Renovating
How Can I Spruce Up the Outside of My House?
Is your home’s façade letting the side down? Be inspired to give it a little love and boost your property’s kerb appeal
From bigger jobs, such as painting or adding a porch, to smaller touches, such as perking up your steps, choosing window treatments with care or adding a bench or plants, there are plenty of ways to improve the exterior of your home. Check out these ideas.
Pep up your path
Is the walk up to your front door in dire need of repair – do you even have a pathway at all? A path, where there’s space, can add definition and a sense of grandeur.
If you have a period property, like this Georgian beauty, you may have original tiles that could be restored. Other possibilities we’ve spotted recently on Houzz include: a fine limestone gravel pathway, with loose planting spilling into it, softening the journey and boosting wildlife; strips of paving interspersed with grass; geometric modern tiling, and reclaimed brick pavers. What will you choose?
Find the perfect pro for your project – and read homeowner reviews – in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Is the walk up to your front door in dire need of repair – do you even have a pathway at all? A path, where there’s space, can add definition and a sense of grandeur.
If you have a period property, like this Georgian beauty, you may have original tiles that could be restored. Other possibilities we’ve spotted recently on Houzz include: a fine limestone gravel pathway, with loose planting spilling into it, softening the journey and boosting wildlife; strips of paving interspersed with grass; geometric modern tiling, and reclaimed brick pavers. What will you choose?
Find the perfect pro for your project – and read homeowner reviews – in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Give your window frames some colour
Repainting your window frames the same colour they always were – very commonly white – will freshen your exterior. Opting for a different colour, however, can make your home stand out style-wise.
This Victorian house in Manchester had its windows sensitively replaced as part of an impressive Passivhaus retrofit by Guy Taylor Associates and Ecospheric. The new frames – housing triple-glazed clear and stained glass – got an appropriately green paint job.
The front door, bargeboard (fascia on the gable) and fascia on the porch are painted the same colour, tying the look together. Contrasting cream lintels and windowsills keep a traditional tone.
Shout-out to the spruced-up steps, too. Tiled or painted risers can be transformative for relatively little effort.
Repainting your window frames the same colour they always were – very commonly white – will freshen your exterior. Opting for a different colour, however, can make your home stand out style-wise.
This Victorian house in Manchester had its windows sensitively replaced as part of an impressive Passivhaus retrofit by Guy Taylor Associates and Ecospheric. The new frames – housing triple-glazed clear and stained glass – got an appropriately green paint job.
The front door, bargeboard (fascia on the gable) and fascia on the porch are painted the same colour, tying the look together. Contrasting cream lintels and windowsills keep a traditional tone.
Shout-out to the spruced-up steps, too. Tiled or painted risers can be transformative for relatively little effort.
Add a porch
Properties of many different styles and ages can have a porch fitted. Not only can it look good and add something special to the front of your home, you’ll also gain somewhere for muddy boots and raincoats while looking for your keys.
Porches are easy to get wrong, though – and an inappropriate detail jarring with the era of the house can easily diminish your home’s kerb appeal.
For something in keeping, consult a architecturally sympathetic professional and do a solid scout around your area for homes that might have similar features you could use as a model. This rustic wooden number by Border Oak is perfect for this country home with a natural timber door and window frames.
More: 15 Homes With Front Porches
Properties of many different styles and ages can have a porch fitted. Not only can it look good and add something special to the front of your home, you’ll also gain somewhere for muddy boots and raincoats while looking for your keys.
Porches are easy to get wrong, though – and an inappropriate detail jarring with the era of the house can easily diminish your home’s kerb appeal.
For something in keeping, consult a architecturally sympathetic professional and do a solid scout around your area for homes that might have similar features you could use as a model. This rustic wooden number by Border Oak is perfect for this country home with a natural timber door and window frames.
More: 15 Homes With Front Porches
Go big on blousy hydrangeas
They’re a classic for a reason, and hydrangeas – as nicely demonstrated in this Studio 73 Design project – can do something special to the front of a house. Here, they’re dotted around the garden and windows, but you could equally have them bursting out from behind a low wall. They can look country cottage cute or complement a slick and contemporary scheme.
Choose a lacecap panicled variety over mophead blooms; the former will better provide sustenance for pollinators.
They’re a classic for a reason, and hydrangeas – as nicely demonstrated in this Studio 73 Design project – can do something special to the front of a house. Here, they’re dotted around the garden and windows, but you could equally have them bursting out from behind a low wall. They can look country cottage cute or complement a slick and contemporary scheme.
Choose a lacecap panicled variety over mophead blooms; the former will better provide sustenance for pollinators.
