Home Exterior Renovations - 8 Projects That Make a Difference

Be honest, we spend most of our time indoors rather than outside, admiring the landscape from afar. Nevertheless, the exterior of your home is very important.

Not only does keeping a polished appearance make your home more attractive, but it also greatly affects its resale value. Even if you’re not planning to sell anytime soon, we still recommend paying attention to the exterior of your home.

Should you renovate the exterior if you’re not planning to sell? How can you refresh your home’s exterior without breaking the bank?

If you don’t like its appearance or you’re looking for a way to spice things up a bit, then you’re in the right place. We’ll offer some expert tips on how to transform your home by making a few exterior renovations.

8 Renovation Projects to Revitalize Your Home’s Appearance

1- Redo Your Landscaping Without a Professional Designer

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Most people lead busy lives, juggling meal prep, cleaning, spending time with family and friends, and finding little time to socialize. For this reason, some areas outside your home may be neglected. For you, this might mean your front yard. It’s easy to let your grass and plants grow too much. However, an overgrown lawn can draw attention away from your home’s architectural features.

By cleaning up the yard and doing some basic landscaping, you can enhance your home’s curb appeal. Start by adding plants native to your region, as they’ll require less maintenance to stay beautiful. Try experimenting with different plant arrangements or add a gravel path with colourful borders. Depending on your home’s exterior colour and the size of your yard, consider adding comfortable, colourful furniture to elevate the look.

For more landscaping ideas, check out our article 7 Landscaping Tips for Your Driveway.

2- Repair Signs of Aging and Exterior Finishes

If your home has been in your family for a long time and the paint is peeling, trim is breaking, and other aesthetic elements are problematic, it’s time for a makeover. If you’re ready for the work and genuinely want to improve your home’s appearance, set aside a day for this project.

This can be as simple as adding a fresh coat of paint to your walls or as challenging as replacing trim, patching holes, and refinishing window or door frames. Of course, the time and challenges of this project will depend on your home. Make sure to address all issues, even the smallest ones, so you won’t need to revisit these areas in the coming months.

3- Refresh Your Facade or Exterior Wall

The structure of your home might look like a boring cube or lack any visually interesting elements. You can fix this with a few aesthetic renovations. If you don’t like the slope of your roof, why not extend or reshape it?

This can help soften the visual break between your home and the street. If your windows look plain and you want to add a cottage-style touch, consider installing shingles or a few trellis pieces to let vines climb. There are plenty of ways to play with the overall structure and exterior shape of your home.

4- Change Your Home’s Exterior Siding

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There are so many exterior siding options on the market these days that you might consider updating your home’s siding! There are two particularly popular categories: products like vinyl, aluminum, wood fibre, and fibre cement, as well as earth-based products like natural stone, clay, and cement bricks.

Depending on your region’s climate and your home’s style, you’ll want to choose a compatible siding. Nevertheless, changing your home’s siding is a cost-effective way to update its appearance. Adding stone or stucco can take a house from ordinary to stunning.

Moreover, replacing old siding can create a more cohesive look by choosing a single colour for the roof and walls. Consider contemporary colours and textures, or go for a timeless approach and stick with classic materials and shades.

5- Build a Home Extension to Renovate the Exterior

In this case, it’s a much larger project than the aesthetic work mentioned earlier. Nevertheless, building a home extension on or near your house will greatly alter its exterior. Obviously, you shouldn’t take on a project like this unless you want to add a significant amount of space due to a growing family or the desire to sell the home in the future.

A home extension involves a lot of work, but it provides an excellent way to redefine your living space while drastically changing its configuration and appearance.

If you’re looking to make a major change to your home’s architectural style, creating an extension is definitely the way to go. This project can take many forms: from completely removing your home’s roof to adding a second floor over an adjacent garage. External factors, including your home’s layout and the condition of your foundations, will ultimately determine the scope of the work you can undertake.

6- Add a Porch or Garage

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If your property’s boundaries allow, consider building a porch or garage next to your home. It’s an interesting way to enhance your home’s curb appeal while providing ample storage space or even a home gym, office, laundry room, and more.

When designing a garage or porch and adding it to your home’s structure, consider its size, location, and your front yard, as well as the style and relationship between the new structure and your home.

Another important factor to consider (especially for the garage) is how the structure will be used. If the garage is only for car storage, then electricity and insulation won’t matter much. However, if you plan to use the adjacent structures as living spaces, more effort will be needed to make them comfortable.

7- Transform Your Front Door with a Makeover

Your front door is much more than just an entryway; it’s the first thing people notice and leaves a lasting impression. A well-chosen front door can dramatically change your home’s exterior while reflecting your personal style.

To create a striking visual impact, choose a bold door colour that contrasts with your facade; deep red, navy blue, or dark green can instantly catch the eye and add character to a neutral facade. If you prefer a more traditional style, solid wood doors bring timeless elegance.

Don’t forget complementary features like refined handles, well-placed exterior lights, or a matching welcome mat.

8- Brighten Your Outdoor Space on a Budget

An outdoor lighting system can change your home’s appearance once night falls.

Opt for adjustable spotlights or recessed lights to highlight your facade’s textures and volumes. New LED technologies offer cost-effective and eco-friendly options while allowing you to play with intensity and sometimes colours.

More than just a decorative element, well-placed lighting can enhance your home’s aesthetic, create a warm atmosphere, and even boost security.

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