Board and Batten vs Lap vs Shake: Modern Farmhouse Siding Ideas That Actually Work

Modern farmhouse exteriors are popular in Terre Haute for a reason: they feel clean, bright, and intentional without being sterile. But making that look work on a real home, in real weather, with a real budget, comes down to how you use three core siding profiles: board and batten, horizontal lap, and shake.

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This guide breaks down how board and batten, horizontal lap, and shake siding each perform, how to combine them for a cohesive modern farmhouse exterior instead of a patchwork mix, and which installation and waterproofing details quietly turn a Pinterest-style idea into a durable, high-trust facade that boosts curb appeal and long-term value.

If you need siding installation in Terre Haute, use this guide to choose the right profile, material, and layout so your home looks sharp and holds up in real Indiana weather.

What Modern Farmhouse Siding Is Really Doing

A true modern farmhouse exterior is controlled, not cluttered. Modern farmhouse siding design uses profile choices and color combinations to reveal the shape of the home, guide the eye to key features, and create a clean, high-trust look that reads well from the street, in listing photos, and in search results. Instead of hiding the structure behind random textures, it leans on consistent lines, simple geometry, and balanced contrast so profiles like board and batten, lap siding, and shake siding each have a clear job.

Key principles:

• Simple, readable rooflines and elevations that make the architecture easy to understand.
• Light, desaturated body colors that let shadow lines, reveals, and siding profiles show clearly.
• Vertical elements used selectively to emphasize important forms such as primary gables or entries.
• Horizontal elements used to ground the house visually and tie together windows, doors, and porches.

If the combination of colors, textures, and siding profiles makes the facade feel busy or confusing at a glance, the modern farmhouse look stops working and the design needs to be simplified.

Board and Batten: Vertical Lines with a Purpose

Board and batten siding is the profile most homeowners now associate with modern farmhouse design, but it only works when those vertical lines support the architecture instead of fighting it. Treated as part of a full exterior design, not just a trend overlay it can add height, clean rhythm, and real curb appeal.

Use vertical siding where it naturally fits:

• Front-facing gables that deserve stronger definition.
• Tall entry walls or porches where added height feels intentional.
• Simple upper sections where vertical lines can run cleanly without awkward breaks.
• Feature volumes you want to read as distinct from the main lap-sided body.

The “custom” look comes from straight, consistent battens aligned with windows, corners, and trim, installed over flat sheathing with proper housewrap, flashing, and drainage. In climates with real temperature swings, wind, and moisture, that technical detailing is what prevents wavy panels, split seams, and hidden leak paths, and turns board and batten from a Pinterest idea into a durable, modern farmhouse siding choice.

Lap Siding: The Backbone That Holds the Design Together

Horizontal lap siding is the steady anchor that keeps a modern farmhouse from feeling top-heavy or chaotic. It’s usually the safest choice for most of the square footage.

Where it excels:

• Main body walls on one- and two-story homes.
• Garages and connectors that need to visually tie into the house.
• Side and rear elevations where durability and clean lines matter more than drama.
• Long runs where horizontal rhythm calms aggressive rooflines.

Wider but not extreme exposures can feel more current; real corner boards and window trim immediately upgrade the look. Fiber cement and engineered wood lap handle paint and weather well, while higher-end vinyl systems can work when installed as a complete, well-detailed package. Lap should read as the foundation, with other profiles supporting it.

Shake Siding: Texture in Controlled Amounts

Shake siding adds texture and warmth to a modern farmhouse exterior, but it can overpower the design if it’s used on every wall or mixed with too many other profiles. When it’s planned as a targeted accent instead of a default choice, shake (or shake-look shingle siding) softens simple forms, adds depth around key features, and reinforces that “crafted” look homeowners want from a modern farmhouse style.

Smart ways to use shake siding:

• One primary gable peak to break up a tall or plain facade.
• A small porch or entry wall that needs extra character and visual focus.
• A defined upper section on the front elevation that pairs with lap siding below.
• Accent zones that are fully framed with proper trim, not random floating patches.

Keeping shake in straight-cut, clean patterns and coordinating the color with your main siding (instead of using extreme contrasts) keeps it aligned with modern farmhouse design. Choosing fiber cement or engineered wood shake, or high-quality shake-look panels, delivers deeper shadow lines, better weather resistance, and a longer-lasting cedar shake look than thin, shiny products that fade, warp, or cheapen the exterior.

