After almost a quarter of a century with wood shingles overhead, the Butler family decided to shake up its roof. Rather than simply replace their cedar shakes, the homeowners opted for a combination of metal and polymer shake tiles on their roof to complement the brick, cedar and copper textures on the home's exterior.

The Butlers chose a DaVinci Roofscapes® Multi-Width Shake roof in a Mountain blend of three brown tones of color for the top of their roof, with an aging artisan metal secondary roof underneath and capping off dormer windows. The home's siding features both real cedar and brick accents, and the gutters and garage doors are made of copper.

“With each rain and wind storm we were losing pieces of our original wood shingles from the roof,” said Kim Butler of Brock, Neb. “We started searching online for long-lasting roofs and discovered the polymer shake tiles from DaVinci. At the same time, we remembered the appeal of steel roofs we'd seen in Montana. Somehow we knew we wanted to combine the two products.”

“We really like how metals patina with age to give a rustic look,” she continued. “With a steel roof and copper gutters, we believe the slow progression of the patinas will bring long-term beauty and durability to our home. Add in the DaVinci composite, shakes and we have a winning combination.”

 Tips for Creating a Textured Exterior

For homeowners wishing to mix textures on the home exterior, national color expert Kate Smith recommends following the FRESH approach.

“Start by looking at the fixed features of the home — such as the foundation material, chimney structure or walkways — to determine the basic common color or color cast that will link all your materials together,” said Smith, president of Sensational Color. “Next, look for commonalities in the regional colors for your home and the environment near your home.

“The Butlers did this perfectly,” she continued. “They were able to bring together so many different textures and colors seamlessly because they took into consideration the whole house and the surroundings while they stayed within one color family. From the dark window frames to the roughhewn cedar shutters to the smooth metal roofing, the style of their home beautifully lends itself to the use of multiple textures.”

When choosing metal accents for the home, Smith reminds homeowners to take into consideration the aging process. “As copper develops a patina it does so in stages,” she said. “The initial patina is a rust color that generally turns a deeper brown within the first five years. After that it begins to slowly take on a light greenish tone (known as verdi gris) after 15 years. Each stage has a unique character and will work together beautifully with the other materials on the home, such as the siding and polymer shake roof.”

Because the changing patina on the roof, gutters and garage doors add to the personality of the home in the long-term, Smith applauds the Butlers for their foresight. “As technology gives homeowners like the Butlers the option of using long-life materials, knowing how to mix them becomes extremely important because the products will be living together on the home exterior for an extended amount of time,” she said. “This is a great way to keep the neutral tone with textures that add warmth and character to the home.”

For a free downloadable e-book written by Smith outlining the FRESH approach to choosing color for the home, visit www.davinciroofscapes.com/color/choosing-color/.

For more information, visit www.davinciroofscapes.com.