Projects
KERB APPEAL COUNTS – ARCHITECT GEORGE BRADLEY SHARES A FEW SIMPLE STEPS TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL EXTERIOR REVAMP
Homes should be fun and liveable – and the front is the best place to start. There are a few things that need to be considered: maintenance of the property to make sure it will stay looking good and watertight for many years to come, making a good first impression and ensuring that anything you do complies with local planning and heritage requirements. Here are some key elements to consider if you are renovating the exterior of your home.
1 Think about access. The front doors of many homes are either up or down a set of steps and these steps can often require work to bring them up to scratch. If your home does have steps, consider overlaying them with natural stone slabs. Your home will benefit in a few ways – overlaying allows you to adjust the tread depth of the steps to make them more comfortable, natural stone is a sustainable material and it also makes a great first impression. You’ll also have the added benefit of being able to waterproof your steps at the same time to prevent any penetrating damp below.
2 Revamp a property with colour. By choosing one colour to paint over the brickwork, plaster elements and timber joinery, you’re able to celebrate and enhance these details. An added advantage to painting is that you can make repairs or replace any original features, without it being noticeable (subject to planning of course). Note that period properties are often constructed of ‘breathable’ walls, and it’s important to maintain the breathability so as to not trap moisture, so make sure that any paint you add to brickwork is breathable.
3 Consider all the senses to create a home that is a pleasure to live in and a pleasure to visit. Touch is one of the most important but also one of the most overlooked senses when it comes to home design.
Your front door is one of the things you and your guests will touch all the time. Really think about the hardware you use for your front door and go for the best handles you can afford with your budget. Oversized handles can be really fun and work well with the proportions of a larger period home.
4 Perk up your exterior with plants. The front of your property is such a good opportunity for planting to make your home welcoming but to also provide a nice view (and potentially some privacy) from inside. Plants also have the added benefit of helping cool incoming warm air in the summer and provide natural shade. Planters can be designed to double up as storage solutions or they can be stepped down in layers to allow more light to below-ground level rooms. We love working with wild f lower planters as they’re low maintenance and look great.
5 Don’t add rainwater pipes to the front of your house if you don’t have to. This is easier said than done and
