As two popular exterior finishes for homes across the UK, both cladding and rendering can add value and curb appeal to your property.

Both perform very well: they’re durable, long-lasting, fairly low maintenance and add a layer of protection to the building. Cladding and rendering can be weatherproofed and specified to fire resistant grades.

But, perhaps most importantly, both cladding and rendering can elevate the appearance and beauty of your home. Your choice between the two will likely be guided by these visual considerations.

Cladding offers greater design freedom and flexibility — there’s a range of materials, colours, orientations and finishes — whilst rendering offers a smart, neat finish. Both can even be used together, with the clean look of rendering complementing the natural features of timber cladding.

Let’s take a look at some inspiration for your next project.

Cladding: a natural look with design flexibility

Cladding refers to components that are attached to a building’s primary structure to form an external surface. It is available in a range of materials, the most popular for home improvement purposes being timber and PVC (plastic). Composite cladding — a blend of wood and plastic — has also grown in popularity.

When it comes to the appearance of cladding, the possibilities are almost endless. The most traditional look comes through the use of externally-durable timber species like Western Red Cedar, Siberian Larch, Douglas Fir and European Oak.

Modern wooden house with stone base, curved brick driveway, landscaped garden in foreground, overlooking a lake with hills under cloudy sky.

Modern wood-and-stone residence with a stone foundation, expansive glass doors, and a curved gravel path through a landscaped garden framed by trees at dusk.

Modern white house with vertical wood cladding and a blue front door; large windows, a black SUV on a snow-dusted gravel driveway under a blue sky. — Cladding can complement rendering very well.

Modern wooden house with vertical siding, brick foundation, and large black-framed windows and doors; sits on a grassy yard under a blue sky.

Modern two-story home with stone ground floor, wood upper level, blue-trim gable roof, glass balcony, and tall wooden garage door; gravel driveway.

Modern wooden house under construction with large glass doors and windows, vertical timber cladding, a dirt ground, and trees in the background.

Two-story wooden house with a slate roof and skylights, a covered patio with doors, outdoor seating, potted plants, and a wooden fence over green lawn.

Hues of brown, golden yellow and salmon pink are all timelessly popular, showcasing timber at its best — grain patterns and textures add further intrigue. Natural materials like this are inherently appealing to us as humans. Wood is also renewable, with PEFC and FSC-certified options allowing for the ultimate statement of sustainability.

Side of a building clad in vertical wooden planks in brown tones, with a gray shingled roof; greenery and distant houses beneath a blue sky.

Modern, single-story house with white walls and vertical wooden cladding; gravel driveway, bench, potted plants, and a small lawn.

The outdoor performance and appearance of these cladding products can be further enhanced with a well-chosen treatment — as well as protecting the wood from moisture and UV-related damage, these can help the wood’s grain to ‘pop’. A transparent oil can also be applied, which will allow the cladding to slowly weather to an attractive silvery-grey — not altogether a bad thing, if you prize the natural look.

Modern two-story house with white walls and horizontal reddish-brown wood cladding; large glass doors, windows, gravel path, and blue sky. — Why not both? Cladding and rendering can look fantastic together.

Wood-clad poolside cabana with glass doors, string lights, and potted plants; seating area beside a blue-tiled pool.

On this point, grey cladding is particularly on-trend for its natural, uncomplicated feel and Scandi-inspired look. For a slightly bolder and more dramatic (but similarly Nordic grayscale) design, another timber cladding type that’s hugely popular is black (or charred look) cladding.

Modern two-story home with a stone base and light wood siding, large windows, and a curved driveway, set among a green lawn and shrubs under a blue sky.

Two-story house with a stone base and gray wooden upper siding, a sloped roof, black-framed windows, and a gravel yard with shrubs and a small tree.

Modern single-story extension with pale wood siding, large glass doors, and a paved patio; reflections of trees in the glass.

Modern house with a black slanted roof, timber columns, and glass walls; covered patio with wicker seating, potted plants, and a green lawn.

Modern two-story home with dark vertical siding atop a white base, a gray front door, several windows, under a blue sky with distant hills.

As mentioned, grey cladding can be achieved by allowing a quality timber species to weather naturally. But it can also be done by choosing a pre-coated timber cladding product, such as SiOO:X. This makes use of silicone technology to weather and protect the wood, giving a glorious grey look that’s available in a range of tints.

Blue two-story wooden house extension with large glass doors framed in natural wood, brick base, green lawn, cloudy sky.

