Tag: exteriors

Upgrade your exterior – Trends that combine function and style

Upgrade your exterior - Trends that combine function and style

Your home’s exterior is the first thing people see, so why not make it unforgettable? Today, it’s not only about looking good; functionality is just as crucial. Modern exterior design trends are all about combining sleek style with practical upgrades, making it easier than ever to create a space that’s both durable and visually stunning. In this post, you’ll discover ideas that seamlessly blend function and flair, from eye-catching cladding to game-changing landscaping tips. Ready to take your curb appeal to the next level? Let’s dive in to some of the myriad of ways that you can upgrade your interior.

Why curb appeal matters

First impressions aren’t just for people; your home’s exterior plays a huge role in how it’s perceived. Whether you’re entertaining guests or planning to sell, a polished exterior can make all the difference. But it’s not just about looks – choosing functional upgrades can also add lasting value to your property.

From weather-resistant materials to timeless colour palettes, today’s exterior design trends are as much about practicality as they are about style. A thoughtfully designed exterior not only boosts your home’s value but also makes daily life more enjoyable. Picture coming home to a space that feels as good as it looks – irresistible, right?

The best part? You don’t need a complete overhaul to make a big impact. Thoughtful additions, like cladding or new landscaping, can completely transform your home’s vibe without breaking the bank.

Cladding that stands the test of time

When it comes to upgrading your exterior, wall cladding is having a major moment – and for good reason. Once thought of purely as a protective layer, cladding has evolved into a design feature that can make or break your home’s aesthetic.

Durable and stylish external wall cladding offers a perfect balance of form and function. It provides an extra layer of insulation and protection from the elements while giving your home a sleek, modern look. Whether you prefer the rustic charm of timber or the industrial edge of metal panels, there’s a cladding option to suit every taste.

Homeowners today are opting for materials like fibre cement, stone veneers and composite panels for their resilience and style. Not only do these choices stand up to harsh weather, but they also require minimal maintenance – perfect for anyone looking to upgrade without constant upkeep.

By incorporating cladding into your exterior, you’re not just improving your home’s durability; you’re making a design statement that turns heads.

Modern windows and doors

Windows and doors are more than just entry points; they’re essential design features that can make or break your exterior. With modern innovations, these elements are now a blend of high-end style and top-notch functionality, helping your home stand out while offering practical benefits.

Energy-efficient windows are a major trend, and for good reason. They keep your home comfortable year-round, cutting down on energy bills while looking sleek and contemporary. Large panes of glass, black frames and minimalist designs are all the rage, bringing a modern edge to any home.

As for doors, bold statements are in. Think oversized front doors, pivot styles or even textured finishes like wood grain or metal. These not only add personality but also increase security and durability. By updating your windows and doors, you’re giving your exterior a polished, cohesive look that’s as functional as it is beautiful.

Landscape integration

Your exterior isn’t just your house – it’s also the space surrounding it. Today’s design trends emphasise integrating your landscaping with your home’s architecture to create a seamless, cohesive look.

One popular approach is blending hardscaping features like stone pathways or retaining walls with soft, lush greenery. This mix of textures adds depth and visual interest to your outdoor space. Add in lighting features like pathway lights or uplights on focal trees, and you have a landscape that shines day and night.

Another trend? Low-maintenance landscapes. Native plants, gravel gardens and automated irrigation systems make it easier than ever to have a stunning yard without the constant upkeep. Whether you’re going for a minimalist vibe or a lush, tropical look, thoughtful landscaping can transform your exterior into a cohesive and welcoming oasis.

By focusing on the flow between your home and garden, you’ll elevate your property’s curb appeal while making it a joy to use and admire.

The power of finishing touches

Sometimes, it’s the little details that make the biggest difference. Adding thoughtful finishing touches to your exterior can elevate its entire look without requiring major renovations. Small updates, like new trims, shutters or gutters, can completely refresh your home’s vibe.

A fresh coat of paint is another game-changer. Whether you go for a bold statement colour or a timeless neutral, updating your home’s palette can breathe new life into its exterior. Pairing complementary hues on siding, doors and trims can create a polished, cohesive look that instantly catches the eye.

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of décor. House numbers, light fixtures or even a new postbox can give your home personality. These finishing touches are affordable and easy to swap out, allowing you to keep your exterior fresh and stylish over the years.

Conclusion

Your home’s exterior is more than just a façade – it’s a reflection of your style and a key factor in its value. By combining functionality with modern design trends, you can create a space that’s as practical as it is beautiful.

From durable cladding to seamless landscaping and elegant finishing touches, upgrading your exterior doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With a few well-chosen updates, your home can make a lasting impression while standing up to everyday demands. Ready to give your exterior the glow-up it deserves? Now’s the time to take the leap!

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10 DIY home improvement projects that boost curb appeal

10 DIY home improvement projects that boost curb appeal

Curb appeal is more than just a buzzword – it’s an essential aspect of homeownership that can significantly impact the value of your property and the perception it creates in the neighbourhood. Whether you’re planning to sell or simply want to take pride in your home’s exterior, there are numerous ways to enhance its charm and visual interest without breaking the bank. Here are some DIY home improvement projects that will elevate your home’s curb appeal and have your neighbours green with envy.

