Exterior renovation: projects that will transform your home

Let’s be honest, we spend most of our time inside our homes rather than outside admiring from afar. Nonetheless, the façade of our home is very important.

Not only does keeping a polished appearance help with the curb appeal, but it will also greatly affect the property's resale value. Even if you’re not planning on selling anytime soon, we’re recommending that you still pay attention to caring for the exterior of your home.

If you’ve become bored with your home’s outward appearance, or you’re just looking for a way to spruce things up a bit, then you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to offer you some expert tips on how to transform the façade of your home by doing a few exterior renovations.

Here are 6 renovation projects to revamp your home’s exterior

1- Landscaping

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Most people live busy lives, between cooking, cleaning, taking care of family and friends as well as having a semblance of time to socialize. For this reason, certain areas of your home's exterior may be completely overlooked. For you, this may mean your front lawn. It’s easy to let the lawn and plants overgrow. However, an overgrown lawn really detracts from the architectural appeal of your property.

By cleaning up your lawn and doing a bit of low-maintenance landscaping, you will greatly improve the look and appeal of your home's exterior. Start by adding plants that are native to your region, as these will require less work to stay vibrant and keep things looking fresh. Try working with different plant patterns or even adding in a multicoloured gravel path. Depending on the colour of your home’s façade as well as the size of your lawn, add some bright and comfortable furniture to offer further allure.

For more landscaping ideas, check out: 7 landscaping tips for your driveway.

2- Repair the signs of ageing

If your home has been in your family for a while, the paint chipping, the trim breaking and other noticeable cosmetic discrepancies in place, a good makeover is in order. If you’re up for the job and really want to update the look of your home, set aside a day to dedicate to this project.

This could be as easy as giving the exterior walls of your home a new coat of paint, or as challenging as replacing all the trim, filling in holes and refinishing window and door surroundings. Of course, the length and challenges of this job will come down to the individual home. Make sure to pay attention to even the smallest of issues so that you won’t have to revisit these areas of home repair in the upcoming months.

3- Spice up the façade!

The structure of your home may be a boring box shape or lack a single eye-catching element. This can be remedied with a few cosmetic renovation jobs. If you aren’t too keen on your roofline, why not try bringing it forwards or pushing it back?

This can help to soften the space between your house and the street. If your windows are looking basic and you want to add a playful cottage-style element, why not consider installing shingles or even a few pieces of lattice to allow nearby vines to climb. There are lots of ways to play with the overall structure and shape of the exterior of your home.

4- Change the exterior cladding of your home

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There are so many exterior cladding options on the market nowadays that you might want to consider changing up the existing cladding on your home! There are two popular categories for exterior cladding, and these are siding products such as vinyl, aluminum, wood fibre and cement fibre and masonry products such as natural stone, clay, concrete bricks and other earth-based materials.

Depending on your local climate as well as the style of your home, you’ll want to choose a cladding that is compatible.  However, changing up the cladding of your home is an economical way to offer a fresh new look to the exterior. Adding stone or stucco can take a home from drab to outstanding. Further, updating your cladding could offer a more cohesive look by blending the roof and walls. Consider more contemporary colours and textures, or take a timeless approach and stick to classic shades and materials.

5- Build a home addition

Now, this is a much bigger project than the cosmetic fixes we’ve listed. However, constructing an addition onto or next to your home will greatly alter the exterior. Of course, you shouldn’t take on this project unless you are looking to add a significant amount of space due to a growing family or a desire to resell in the near future.

A home addition is a lot of work, but this renovation will offer you an excellent way to redefine the space of your home while drastically changing the original construction of your home.

If you’re looking for a huge change when it comes to architectural style, creating an addition is definitely the way to do it. This project can range from removing the entire roof of your home to creating a second story over an adjacent garage. Outside factors including the layout of your home as well as the condition of your foundation will ultimately determine how much of a renovation you’re able to take on.

6- Add a porch or garage

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If your property lines allow, consider building an adjacent porch or garage into the façade of your home. This is a great way to add curb appeal while offering ample space for storage or even an at-home gym, office, laundry room or otherwise.

When designing and adding a garage or porch, there are a number of factors to consider including the size, the orientation to the curb and your front lawn, the style and the relationship between the new structure and your home.

Another important factor to consider, especially for your garage, is how the structure will be used. If the garage is just to hold your cars, then electricity and insulation won’t matter all that much. But, if you plan to use these adjacent structures as alternative living spaces, then more thought needs to be involved. 

To see examples of landscaping and exterior renovation projects completed by RenoQuotes.com contractors, check out 10 examples of landscaping projects.

Would you like to have an estimation of the cost of your next renovation project? Try our cost calculator!