Find out all the different ways you can change the exterior of your home for the better, increasing the price and curb appeal in one fell swoop!
There might be several different reasons someone wants to change their house exterior, ranging from aesthetic appeal to insulation, and even financial gain. Still, wanting to do something and it actually being possible are two different things. So, can you change your home’s exterior?
As a general rule, it is entirely possible to give your house an exterior makeover. This can range from a fresh coat of paint to change the entire architectural style of the home’s exterior.
How can you transform your home’s appearance to add to the curb appeal, modernize the exterior, update insulation and other important qualities, or increase value before selling? Let’s talk about the first steps to take!
Can You Change the Exterior Material of A House?
Let’s be honest, not everyone agrees with the exterior design left to you by the previous owners of a house when you come into ownership, but not everyone knows how or if they can change it. No one wants to be stuck with a home they don’t like or can’t sell, but Love Home Designs is here to help!
You can absolutely change the exterior material of your house – so long as it’s safe! Structural integrity is incredibly important but can be rather lacking in older houses. This type of inspection is something that should be left up to professionals, so if you don’t know how to test a building for structural integrity, contact local contractors in your area.
Angi.com is a great tool to find contractors near you! Enter your zip code, answer the following questions, and let the website work its magic!
By speaking with experienced contractors, you can hit two birds with one stone and be sure that you’re staying in line with any required building regulations in your city or county! They can assist with your visions of an overall redesign scheme, and ensure that the house meets regulations to keep you out of trouble!
There are different ways you can go about adding character to a plain house exterior, like picking a new paint color, building window boxes, adding or removing siding, or even choosing a particular architectural style to remodel your home’s exterior after.
If you’re hoping to renovate less for cosmetic aspects, you can also learn how to modernize the exterior of a home. This might entail updating siding materials, new insulation, new windows, or installing a new roof.
You can use an exterior covering over an existing building, and composite cladding is a very dominant feature that will add to any home’s curb appeal. Composite cladding, laminate cladding, and other contrasting cladding materials can be made to look like any type of material. Stone cladding is one of the most popular options!
Wall panels, architectural wall panels, in particular, are another favorite choice. Materials like these add insulation and thermal efficiency – two very sought-after aspects in houses and buildings in general. Fibre cement weatherboarding, according to Architizer, is one of the most cost-effective cladding choices when compared to wood or stone, and it doesn’t lose its desired durability.
Of course, that leaves the classic exterior paint, typically masonry paint for its durability, as the final material option for your home exterior makeover. Classic colors to pick from would be white – especially white trim – grey, tan, and other neutral colors. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t choose some bold colored accents to set your home’s exterior apart from the rest!
Home Exterior Ideas to Improve Curb Appeal
Curb appeal is incredibly important for a few different reasons. One, often overlooked, simply has to do with feeling proud of and happy in your home; nobody wants to go home to a house they don’t like. Another, which is most sought after, is the potential to increase the value of your home. So, if you’re in a fixer-upper looking to make more off of it than you put into it, take these options into consideration.
Starting with the most basic change, consider taking a look at your landscaping. Although this isn’t technically a part of your house, it is a part of your property and it’s one of the first things people notice when driving by. If you have uneven patches of grass, junk, or toys littering the lawn, or any other undesirable visual aspects, it will definitely hamper your ability to draw in potential buyers and dampen your love for your own home.
Love Home Designs has several articles related to landscaping, such as 20 Low Maintenance Front Yard Landscaping Ideas, or even 17 Retaining Wall Ideas For Your Sloped Front Yard to help you tackle a difficult landscape and get the best results possible! This doesn’t have to be a big endeavor, either. Cleaning up the flowerbeds and picking up around the yard will already improve the exterior of your home.
Something else to consider would be your porch – if you have one. A lot of times, porches get overlooked as your main focus has to do with the interior of your home, but they could truly become a selling point of your home’s exterior with a little TLC. Putting a layer of fresh paint over the porch railing or the front door will help your house exterior stand out from the others on the block.
Taking that a step further, consider painting yourself some white trim! White trim is a very attractive aspect of houses because of the bright but neutral color. Of course, an overall fresh coat of paint will liven up your home’s exterior in a heartbeat.
Another charming thing to consider would be to include wood elements or wood fibers in your home’s exterior makeover. This might be in fencing, pillars, doors, window frames, or even just adding a window box or two.
Another thing to keep in mind is to make sure you choose materials matching each other or are complementary and cohesive. Patchy, mix-matched appearances tend to be an eyesore and certainly make potential buyers few and far between. Cleaning up your garage and garage doors, which tend to be forgotten about, and hiding minor cracks will also do you a world of good!
How Can I Make the Exterior of my House Look Expensive?
If you’re wanting to double down on your home’s curb appeal and pull off a house exterior makeover that will add class as well as price, let’s talk about the different ways an exterior makeover can make your house look expensive no matter what you initially paid for it. All of these renovations will be more cosmetic in nature, rather than replacing shabby roof insulation or adding fire retardant coating to the building.
Try livening up your front porch – if you have one. Instead of simply repainting, why not replace the old porch railing with something more trendy, such as wrought iron or even interlocking concrete pavers? Updating or installing a walkway, light features, and steps may seem like minor changes, but these are the things that will give you an edge!
Adding new windows with grills, or several panes of glass, like the colonial style homes, tend to have, or installing larger windows will give an enticingly modern house exterior – and interior, thanks to all of that natural light.
Again, landscaping remains an important aspect of curb appeal and the overall value of your home. Surprisingly, sometimes less is more. Take this house’s exterior for example; it isn’t anything extravagant, but the simplicity is more than enough to make this home feel high-end.
Another way to increase the curb appeal of your home would be to add some sort of outdoor space to spend time in. Living space as simple as the one you see here will draw immediate interest from any passersby. Any choice of material can be used to install a patio or small living space, from pouring pavement or installing stamped concrete pavers – either of which can be done on your own as a DIY project!
There are so many options to pull this off with a low project cost and still end up with stunning results. Rather than spend an absurd amount of money on materials and labor, try pouring your own concrete pavers with a paver mold, found at almost any local hardware store or on Amazon.com. You can create personalized stamped concrete pavers, any color you wish, and install them all on your own!
Other concepts to consider are house exterior paint ideas, like adding a fresh coat to the front porch or front door, window sills and framing, or even slapping some exterior paint on the chimney!
You heard that right – I just told you to paint your chimney!
Painted brick is a beloved trend in architectural style designs, and it isn’t the only way to make yourself a large feature chimney. A stone-clad chimney, as seen in this picture, works just as well!