If you’re ready for a home exterior makeover and aren’t sure where to start, we can help. Here, our exterior home remodeling experts share our top pro home makeover tips for creating a stunning makeover to reignite your pride of ownership.
Have A Plan For Your Home Exterior Makeover
Having a plan helps keep your home exterior makeover focused. A plan will include several important considerations so you don’t rush into anything or waste money. Your plan should include the following – and keep in mind that a good contractor will help you with all of these steps:
- Cost and budget: Often, homeowners think they have the budget to cover their entire home exterior when the reality is the costs are much more than they realize. Setting a budget and getting quotes keeps things in perspective.
- Purpose: Determining why you want an exterior makeover helps you prioritize your project, whether it is energy efficiency, a greener home, easier maintenance, repairing issues, or simply aesthetics.
- ROI: Even if you plan to stay in your home “forever”, finding the best upgrades to improve your home’s value is important.
- The right contractor: Finding a contractor that specializes in home exteriors will streamline the process, save money, and ensure the job is done right.
- Design: Determining the style you want to achieve is essential to your plan to create a unified look that brings out the best of your home’s existing architectural features.
Consider Your Home Style
A rookie mistake we see all the time is homeowners trying to make their home into something it’s not. Exterior home makeover ideas need to make sense for your home. Although you might be determined to turn your Tudor-style home into a magnificent example of modern aesthetics, a) It will be extremely costly to make it work and b) It will look more like a mistake than an upgrade. We always recommend considering the style of your home and using that as inspiration to fashion modern upgrades that won’t look out of place.
Consider Your Budget
This is a major step for one reason: Your budget determines where you should focus your upgrades to make the most impact. A higher budget allows you to get more of what you want, while a moderate to low budget requires skillful prioritization to get as many upgrades as possible. Again, your contractor will absolutely help with this step.
Make A List And Prioritize It
There are several upgrade options you can consider as part of your exterior home makeover project, including:
- Siding
- Windows
- Entry door
- Eavestroughs, fascia and soffits
- Masonry detailing like brick or cultured stone
We always recommend starting with a full list of what you want, then looking at the things you can’t sacrifice, such as energy efficiency, ROI, etc., and finally considering the costs and benefits of each item. Speaking to a reputable contractor can help clarify where you’ll get more bang for your buck, benefits such as energy savings, and ROI when you sell. This allows you to make the most of your investment, reap more benefits, and see the most impact on your curb appeal.
Tour Your Neighbourhood
Although you’re under no obligation to stick with the same look as your neighbours, you can find inspiration from recent exterior makeovers in your area. This helps show how new colour trends and materials look, what designs and materials are popular, and provides examples of upgrades on homes like yours. You can take photos and share them with your contractor to assist with getting an accurate quote based on the look you want.
Use A New Siding Colour For Maximum Impact
Siding is one of the strongest weapons in your exterior makeover arsenal. It covers the largest surface of your exterior, provides the opportunity to leverage a wide variety of modern and classic colours, and adds that wow factor that easily elevates your curb appeal. Siding is relatively affordable and helps pay for itself by improving energy efficiency to reduce your energy bills.
Install New Windows For Energy Efficiency, Easy Maintenance, And Style
New windows might not seem exciting, but if you look around your neighbourhood, you’ll likely start to notice that new modern windows add a sense of style. We’re big fans of window replacement as part of a comprehensive exterior makeover because more colours and styles are available than ever before. However, we are also big fans of greener living, and windows are one of the most effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint by improving energy efficiency.
Make A Better First Impression With A New Entry Door
Entry doors welcome you home and make an impression when guests arrive. A new entry system is one of the best investments to create a focal point for your exterior, add drama or contrast, and keep your home secure and comfortable all year round.
Make Holistic Design Decisions
Making exterior design decisions independently of each other can result in an unappealing, disjointed look. It’s always best to address design decisions as a whole so your exterior has a harmonious appearance, with everything working together to provide a stunning makeover.
Think Universal, Not Personal
While interior design is all about your personal taste and sense of style, your exterior design is out there for the whole world to see. As a result, we always recommend homeowners take personalization down a notch to create an exterior with universal appeal.
For example, you might want to choose everything in solid black to make a bold statement, including your siding, windows, exterior door, garage doors, stone and masonry, columns, dormers, etc. However, in our experience what tends to happen is you create an eyesore in the neighbourhood, which takes away from your home’s value, as well as the value of homes around yours. It’s not to say you can’t express your sense of style, but there are ways to achieve the unique look you want without standing out in a bad way.
Add Some Cultured Stone Accents
Stone accents have made a big comeback in exterior designs. We’ve found it one of the most affordable materials to instantly update exteriors, adding a modern or classic aesthetic that stands out beautifully. This isn’t a material you need to use in large quantities, which is why it is so affordable. Some excellent ways to use cultured stone include:
- On garages
- Along the foundation of the home
- To frame entries
- To accent windows
- Along porch fronts
- On front step risers
- As an accent at the peak of your roof
Match Your Gutters, Soffit And Fascia To Upgrades
An often-forgotten feature in home exterior makeovers, your gutters, soffit, and fascia add the finishing touch to unify your exterior. Located below your roofline, leaving these features white for example, when you’ve just installed new siding or windows in a fresh modern colour draws attention to a component of your exterior that’s meant to blend in.
When it comes to planning your exterior home makeover, these tips will help you achieve stunning results.
When you’re ready to explore the possibilities of an exterior home makeover, reach out to the experts at Weaver for a free consultation.