1. Freshen up your front door

Your front door is often the focal point of your home’s exterior. Consider giving it a fresh coat of paint in a bold colour that complements the overall design of your house. Bright bold colours can create a warm and inviting look, while muted shades can showcase elegance. Don’t forget to replace or polish your door hardware, like the doorknob, Ω“ and hinges, for an added touch of sophistication.

2. Update your house numbers

Outdated or worn-out house numbers can detract from your home’s appearance. Invest a little time (and a small budget) on new, stylish house numbers. Choose a font and material that matches your home’s period and style, and ensure they’re visible from the street. Consider a chiselled stone or slate number sign or mounting the numbers on a decorative plaque for extra flair.

3. Landscape with purpose

A well-maintained garden can significantly boost your curb appeal. Start by trimming overgrown plants and removing any weeds. Consider adding a flower bed or a collection of potted plants at the entryway for a pop of colour. Choose seasonal flowers that will bloom at different times of the year for ongoing vibrancy. Mulching flower beds can help retain moisture and reduce weeds, giving your garden a polished look.

4. Create a welcoming pathway

A beautiful pathway can lead visitors to your front door with style. If you have an existing pathway that needs some love, consider jet washing or weeding it. Alternatively, you can create a new path using stepping stones, bricks or gravel to lay a charming footpath. Add small solar lights along the walkway for illumination at night, enhancing safety and aesthetic allure.

5. Install outdoor lighting

Outdoor lighting is an easy and effective way to create ambiance and boost security. Solar-powered path lights or wall-mounted sconces can highlight architectural elements of your home. Consider adding string lights in your porch area or around trees for a cosy, inviting atmosphere during the evenings.

6. Upgrade your postbox

A shabby postbox can spoil the look of even the most beautiful homes. Upgrade your postbox to something that complements the style of your house. You could paint the postbox to match your door, or opt for a more decorative option, such as a wooden postbox on a classic post, adorned with a small flower or flag.

7. Add window boxes

Window boxes are a charming and functional addition to any home. Fill them with seasonal flowers, evergreen plants or herbs for a touch of nature that’s easily accessible. Ensure the boxes are securely mounted and painted to match or complement your home’s trim; this will add a polished look to your windows.

8. Repaint window frames & shutters

A fresh coat of paint on your window frames and shutters can make an enormous difference to your home’s façade. Choose a colour that contrasts nicely with your main exterior for a standout effect. If your home has shutters, consider repairing or replacing damaged ones to make it look cohesive and inviting.

9. Clean your exterior

Sometimes, all your home needs is a good clean. Power-washing your driveway and walkways can remove grime, mould and stains that have built up over time. Don’t forget about gutters and eaves; keeping them clear of debris will enhance the overall aesthetic while helping with maintenance.

10. Add decorative elements

Finishing touches like outdoor décor can add personality to your home. Consider adding topiary, hanging plants or decorative garden statuary. A cosy bench or chair on your porch can also be inviting to visitors and create a welcoming environment.

Conclusion

Improving your home’s curb appeal doesn’t have to require extensive renovations or a hefty budget. By investing some time and creativity into these simple DIY projects, you can transform your outdoor space, enhance your home’s value and create a welcoming environment that you and your visitors will appreciate. Whether you’re sprucing up for a sale or simply for your enjoyment, these projects are sure to provide a boost to your home’s exterior charm. Happy DIYing!

How to solve your home’s outdated exterior

How to solve your home's outdated exterior

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.

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Give your home’s exterior a modern feel

Give your home's exterior a modern feel

The exterior of the home is an important thing to look after if you’re keen to ensure that your home looks and feels exactly as you want it to. Something that a lot of home-owners want is for the exterior of the home to have a decidedly modern feel. If that’s something that appeals to you, then there are some simple and easy steps you can take to make that happen. We’ll take a look at some of them in this post.

Slate tiled roof on a house

Simplify the roof

A lot of the time, what really makes something look more successfully modern is when there is a lot of easy simplicity going on. One place you can see this in action is on the roof, which is also one of the most important parts of the home’s exterior in general when you want everything to look as good as possible. If you make a point of simplifying the design of the roof from the outset, that is going to help modernise the entire home, especially how it looks from the outside.

Houses with different cladding on the exterior

Use cladding

If you’re looking at your walls and you want them to look more modern, you have a number of options available to you. But you probably want something that is sleek and easy on the eye, and which is going to be a simple thing to install too. For all of these reasons, you should consider using plastic cladding for at least some of the walls on the exterior, especially those facing any patio areas you might have. This is a great way to give a little freshness to the appearance, and it’s really amazing the difference it can make.

House with yellow painted exterior and white windows

Window trim accents

A good way to make a home look modern is to think about some of the accents that you can see. These are essentially just small details that people might not notice consciously, but which make a profound difference to the look of the place overall when the exterior of the home is regarded as a whole. One example here is the window trims, which you can really be very playful with if you want to improve your home’s exterior and make it look more modern. There are a lot of things you can do here, but whatever you choose, make sure that you’re being creative and focusing on the modern.

Garden with path, trellis and feature plant pot

Declutter the garden

Finally, remember that a modern look very often depends on everything looking as stripped-back as possible. In order to achieve that, you need to make sure that you’re keeping the garden clear of clutter, so that you can regard the outside of the home and not feel as if there is just too much there. Keeping the garden always clear of clutter can be quite challenging, but as long as you work at it you should be able to do it easily enough.

With these simple changes, your home’s exterior is going to look and feel more modern on the whole.

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