Combining Profiles Without Creating a Patchwork

Strong modern farmhouse siding designs usually start with one clear primary profile, one supporting profile, and, only if it truly adds value, one tightly controlled accent. This keeps the facade readable, cohesive, and easy to maintain instead of looking like a mismatched siding catalog.

Reliable ways to combine board and batten, lap, and shake siding:

• Lap siding on the main body, board and batten in selected front gables, and a single shake gable as a focused accent.
• Lap siding below a porch roof or floor line, with board and batten reserved for one or two upper gables that align with major roof peaks.
• Mostly lap, with one vertical or shake feature volume tied directly to a key architectural element such as the entry or central gable.
• Matching trim, flashings, and transition details at corners, band boards, and rooflines so every change in material lands on a logical structural break.

If every wall uses a different profile or transitions float mid-panel without a clear reason, the home stops reading as intentional modern farmhouse design and starts feeling busy, which can hurt both curb appeal and perceived build quality.

Color and Contrast That Let the Profiles Work

Color should support your modern farmhouse siding layout, not fight it. The most effective modern farmhouse color schemes are intentionally simple, making it easy to read the architecture, see the siding profiles, and keep the home looking clean in real light, photos, and listing images.

Practical guidelines:

• Choose one primary body color that works across lap siding, board and batten, and any shake accents so the facade reads as one unified exterior.
• Use one trim system consistently for windows, doors, fascia, soffits, and corners to frame the architecture instead of introducing competing lines.
• Reserve darker, contrasting tones for windows, doors, metal roofing, shutters, or a limited secondary siding area where you want focused emphasis.
• Keep colors slightly softened and low-glare so reveals, shadow lines, and siding textures remain visible in bright sun, shade, and evening light.

When the palette is controlled, every change in direction or texture, horizontal lap, vertical board and batten, or shake siding looks deliberate, modern, and high-trust instead of noisy or over-designed.

Build Details That Make the Look Last

The modern farmhouse exteriors that still look sharp ten or fifteen years later are almost always the ones where the “boring” technical steps were done right during siding installation. Good design depends on good building practice.

Critical details:

• Flat, properly fastened wall sheathing so lap, board and batten, and shake siding stay straight instead of wavy or telegraphing imperfections.
• Continuous housewrap with sealed seams and correctly integrated flashing to manage water, air, and vapor behind the siding system.
• Pan flashing and head flashing at every window and door to keep water from sneaking into rough openings.
• Kick-out flashing where rooflines hit walls so runoff is diverted into gutters instead of behind siding.
• Proper clearances at grade, decks, patios, and roofing to prevent trapped moisture and decay at the bottom edges.
• Trim, starter strips, and termination profiles from the same manufacturer system, installed as designed, so transitions shed water and look clean.

In West-Central Indiana’s mix of humidity, wind, driving rain, and freeze–thaw cycles, these details are what protect the framing, keep paint and finishes stable, and preserve that crisp modern farmhouse siding look instead of letting it turn stained, swollen, or prematurely aged.Thinking

Choosing the Right Mix for Your Home

The right siding combination depends less on trends and more on your home’s architecture, surrounding neighborhood, and how much maintenance you’re willing to take on, especially in climates like Terre Haute and West-Central Indiana. Patriot Property Pros are here to help with our general contracting service to help.

Work through:

• Shape: simple gable-front homes usually respond well to vertical board and batten accents, while wider elevations often need horizontal lap siding to visually anchor and balance them.
• Focus: highlight the main entry, key gables, and larger wall areas; skip random tiny insets so the eye goes to the most important parts of the facade.
• Longevity: choose materials (fiber cement, engineered wood, premium vinyl) that match how long you plan to stay and how often you realistically want to repaint, wash, or service the exterior.
• Simplicity: if you are undecided, remove one profile or one color instead of adding another so the final design stays clean, cohesive, and easy to read.

When board and batten, lap, and shake siding each have a clear job, the result is a modern farmhouse exterior that looks intentional from the street, stands up to local weather, and photographs well across listings, maps, and brand searches.