Hardie^® siding offers timeless appeal for Southern Living’s 2025 Idea House

Southern Living Idea House returns to Charlottesville, Virginia, for this year’s Idea House, taking advantage of the beauty and serenity of the Virginia Piedmont region. The publication assembled an immensely qualified development team – including local Rosney Co. Architects – to provide an updated take on the traditional southern farmhouse theme. Helping protect that home from the elements is Hardie® fiber cement siding products.

Rosney joined other local firms charged with designing and building a dwelling to conform with the surrounding Keswick Estate, the luxurious private neighborhood hosting the 2025 Idea House. James Hardie, a sponsor of more than 15 years, is excited to be returning to the area and to have Hardie® siding featured as part of the timeless celebration of southern architectural design.

The area is tranquil, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s also subject to a potentially home-destroying, four-season subtropical climate. Hot and humid summers, cold and snowy winters, and plentiful year-round precipitation are common amid the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Because of extreme weather fluctuations, the Southern Living team once again turned to Hardie® siding and trim to add durability to its latest Idea House against damage from Mother Nature.

A home for hospitality

Situated on five acres of lake-adjacent, tree-filled land, this year’s 4,974-square-foot Idea House offers five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a spacious living room, a formal dining room, and a spectacular entryway that immediately envelops visitors with a welcoming vibe. Additional highlights include a front porch (harkening back to traditional Southern home architecture), a breezeway, and a screened-in back porch complete with a fireplace.

The overall goal of the design and build was to create a welcoming and hospitable gathering place that combines spacious interiors with outdoor beauty to match the feel of the neighborhood. Or, as Keith Scott with Rosney explained to Southern Living, “big porches, tall ceilings, big windows, and easy flow from the inside to the landscape.”

The team, which included interior designer Charlotte Moss LLC, landscape architect Waterstreet Studio, general contractor Alexander Nicholson and Keswick Estate developer Molly Hardie, took its inspiration from the 1980s-built Keswick Hunt Club, where Keswick Estate takes its name.

The Idea House's look and feel are also based on East Coast homes, which offer “graciously designed but unimposing architectural types that have this calming overtone to their compositions,” Rosney’s Julie Kline Dixon told Southern Living. “We tried to squeeze as much square footage as possible into as low a volume as possible.”

Durability combines design

The 2025 Idea House has aesthetics in abundance. But that’s not the only thing. Durability takes center stage, with the choice of fiber cement products designed to help stand up to exterior elements.

As noted, the region is famous for its weather extremes and year-round humidity. This climate generates the ideal home environment for water damage, mold growth, insect infestation, and warping. Hardie® products have the right stuff for siding; it’s designed to resist cracking, warping, or rotting. Another plus is that Hardie® siding holds little appeal for pests of all kinds, from termites to woodpeckers.

Then there’s the Hardie™ Zone System. The Hardie™ Zone System ensures products with specific performance attributes perform relative to the climate where the product is being used. A home in Minnesota needs to stand up to the freeze-thaw cycle of frigid winters, while a home in Florida faces hot, humid weather year-round— and both want to ensure the right protection is available for area-specific external hazards. The Hardie® Artisan® Lap, Hardie® Artisan® V-Groove siding, and Hardie® trim used for the Keswick home came from the HZ10® product line, which is ideal and effective in areas with high humidity, wet weather, and even strong winds.

Exterior siding inspiration with charm and style

Specifically, the Keswick Estate Southern Living home is outfitted with:

• Hardie® Artisan® Lap siding and Hardie® Artisan® V-Groove siding, decorated with Sherwin-Williams Neutral Ground, to clad the house
• Hardie® Artisan® V-Groove siding, covered with Sherwin-Williams Colonial Revival Gray for the deep front porch and breezeway ceilings
• Hardie® Artisan® V-Groove siding, painted with Sherwin-Williams Rookwood Dark Green for the screened-in back porch ceiling.

According to Alan Pettit, principal and project manager for Alexander Nicholson, the Hardie® siding and trim added value to the home. “It does so from both a performance point of view, from longevity, and, quite frankly, in its ability to hold paint,” he said.

All Hardie® fiber cement products are available primed for paint, which cuts down on time painting in the field, as well as helps paint adhere to the product better.

Scott agreed, commenting that Rosney has relied on Hardie® trim and siding for two decades. “Hardie® products work perfectly,” he said. “They’re durable, paint beautifully, and hold up to our Virginia weather.”

Furthermore, Hardie® fiber cement products are supremely easy to care for and are backed by a 30-year warranty. ”Seeing the Hardie® siding go up is always comforting because we know what we’re getting,” Scott said. “Our clients want something low maintenance, and this fits both our goals from an architecture and maintenance standpoint.”

Exterior design inspiration: From the Idea House to yours

The multiple benefits of Hardie® siding products are why Rosney Co. Architects use them for many of their home designs. “It’s something we use on the majority of projects,” Scott said. “It’s something we’re familiar with. Dealing with something we know the results of makes our process easier.”

You, too, can benefit from the same superior and stylish coverage installed on the Charlottesville-area Southern Living Idea Houses. If you’re considering a ground-up home build or a siding refresh to spark up your house's exterior, contact James Hardie for a free overview and quote.

Additionally, the James Hardie™ ALLIANCE provides you with access to licensed, insured and knowledgeable contractors to install your Hardie® siding, trim, and soffit. These carefully selected experts have the Hardie® product know-how to beautify and harden your home.

In the meantime, read more about how Hardie^® fiber cement products are specially engineered to guard your home against extreme weather, while helping resist damage from external fire,* pests, wind and water.

The 2025 Southern Living Idea House is open through December 21—Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. Buy tickets at keswick.com

*Noncombustible Hardie® siding won’t burn when tested per ASTM E136, and along with other home hardening measures, may help protect a home from external fire damage. Fiber cement fire resistance does not extend to applied paints or coatings, which may be damaged or char when exposed to flames.