Clad it
This weatherboarded home, painted in soft black, illustrates just one way you might consider cladding the front of your house. Horizontal, overlapping planks like this are a traditional approach to front-of-house tidying, dating back centuries, but can look good on both period and modern homes and are often associated with seaside architecture. Unpainted, non-overlapping planks will give a very different and more contemporary look.
We’ve also seen homes clad in cork, which doubles as a super-insulator, larch battens, charred timber, slate, corrugated hemp and Corten steel. If you’re renovating, talk to your architect about the possibilities for your home.
This weatherboarded home, painted in soft black, illustrates just one way you might consider cladding the front of your house. Horizontal, overlapping planks like this are a traditional approach to front-of-house tidying, dating back centuries, but can look good on both period and modern homes and are often associated with seaside architecture. Unpainted, non-overlapping planks will give a very different and more contemporary look.
We’ve also seen homes clad in cork, which doubles as a super-insulator, larch battens, charred timber, slate, corrugated hemp and Corten steel. If you’re renovating, talk to your architect about the possibilities for your home.
Embolden your entrance
Can you ever go wrong with a cheery yellow front door to add life to your home’s facade? Probably not, as Earl & Calam Design and Build demonstrate beautifully with this 1930s renovation (owners of interwar homes should also note the very good porch refurb). But you could also go fuchsia, pillar box red, vivid orange or turquoise – any shade as long as it’s bright.
A bit like wearing a plain outfit and a dramatic pair of shoes or an unusual piece of jewellery, choosing a vibrant colour for your front door is a nice way to add bold expression without too much commitment. Keep the surrounds the same colour as the window frames, as here, and it will comfortably stand alone.
Can you ever go wrong with a cheery yellow front door to add life to your home’s facade? Probably not, as Earl & Calam Design and Build demonstrate beautifully with this 1930s renovation (owners of interwar homes should also note the very good porch refurb). But you could also go fuchsia, pillar box red, vivid orange or turquoise – any shade as long as it’s bright.
A bit like wearing a plain outfit and a dramatic pair of shoes or an unusual piece of jewellery, choosing a vibrant colour for your front door is a nice way to add bold expression without too much commitment. Keep the surrounds the same colour as the window frames, as here, and it will comfortably stand alone.
Bring in a bench
Sometimes, the simplest ideas can be significant. A bench outside your home adds value – not monetary, but value as in it turns your façade into a space, rather than just the front of your house.
It’s something to build on. You might add some potted plants – as with this sweet stone cottage refurbished by Roundhouse Architecture – a small tree, or a climber behind it. Perhaps you could also include a little table for a cup of tea to drink while you chat to your neighbours – both old faces and new connections.
Sometimes, the simplest ideas can be significant. A bench outside your home adds value – not monetary, but value as in it turns your façade into a space, rather than just the front of your house.
It’s something to build on. You might add some potted plants – as with this sweet stone cottage refurbished by Roundhouse Architecture – a small tree, or a climber behind it. Perhaps you could also include a little table for a cup of tea to drink while you chat to your neighbours – both old faces and new connections.
Match your window treatments
It’s not just about what’s on the outside when it comes to improving your home’s kerb appeal – your window dressings inside will have an impact, too. For maximum neatness, ensure your front-of-house blinds, shutters or curtains are all the same or, at least, all the same on each storey.
See how pulled-together this place looks with its coordinated shutters? If you don’t like the idea of having everything identical in every room indoors, consider fitting matching blinds but add curtains of your choice over the top.
Tell us…
What have you done to improve the way the front of your home looks? Let us know in the Comments.
It’s not just about what’s on the outside when it comes to improving your home’s kerb appeal – your window dressings inside will have an impact, too. For maximum neatness, ensure your front-of-house blinds, shutters or curtains are all the same or, at least, all the same on each storey.
See how pulled-together this place looks with its coordinated shutters? If you don’t like the idea of having everything identical in every room indoors, consider fitting matching blinds but add curtains of your choice over the top.
Tell us…
What have you done to improve the way the front of your home looks? Let us know in the Comments.
Sponsored
Reload the page to not see this specific ad anymore
Sponsored
Reload the page to not see this specific ad anymore
While brickwork can be beautiful, if yours is in bad condition or the brick colour is one you’ve never loved, or if it’s letting in the cold, then a breathable render followed by a paint job could be worth considering – and not just for aesthetic reasons.
Painted render has the capacity to boost your home’s appearance, but can also improve a building’s thermal efficiency by adding a layer of insulation.
It’s important to choose your render carefully, though: cement-based products that don’t allow air to pass through their surface can cause or exacerbate damp, while a lime-based product will wick moisture away from the building and allow it to evaporate. You’ll also need to use breathable paint. Consulting a professional would be wise to make sure you’re using suitable materials.
Of course, you can pick a favourite colour, like this cheery salmon pink and crisp white pairing on a Granit Architects + Interiors project.