When visitors come to your home, its exterior is the first impression they’ll get, and it plays a crucial role in making sure your kerb appeal is as good as it can possibly be. However, the fact is that many homes have an outdated exterior – be it the design or materials used, and that’s going to detract from the overall look of the place.
Don’t worry if that is the case with your property, though; there are things you can do to modernise your home’s exterior and make it look great, giving it the kerb appeal you’re seeking. With that in mind, let’s look at what some of them are so you can get started on making any changes – read on to find out more.
Refresh the exterior paint
One of the easiest (or at least easiest to think about, you might still need someone else to do the work for you) options when it comes to improving how your home looks on the outside is to refresh the exterior paint – it’s an instant change that you can make at any time that can really improve things when it comes to the appearance of your home. The best thing to do is to choose a modern colour palette and opt for neutral hues like soft greys, warm beiges or muted greens, which have become a popular choice lately. You could even add a pop of a different colour that contrasts with what you’ve opted for to make things exciting – modern uPVC front doors come in a variety of shades, for example.
As well as the colour, you’ll need to think about texture and finishes if you want to make your home look great on the outside. Matte finishes are a good idea because they feel modern, and they tend to give a better look. As for texture, why not add wood cladding, stone veneers or perhaps some brick accents (just leaving the brick bare in some places is an idea) to make things look fresh and unique, which has to be what you’re aiming for overall.
Update or replace cladding
Old vinyl or aluminium cladding is sure to make any property look tired and dated right away, no matter what designs you may have on the inside – which is why replacing it with more modern materials like fibre cement, hardwood or stucco could be something worth adding to your plans for a brand-new look. If you’re looking for something modern, try looking at vertical cladding options – they’re a fabulous new trend that you’re sure to love if a modern look is your thing.
You can go as unique and interesting as you want with your cladding – to add depth and a bit of interest, you could consider mixing materials and styles, for example. One idea would be to pair horizontal cladding with board and batten accents, or adding stone and brick elements to a wooden elevation to give it contrast.
Improve the roof
You may not see that much of your roof, but that doesn’t mean it’s something you can ignore when you’re modernising the exterior of your home – in fact, it’s not something you should ignore even if you aren’t modernising things because even if you want to keep everything else exactly the same, your roof may still need some TLC.
The truth is, an outdated or worn roof can seriously detract from your home’s kerb appeal; plus, it’s something that can cause lots of problems to the interior of your home – if there’s a leak, for example, water will get in which will lead to mould and damp. At the very least, it will mean your home isn’t energy-efficient, and you’ll end up spending a lot more on heating than necessary.
Not only could you make your roof better in terms of stopping it leaking and helping to keep the heat in, but you could go one step further and make it look better too by adding features such as cornices, dormers or gables. Just make sure you’re allowed to do things like that because some properties and neighbourhoods have strict rules about what buildings should look like.
Improve your landscaping
It’s not just the property itself you’ll need to think about when it comes to solving your home’s outdated exterior; you’ll need to consider your front garden as well, assuming you have one. If you want to change things for the better, you’ll need to think about making your landscaping more modern, which could mean clean lines, symmetry and – something that’s ideal no matter how you look at it – low-maintenance greenery.
You may want to introduce native fruit trees, ornamental grasses or a wildflower meadow. Plus, don’t forget you can add ‘hardscaping’ (another term for paths, walkways and retaining walls) to improve the flow and cut down on maintenance even further.
Add lighting
Something else you could add to the exterior of your home to make it look much more modern and to improve the security and safety of the place as well is good lighting. If you already have lighting installed, it’s the old, outdated fixtures that will make your home look old and outdated too, so replace the fittings to something more modern. If you don’t already have lighting now is the perfect time to add it if you’re doing up the outside of your home, and again, pick modern fixtures to make it all look great.
Of course, good lighting is about more than just how the fittings look, and you’ll also have to think about where you’re putting the lights to make the most of them – you may want to install uplighting or spotlights beneath a statement tree or strip lighting along a path, for example.