Curb appeal is one of the most essential parts of any home. It is a critical factor in getting a home sold, and it is vital for homeowners to like how their house looks every day when they get home. One of the most critical and often overlooked parts of the home’s exterior is the siding. If you haven’t thought about your siding recently, perhaps now is an excellent time to look it over.

A lot of siding is old, worn, and possibly even rotten. Older homes feature vinyl and wood siding, which has an expiration date. Maybe your paint doesn’t look all that great, and you think it is time for a change. Upgrading the siding, changing the accents, and repainting a home can make a night and day difference in terms of feel and appeal.

Here are seven home siding trends to keep an eye on for 2022.

Siding color trends in 2021 heavily featured clean white exteriors. That trend is back this year and looks like it is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Gone are the days of bold colors and boring beige. People want a traditional white palette that they can accent with colors and styles that highlight their own unique personalities.

Look for white to continue to dominate the exterior siding market as more people swap their original paint for white. This can be done in the form of simply repainting or whitewashing existing brick or stone. As white continues to dominate the siding color trends, the variety of whites will expand. There will be off-white, cream, eggshell, and pure white rather than simply white.

In addition to white, black is also making a comeback. As the foil to the siding color trends that heavily favored largely white exteriors, there is another group of people who are opting for black, or very dark, exteriors. Black can be used as a house color or an accent color.

There has been a rise in the number of people opting to paint the bulk of their houses in black, charcoal, or dark brown alongside those who want their homes to be bright white. This dual-color trend offers a lot of flexibility and variation within neighborhoods.

Black is also becoming a trendy accent color and is appearing more and more as a requested color for trim. Windows lined with black accents and black trim are becoming more common. This is also due to the popularity of white in exterior color trends. Black accents and black trim go very well with white siding and create a clean, striking aesthetic. This trend is slated to dominate the coming year in design.

Brick continues to be a highly sought-after siding. Many homes are being built with traditional lap siding or board siding, but people are requesting a return to brick or are looking to buy houses that feature original brick in their construction. Brick exteriors are more popular than ever, and people are even adding brick accents to newer homes to give it that classic look.

People are looking for brick for its historical aesthetic and texture, not the color. Brick is being painted at record rates. While homeowners and designers are looking for brick, they do not want that garish brick red color. In keeping with the siding color trends from last year and this year, brick is being painted white or whitewashed. But other colors are being selected as well.

If you are looking to upgrade your siding this year, there is one product that is dominating the market. Cement siding has become the norm for new construction, and that is because of its durability and longevity.

Old siding was made from vinyl or wood. Neither of those materials holds up over time. Vinyl cracks and fades in the sun, while wood is prone to termite damage, water damage, and rot. Cement siding has none of those issues. Since it is made from cement and fiber, it is impervious to bugs, corrosion, water, and the sun. When cement siding is used on a home, it wraps it in a cloak of protection while still retaining that classic wood siding look.

Cement siding is versatile as well as durable. It comes in a variety of styles, including lap, board and baton, and shingle. That means that any style or look that you are after can be created using the cement board. It also has the benefit of being easily paintable or factory-painted.

If you want your house to keep up with the latest siding color trends, you can pick a color from a vast variety and have it come pre-painted. The paint from the factory is baked in and saves a ton of labor and hassle. This is a great way to replace your siding and get a gorgeous new color all in one fell swoop.

Texture is playing a huge part in the latest design trends coming this year. Not only are people looking to add brick for its texture, but they are also looking at adding texture in other ways. Accent gables, accent walls, and textured trim are all showing up in the latest designs to break up the monotony of a uniform siding. The gables, peaks, and walls are getting shake siding, fish-scale shingles, and wood grain textures added to draw people’s eyes from the curb.

Before, most siding designs were simple, uniform designs that focused on the trim rather than texture. Now, people want something to break up the uniformity. Sometimes, this texture is also accompanied by an off-color or completely different color to truly differentiate the texture from the rest of the house.

Texture is just one facet of the design philosophy for 2022 that calls for more accents in general. Designers are crazy for accents right now. Accent colors, accent textures, accent lighting, accent landscaping, everything is being selected to highlight certain aspects of the home exterior right now.

In terms of the recent siding color trends, accents often include accent colors. Columns feature stains and natural wood. Upper floors feature entirely different colors than lower floors. Window trims are being picked for their bold accent colors rather than their utilitarian nature. Look for homes to feature a variety of differing, sometimes contrasting, colors to highlight separate areas of the exterior.

This focus on accents has also changed the way people select their front doors. Front doors are a part of the exterior and often go hand in hand with the siding. People are no longer content to simply have a predominantly glass door or a white door. People want a bold pop of color or a bright accent hue to really draw the eye to the front of the home. Do not be surprised to see lime green, blush pink, or dark blue doors incorporated into modern designs.

The newest design trends all favor nature, greenery, and a plethora of plants. This has carried over to the siding market, where people are requesting flower boxes and window boxes for their exteriors. If you are looking to upgrade your exterior in small, simple ways, adding some planters to your siding can give your home that extra bit of curb appeal that is in demand.

Whether you are repainting, doing a full siding job, or just patching some worn areas, make sure to make room for flower boxes and planters in your design. Adding green vines, colorful flowers, or even small shrubbery can give your house that extra pop of nature that really takes it over the edge.

Not into plants or gardening? No problem. A lot of people are incorporating fake plants into their designs. Designers know that a lot of people are busy or live in cold climates, and upkeeping large numbers of plants is unfeasible. Just because you are busy does not mean you don’t get to partake in the latest trends. Put some realistic fake greenery in your boxes. No one will ever know the difference.

Do not neglect your home’s siding. There are many different ways to upgrade the functionality and look of a home’s exterior. Black and white houses are super hot right now. Designers are focusing on clean lines and bold accents that create a very cohesive put-together look. Cement siding is the newest material on the market, promising versatility and durability.

Whether you just want to put up a flower box under a front window, repaint your door or completely reside your house, there are a plethora of ways to upgrade your exterior siding to keep up with the latest trends and bold design decisions.