Blue two-story house with a large wooden-framed glass conservatory along the ground floor, brick foundation, and a bright green lawn with leafless trees.

In fact, when being manufactured, any colour can be achieved through a professional factory finish — such as this fantastic bespoke RAL 5014 blue Ayous cladding. If you’re still stuck for ideas, we’ve put together a blog post on the best cladding colours for your house.

With cladding, you can also customise the orientation. Vertical cladding, especially in a thinner board, is particularly on-trend for a contemporary look. That’s not to say that horizontal cladding is all out of fashion; its smart look has stood the test of time. You may even prefer the look of diagonal cladding, or mixed orientations.

Modern gray wooden house with a sloped roof and skylight. Vertical siding on the right, a tall narrow window, and a slatted entry with potted plants.

Even the profile of cladding can affect the finished project — a more traditional look can be achieved with featheredge, or a more contemporary feel can be affected with a shadow gap or square edge profile.

Composite and PVC plastic cladding are popular alternative types of cladding. Whilst not as environmentally sustainable or visually attractive as timber, they are usually easier to clean and maintain. Your choice should come down to whether you’d be happy to sacrifice some natural beauty for a slightly lower maintenance project.

White-framed window with a 4x3 pane grid and lace curtains, open white shutters on beige horizontal siding, with a reflection of a red-tiled roof in the glass.

Rendering: a clean, smart and customisable finish

Rendering is a protective coating for exterior walls of a property. Applied wet, it usually has a smooth finish and is suitable for all types of building, old and new. Rendering can also be used to improve the insulation and protect from water penetration.

It’s often used to bring a building with older, tired brickwork back to life. Due to its cost effectiveness and popularity in the 1970s, rendering is sometimes associated with a more dated look, but when applied strategically, it’s undoubtedly a clean, crisp look.

White two-story house with a pitched roof, large windows, a wooden front door, and two potted evergreen shrubs beside the entrance on gravel.

Two-story house with cream upper walls and red brick lower section, white-framed windows, a black front door under a small porch, two potted topiaries, and an attached garage.

Traditional types of rendering included sand and cement, clay, lime and pebbledash. Modern render systems like monocouche have taken the lead nowadays; not only do they last longer, but they come pre-coloured and only require one coat.

Whilst it doesn’t afford you the biophilic beauty and complexity of wood, rendering gives you complete control over colour — the most versatile (and therefore most popular) hues are neutral colours, like white, off-white, light grey, cream or soft brown.

Two-story white house with a red-tiled roof, bay windows, and a wooden garage door; yellow exterior light, leafless tree, and blue sky.

Two-story brick and cream townhouse with white-framed windows, a dark front door, and a small hedge along the front under a blue sky.

Lighter red is similarly popular — you may also be familiar with eye-catching pastels and decorative bold colours of London’s Notting Hill.

Row of pastel-colored townhouses with white trim, black iron fences, and small front steps; doors in soft hues along a sunny street.

Row of cream stucco townhouses with brick bases and pastel green doors, two dormer windows on a tiled roof with solar panels, a lamp post, and a tree.

Row of modern two-story houses with brick and cream facades, dark gabled roofs, white-framed windows, and a blue car in the driveway.

Over time, rendering may become discoloured by mould, algae or polluting particles and can require cleaning to restore its original colour. Be sure to check, too, for any signs of cracking.

Cladding vs. rendering: costs

The cost of choosing to render a wall or clad it with high-quality timber is usually very similar. However, there are many variables.

Just as there are many types of rendering, there are a whole host of timber cladding factors that can increase your project cost, such as the type of species or pre-coating chosen.

That said, because of the roughly similar price points between cladding and rendering a wall, we don’t think budget should be the deciding factor. Because both add value to your property, you’ll most likely recoup any project costs if it is done tastefully and stylishly.

Your decision should be about whether you prefer the visual appearance of a timber clad or rendered wall.

If you like both equally, then why not both? There’s nothing stopping you having rendered and cladded walls on your property — the cleanness of rendering can complement timber cladding’s natural, biophilic look superbly.

Duffield Timber: third-generation timber cladding specialists

From modest garden rooms to houses and large-scale commercial buildings, we supply quality, sustainable timber cladding for projects of all sizes across the UK.

Available in many species, profiles and finishes, all of our cladding products are machined on site, so we’re able to create a product that’s bespoke to your requirement and specification if required. This can include a range of factory pre-coatings and fire resistant treatments.

If you’re looking to discuss your project or you’re after some guidance on what would work best for your property, get in touch with our team using the button below or through our contact page.