I've spent 20+ years pulling old exteriors off Twin Cities homes and putting new ones on — and I'll tell you something the Pinterest boards won't: most "modern exterior" makeovers spend money in the wrong order. Homeowners agonize over paint colors while the real transformation is hiding in three decisions: the siding profile, the window frames, and the roofline.
Here's how I'd modernize a Twin Cities home if it were mine — what's worth the money, what isn't, and roughly what it costs here (not in whatever state the calculator websites live in).
The Short Answer
If your house was built in the '80s or '90s — and half the western suburbs were — the fastest path to a modern exterior is: dark-framed windows, a wider or vertical siding profile in a deep neutral, and a roof in a solid charcoal or black. Those three choices do more than everything else combined. Everything after that is refinement.
Start With the Siding — It's 60% of What People See
Siding is the biggest visual surface on your home, and profile matters more than color. The '90s look is 4-inch lap vinyl in beige. The modern look is one of these:
Wider lap. Going from a 4-inch to a 7-inch exposure instantly reads as current — fewer, bolder lines. LP SmartSide and James Hardie both offer wide-exposure lap, and we install both. (We're an LP Preferred Contractor, so I've seen a lot of SmartSide go up — it handles our freeze-thaw swings well.)
Board-and-batten accents. Vertical siding on a gable or entry bump-out breaks up the horizontal lines. Full board-and-batten houses are striking but bold; most of my customers mix it — vertical on the gables, wide lap on the body.
Deep, flat neutrals. Iron ore, charcoal, deep green-gray, or a true white with black accents. The two-tone beige-on-beige era is over.
And yes — modern vinyl belongs in this conversation. We install vinyl siding, and today's heavier-gauge panels in dark colors look nothing like the stuff that faded on your childhood home. It's still the budget-smart path to a current look.
Windows: Black Frames Changed Everything
Nothing says "this house was updated" like black or bronze window frames. Ten years ago that was a luxury-build detail; now it's the single most requested change I see.
The good news: you don't need to jump to a luxury brand to get it. ProVia builds excellent vinyl and hybrid windows with dark exterior finishes, and we carry the full Andersen line — including the 100 Series in Fibrex, which takes dark colors well and holds them. On the higher end, Kolbe's options are the deepest I've seen ($2,500–$6,000 per window installed, and worth it on the right house).
One honest warning: if you're only replacing windows on one side of the house, think about how mixed frames will look during the years before you finish the rest. I'd rather see you do the street-facing side completely than scatter new windows around the house.
Full pricing breakdown here: what window replacement costs in Minnesota.
The Roof: Go Darker, Go Cleaner
A modern exterior almost always wears a dark, uniform roof — solid charcoal, weathered black, deep gray. The multi-tone "blend" shingles that dominated the 2000s fight against clean modern lines.
Two things to know before you chase the look:
- You don't sacrifice protection for style. Malarkey's Vista AR comes in deep solid tones and carries a Class 4 impact rating — the top hail rating, which most Minnesota carriers reward with an insurance discount. Modern look, hail-country armor, same shingle. (My full take: Malarkey shingles review.)
- The real range. A full asphalt replacement on a typical Twin Cities home runs $14,000–$28,000 installed ($5.50–$11 per square foot depending on the line). If the roof has less than five years left anyway, time the color change with the replacement instead of paying twice.
The Front Door: Biggest Bang Per Dollar
If the budget only allows one project this year, it's the entry. A modern fiberglass or steel door — flush or with minimal glass, in black, deep green, or a natural wood tone — against fresh siding is the cheapest transformation in exteriors. ProVia's entry doors are what I put on most projects; they're built like vault doors compared to the big-box stock. Numbers here: door installation cost in Minnesota.
The Details That Finish It (Or Cheapen It)
- Gutters and fascia in the trim color, not contractor white. Dark siding with bright white gutters looks unfinished. Matching or near-matching metals disappear into the design.
- Minimal shutters — or none. If the shutters couldn't actually cover the window, modern design says take them down.
- Soffit matters more than you think. A crisp soffit-and-fascia wrap frames everything above eye level.
- One material change per wall, maximum. Stone wainscot + lap + shake + board-and-batten on one elevation is a 2008 builder special. Modern is restraint.
What I'd Skip
Honest list, because half of modernizing is not spending:
- Painting old vinyl siding. It's a two-to-five-year bandage, warranties get weird, and dark paint can warp panels that weren't made for it. Put that money toward the real project.
- Faux stone everywhere. A little at the entry, maybe. Whole walls of it are already dating themselves.
- Chasing trends on the roof. The roof is a 30-to-50-year decision. Solid dark neutrals will outlive every trend cycle; that copper-blend shingle won't.
How to Sequence It Without Wasting Money
The order I give every homeowner planning a phased modernization: roof (if it's due) → siding + soffit/fascia/gutters → windows and doors → finishing details. Roof first because staging and tear-off can scuff new siding — never the reverse. Siding before windows only if you're doing both within a couple of years; if windows are a decade out, don't let that stop the siding.
And if hail gets a vote — this is Minnesota, it usually does — an insurance-funded roof replacement is often the trigger that starts the whole project. That claim is yours to file, but we'll document what we see honestly and give you a straight scope to hand your adjuster.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the cheapest way to modernize a home's exterior?
A new front door in a modern color, dark house numbers and lighting, and removing dated shutters — usually all under a few thousand dollars combined. The biggest single-surface change per dollar after that is siding.
What siding looks most modern?
Wide-exposure lap (7-inch) in a deep neutral, or board-and-batten vertical siding — often mixed, with vertical on the gables. LP SmartSide, James Hardie, and modern heavier-gauge vinyl all offer both profiles.
Are black windows going out of style?
Black and bronze frames have been the dominant request for a decade and they're rooted in classic steel-window design, not a fad. On a dark-neutral or white-body house, they'll hold up visually for the life of the window.
Should I replace siding or windows first?
If both are happening within a couple of years, siding first is cleaner — window installs integrate better into new siding than the reverse. If the windows are failing (fogged glass, rot, drafts), fix the failure first.
Does a modern exterior add resale value?
Exterior projects consistently top the cost-recouped lists. In the 2025 Cost vs. Value Report for our Minneapolis market, premium siding (James Hardie / LP SmartSide class) recoups about 95.6% of its cost at resale, vinyl siding about 75.8%, and window replacement roughly 69–70% — and that's before the "sells faster" effect of current curb appeal. A steel entry door remains one of the best small-ticket curb-appeal plays in the report year after year.
How much does a full exterior modernization cost in the Twin Cities?
Roof $14,000–$28,000, windows roughly $1,400–$6,000 each installed depending on line, entry doors and siding priced per project. Full exterior transformations — roof, siding, windows, and doors together — typically land $60K–$120K+ depending on home size and material choices. We quote lump-sum, so the number you see is the number you pay.
Thinking about dragging your house out of the '90s? We handle the whole shell — roofing, siding, windows, doors, gutters — across the Twin Cities metro, with a lifetime workmanship warranty on residential work. No pressure. No same-day close. Call 952-206-6339 or schedule a free consultation.
