If you’re tired of brick, stucco, and vinyl siding, a board and batten exterior might be the perfect fix.

If you can’t rattle off a list of exterior siding options for homes from memory, board and batten siding might not mean much to you. You might recognize it as a home exterior option that’s not brick, stucco, or vinyl siding that sometimes catches your eye, but you might not have known the name for it. That’s all right, but it’s time to get familiar with board and batten, because you’re about to see it everywhere.

Board and batten is a siding or paneling style that pairs vertical planks of wood (the boards) with smaller strips of wood (the batten), which cover the joints between each plank to prevent leaking. According to Jay Kallos, senior vice president of architecture at homebuilder Ashton Woods, the style probably originated with barns and other outhouses, where it was a practical, relatively easy exterior cladding solution for structures that didn’t need to be particularly elegant or ready to impress visitors.