Composite and Cedar claddings work well together
Published: 27 April 2023
Reading Time: 4 minutes 44 seconds
A recent Instagram post by Modern Garden Rooms caught our eye, showcasing their Concave range garden room with a stylish combination of composite wood cladding and Western Red Cedar cladding. This project is an excellent example of how combining different cladding finishes can create a unique and striking look for a garden room. While many people choose one finish or the other, this project demonstrates the potential for mixing materials to create a more visually interesting and personalised aesthetic.
Modern Garden Rooms' Concave range is a stylish contemporary design that is available in an extensive range of sizes, making it suitable for a wide range of uses. Whether you need a small garden room for a home office or a larger space for a gym or entertainment room, the Concave range can be customised to fit your needs. To help you design your perfect building, Modern Garden Rooms offers a free online configurator, allowing you to select the size, cladding, doors, and other features to create a unique and personalised space.
In addition to their online configurator, Modern Garden Rooms has a show site where you can see furnished examples of the Concave design and their other contemporary ranges. The show site provides an opportunity to see the quality and craftsmanship of their garden rooms up close and to discuss design options with their team of experts. Whether you are looking for a garden room for work or play, the Concave range from Modern Garden Rooms is an excellent choice, providing a stylish and functional space that can be tailored to your specific needs.
Exterior cladding plays a dual role in garden room design
Exterior cladding is a crucial layer in the construction of a garden room, as it protects the insulated core structure from the weather. It is one of the most important layers in the multi-layer build-up of a garden room.
In addition to its practical function, exterior cladding also plays a significant role in the aesthetic style of a garden room. It is one of the most visible and defining features of the building and can greatly influence its overall appearance and character.
When choosing your cladding finish, it is important to consider both practical and aesthetic factors. You will want to select a material that offers good durability and longevity but requires minimal maintenance to preserve its appearance over time.
Timber claddings have always been popular, but today, you have other choices too
For many years, timber cladding has been the traditional choice for the exterior of a garden room. It offers a warm, natural appearance that blends beautifully with the garden environment. There are many different types of timber used for exterior cladding, each with its unique properties and characteristics. Some timbers, such as Western Red Cedar, have a natural resistance to decay and insect damage, while others may require more maintenance to keep them looking their best.
In recent years, garden room designers have adopted other finishes such as metal cladding, render, cement fibre boards and composite wood claddings because they offer long, maintenance-free lifespans. These materials can offer a range of benefits, including being dimensionally stable, so no warping or cracking and resistance to rot and fungal attack.
Unlike timber cladding, non-timber materials such as metal, composite wood, and fibre cement are coloured during the manufacturing process, which means they don't require painting or staining to maintain their appearance.
What is composite wood?
Composite wood cladding is a versatile and durable cladding material made by mixing real wood fibres and resins to create a hard, dimensionally stable material that is perfect for use in garden room design. The wood fibres used in composite wood cladding are sourced from sustainable sources, making it an eco-friendly choice for outdoor building materials.
One of the main advantages of composite wood cladding is that it is coloured during the manufacturing process, eliminating the need for painting or staining after installation. This not only saves time and money on maintenance but also ensures that the colour of the cladding remains consistent over time.
Composite wood cladding is available in a wide range of colours, textures, and profiles, allowing for a high level of customisation and versatility in garden room design. It is also highly resistant to weather, UV rays, and other environmental factors, making it a durable and long-lasting option for outdoor use.
You can combine timber and composite wood cladding for a low-maintenance finish
For those looking to buy a low-maintenance garden room, the choice often comes down to Western Red Cedar or composite wood cladding. Both materials offer excellent durability and weather resistance, as well as a natural, warm appearance that complements the outdoor environment. Many people choose one finish or the other based on personal preference or budget, but there is no reason why they can't be combined to great effect.
As the Modern Garden Rooms project showcased at the start of this article proves, combining Western Red Cedar and composite wood cladding can create a stunning and unique look for a garden room. By using composite wood for the main cladding and Western Red Cedar for accents or trim, you can create a stylish and modern aesthetic.
The composite wood cladding Modern Garden Rooms used in this project has a realistic wood grain texture that complements the natural grain of the Cedar, creating a harmonious and unified look.
A smart feature of the project is how the composite wood and window frames have been colour-matched, creating a seamless intersection between them. This attention to detail helps to tie the design together and create a cohesive look that enhances the overall aesthetic of the garden room.
The Modern Garden Rooms Concave range offers a unique design feature where the front wall with the doors is recessed back, creating a distinctive and eye-catching look. By choosing to have this front wall clad in Western Red Cedar, Modern Garden Rooms' client has really accentuated this detail and added an extra level of visual interest to the design.
The natural colours of the Cedar create a beautiful contrast against the black composite used for the rest of the garden room's exterior cladding.
Consider mixing cladding materials
When it comes to selecting cladding for your garden room, do consider mixing Western Red Cedar with composite wood cladding. Both materials offer long, low-maintenance lifespans and can be used to create a building with a unique aesthetic. Whether you choose to use Western Red Cedar for accents and trims or to use composite wood cladding for the majority of the building's exterior, the possibilities are endless. By exploring different combinations of materials, you can create a garden room that is both functional and beautiful for many years to come.