The Modern Southwest Style home, frequently seen in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado, is a captivating blend of influences from Indigenous cultures and early Spanish settlers.
Also known as the “Pueblo Revival Style,” this architecture features signature elements like exposed wood, warm earth tones, sloping or flat rooflines, stacked stone, and expansive porches.
Early Pueblo-style homes relied on adobe construction to naturally insulate against intense desert sun, using earthen hues that allowed them to blend seamlessly into the surrounding landscape. Today, Modern Southwestern Style homes pay homage to those early influences and pull inspiration from them to build homes that are both strong and beautiful.
Rooted in cultural heritage and adapted for today’s living, the Modern Southwest Style has evolved into a timeless design that fuses authenticity with innovation.
Custom Homebuilder, Judd Singer, of Villa Custom Homes in New Mexico, describes the Modern Southwestern style home this way:
“Villa Custom Homes is known for building distinctly New Mexico homes. Our homes are inspired by the traditions of the landscape, pueblo homes, adobe homes, and the stylistic influence of the Southwest.”
Singer goes on to say, “When building and renovating homes of this style, they use a lot of wood and exposed wood beams. They also incorporate wood corbels under the beams and wood vigas for exteriors.”
These design elements don’t just echo the past—they bring depth, detail, and a grounded presence to modern home exteriors.
Today, it's easy and affordable to create or revive the exterior of a Southwestern-style home using faux wood and stone products. Keep reading to learn more about which faux products can enhance the exterior of your Southwestern Style home!
Capture a Modern Southwestern Exterior
The Southwestern Style Home has become more and more popular since its initial resurgence in the early 1900s and is loved by many for its strong, natural features. This look is easy to achieve through lightweight, durable, distinctly appealing faux wood beams, viga tails, corbels, and dry-stacked stone panels.
Viga Tails Add a Touch of Southwestern Style
A viga is a highly recognizable, projecting wood beam used to support the roof in traditional Pueblo-style homes. The viga tail is what you see protruding from the surface of a wall. Today, viga tails are used purely for decoration.
A modern southwest style home exudes the natural simplicity of its desert surroundings.
While traditionally crafted from real wood, viga tails are highly vulnerable to dry rot, sun damage, and pest infestations—leading to costly maintenance or annual replacements.
That’s where faux wood viga tails shine. Crafted from lightweight yet resilient polystyrene and finished with a thin concrete layer, faux viga tails offer the look of real wood without the drawbacks. Solid viga tails are available in natural-looking barked and debarked textures to suit your Southwestern-style home.
Whether you’re replacing old viga tails or installing them for the first time, faux viga tails are easy to install with the use of a few simple tools.
Wood Corbels and Southwestern Architecture Go Hand in Hand
As New Mexico home builder Judd Singer stated above, wood corbels are a quintessential element of the Southwestern Style home. They can be used not only on the inside of a home but on the exterior as a decorative support that aligns with the Southwestern aesthetic.
However, traditional corbels made from real wood are also prone to weathering, insect damage, and sun-induced fading. Instead, opt for faux wood corbels, which are handcrafted from high-density polyurethane to mimic real wood—without the upkeep.
Faux wood corbels are a hallmark of Southwestern architecture, adding recognizable charm and visual interest to modern Southwest-style homes—whether placed on the front porch, beneath the roofline, or above windows.
Plus, they’re available in a wide variety of styles, sizes, and finishes to coordinate perfectly with your beams and other exterior elements.
Install Wood Beams That Last a Lifetime
Exposed wood beams and wood accents are a vital part of Southwestern home design and architecture. Beams offer a rustic, distressed wood charm that is a tell-tale sign of the Southwestern Style.
Install faux wood beams across the ceiling of your front porch for a bold, welcoming entryway. Or, do the same on your back porch to create a natural, Southwestern-style entertaining area.
Faux wood beams across the ceiling of a back porch help to create a natural, Southwestern-style entertaining area.
These beams are built for endurance—resistant to cracking, rotting, and sun damage, even in the harshest climates. Unlike real wood beams, faux wood beams will last a lifetime and don’t require any regular maintenance.
Stick With Stone Panels That Deliver Rugged Warmth
Modern Southwest home design makes use of not only natural wood but stone as well. Consider installing stacked stone panels as a retaining wall on your home’s exterior or use them to wrap around your front porch columns for a timeless, natural look.
Faux stone panels make it easy to add rugged warmth and texture, without the weight and hassle of real stone.
For a desert-like feel, use neutral stacked stone around the base of your home or on a portion of your home’s exterior walls for an impressive decorative accent. Even your landscaping gets a boost of flair with a stacked stone wall dressing it up.
Installing faux stone to the exterior of your home is as beautiful and natural-looking as real stone, but much easier to install. Real stone is heavy and unwieldy without the help of a contractor. Faux stone, on the other hand, is lightweight, durable, and easy to install on your own.
Benefits of Using Faux Exterior Products to Complete Your Southwest-Style Home
Faux exterior products give you the freedom to achieve the Southwest Style aesthetic with less stress, less expense, and fewer maintenance headaches.
- Using faux exterior products, you can create the Southwest style look, regardless of where you live.
- Faux wood and stone products are lightweight and easy to install yourself, with the use of basic tools and materials.
- Because you can install faux exterior products yourself, you’ll save more money on your project since you won’t need to hire someone to do the job.
- Faux wood products, like beams, corbels, and viga tails are molded from real wood and so have the same look and feel.
- Faux stone products, like stacked stone panels, are also cast from real stone to ensure a natural texture and look.
- All faux exterior products are made to resist intense UV rays, pests, and dry rot and are available in a wide array of colors and sizes, including natural earth tones that suit the Southwestern style.
- Faux viga tails are available in custom sizes and finishes.
Start Designing Your Modern Southwestern Exterior
Ready to design your dream Southwestern-style home exterior? Whether you're updating a classic Pueblo Revival or creating a new build with regional flair, our handcrafted materials make it easy to capture the warmth and authenticity of the Southwest—without the weight, cost, or upkeep of real wood and stone.
Explore our full collection of artisan-quality faux wood beams, viga tails and corbels, and decorative stone panels to get started!
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