass, which helps to keep the temperature stable while timber screens or cladding can be used to give you shade or ventilation when you need it. The way it looks is also very nice. It does what it is supposed to do which is a great thing. When the materials you use help to keep you comfortable and also look good then you have done something to be proud of.. Timber works well together to make a nice place.

The trend of using exposed concrete in buildings shows that people are thinking differently. People are not as interested in hiding how buildings are made anymore. We want to see the structure of the building, understand what it is made of and appreciate the work that goes into making it. When you combine concrete with wood you get what people are looking for. Buildings that show how they are made in a beautiful way. Exposed concrete and timber together make buildings look nice because they are made with care and attention to detail. People like exposed concrete because it's honest and shows the real structure of the building.

Glass curtain walls and big windows really change how we see timber on the outside of a building. Of being the main covering timber becomes the frame, a decorative touch and a way to add some interest. This way of using timber makes it possible to have a connection between, inside and outside spaces. Something that Australian architecture has been doing for a long time but is still getting better at.

The thing is to find a balance. If you use much glass you will not have enough privacy and it will be hard to control the temperature and the building will not look strong. If you use little glass you will not have enough light and you will not be able to see outside. When you add wood to the building like using it as strips or as a screen that goes across or as special panels you can control both the glass and the wood. The glass does not stand out much when the wood is in front of it and the wood stands out when the glass is behind it. The wood and the glass work together to make the building look good.

Imagine a house with two floors. The downstairs part has glass walls that go from the floor to the ceiling. These glass walls open up to a garden or a pool area. The upstairs part is different. It has screens that cover the bedroom windows. This way people inside can still see outside. They have some privacy. The materials used to build the house change as you move from the areas to the private areas. This change makes the house feel more open in some parts and more protected in parts. This is a way to design a house and it shows in the choice of materials used for the two-storey home. The two-storey home is an example of this kind of design.

This combination is really great for the inside of the house. The timber elements inside the house are like frames for the views. They look like they were carefully picked to be, in a photograph. The light comes through the wooden pieces and makes stripes on the floor. These stripes move across the floor all day. This is the kind of thing that makes a house feel special and expensive. When you look at the timber lines your eye goes from the inside of the house to the landscape. The lines connect the space to the outside and it feels like it was done on purpose. The house does not feel like inside and outside are separate. The timber elements make the house feel like the inside and outside are connected.

There is wisdom here too. In Australia's sunlight, glass that is not shaded creates a lot of glare and heat. Using timber screening solves this problem while you still get to keep your views and natural light. You get the things about glass without the bad things. This is another example where luxury means finding smart solutions to problems, not just using expensive materials, like timber screening and glass.

Bronze and blackened steel are really important when you want something to look very luxurious. You can see bronze and blackened steel in the frames of windows, the hardware on doors screens on the outside of buildings and in the details of the structure. These are things that show how well something is made and how much attention was paid to the details. Bronze and blackened steel make a difference in how nice something looks.

Bronze gets a layer on it as time passes. This layer changes the color of the bronze from a yellowish brown to a deeper green color. This change is really cool because it makes the building look more interesting. When bronze is new it looks nice with the color of wood.. After twenty years the old bronze looks even better with the wood because it has gotten older too. The bronze and the old wood have a relationship. Blackened steel is different. It always looks the same. It makes a nice contrast, with lighter wood or stone. Bronze and blackened steel are both nice. They look different as time passes. Bronze changes and blackened steel stays the same.

The key to making something special is being careful and not overdoing it. When every single part of the window is made of bronze, when the metal screens are made with a lot of detail, when the parts that hold things together and the pieces that keep water out are done in a way that you can see them that shows you care about how things are made. Having things is not just about using the most expensive stuff. It is about using materials that are chosen for a reason and put in place by someone who knows what they are doing. Luxury is about the bronze window frames and the metal screens and the fixings and flashings being done with care and skill.

These elements work with types of buildings. A commercial building can use blackened steel framing to give it a feel that is real.

A house by the coast might use bronze details that remind you of the ocean. The way it changes color is like the copper on boat parts. This creates a connection between the material and the place. The material looks different in places, which is what makes good design.

The elements work well with types of buildings, like commercial buildings and coastal residences and the material speaks differently in these different contexts, which is exactly what good design demands and that is what these elements do.

Luxurious exteriors look really great when the materials work together. It is not about spending a lot of money. When you use wood and stone and concrete and glass and nice metals together you are creating a look that shows the place is well made and will last. This is what I mean by exteriors. They are about quality and they are about design that people have thought about carefully. Luxurious exteriors are all about the way these materials work together to create something.

The best Australian architecture really gets this. This is why you will find these combinations in award-winning homes from Noosa to Margaret River. You will also see them in projects where old buildings are used in a way across inner Melbourne.. You will see them in commercial developments that need to show they are professional and friendly at the same time. Australian architecture is about finding this balance and that is what makes it so great.

Material integrity creates architectural integrity. And that, more than any trend or style, defines enduring luxury.