Curb Appeal is something realtors have known for a long time and is the industry jargon for the first impression that passersby make when they drive by your street and house. The curb appeal of your home makes a good impression from a distance. The handsome design elements of your home, a welcome entry, well maintained front yard, harmonious outside colorscheme, alluring focal points, signature details with atractive and personalized outdoor accessories, architectural character, well designed landscaping, effective nightscape and lights.
- ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
- DESIGN ELEMENTS, STYLE
- ACCESS AND PATHWAYS
- ENTRY DOORWAY
- COVER AND SHELTER
- LANDSCAPING
- ELEVATIONS
- NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
- COLOR
- COST & BUDGET
1. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
First of all, understand the character of the setting and site of your home. It is advisable to evaluate the original architecture and identity of your house, by studying its features and materials; the roof and roof-shape, wall height, chimney, cupola's, projections, an additional wing, recesses, arcades, balconies, porches, architectural details, windows, bay-windows.
Many times it is desirable to stay true to the original architecture of the house at others to enhance or emphasize certain elements. There are features that can look outstanding if improved with color and light but also by allowing their visibility from a distance. Identify the visual character distinguishing your home, like the overall shape, materials, craftsmanship and decorative details and the district, region, city, neighborhood and country. Then accentuate the attractive features with color, light or placing or reducing landscape to allow their visibility.
2. DESIGN ELEMENTS & STYLE
Understand the setting and design context. Can they be considered as an example of a historical period? Is it an entirely modern concept? Is it a themed concept that reflects your personality and cultivated taste?
Often homes are related to a specific architectural style, such as Gothic revival, farmhouse, arid-zone coves, one-story bungalows, Meditteranean or Art Deco. Look at the roof and roof shape, chimneys, pediments, cupola's, projections, recesses, arcades, balconies, cornices, porches, windows, bay-windows and empty areas, these are the distinct character features of your domicile. Can these elements be emphasized as part of the appeal of your personal abode?
3.ACCESS AND PATHWAYS
Pathways leading to the front entry are an important element and a variety of interesting design features and techniques can be employed to create a stellar curb appeal. First and foremost have safety in mind. I recommend to select a slip resistant walkway, one that does not retain water on the surface and whether brick, concrete or tile, make sure it is well lit.
Depending on the distance and elevation between property line and entry, make the steps as gradual as possible, thus making the height no more then 4.5 to 5 inches tall and the steps as deep as possible and ensuring that they are clearly visible with light and/or border rims.
Symmetrical balance is very appealing mostly with formal and low front lawns. I find assymetrical best suited for a warmer welcome.The most inviting pathways are curved leading to the front door and have a plateau surrounding the entry. The more formal entries have a straight, direct and non-deviating pathway.
4.ENTRY DOORWAY
To create dazzling and inviting entry ways and front doors we need to become acquainted with a few industry secrets. A good and well-known technique are the over-sized and well-lit entryways with adornments on the sides. Special character on the otherhand, is achieved when considering not only the door in itself and all the surrounding elements but by selecting special signature choices that reflect your individual attributes and utilizing your home as an outlet for their expression. Many functional elements such as unique door knockers, bells, peepholes, mail-slots, house numbers, mailboxes and special signs can be incorporated in very singular ways.
Larger elements such as arches and curves send a subtle, soft and warm visual message, while straight lines, columns and cathedrals a more stern and formal one. The more foliage, the more romantic, the less flora or perhaps clean unsprouting stems the more these are considered as modern and sleek. The door itself should allow ease of entry by its size and the orientation of the door-swing. Most main entry doors are given focus through their design, color, elaborateness in ornaments and are differentiated from all other doors, sometimes by contrast and with embellishments and beauty. Nowadays we find all sorts of strikingly beautiful patterns for wood, glass and metal entry doors matching or complementing them with equally beautiful hardware sets. The overall combination of all these different elements of design, texture and materials creates a synergy that come together in salient entries.
5.COVER AND SHELTER.
Overhang, covers and port corchères are essential details if in your climate zone there is a lot of precipitation. When included overhangs become the design element you avail yourself of to gain some extra points in terms of curb appeal. Covers are mainly to protect from weather, especially if there's frequent or high volume traffic but an added value is the chance to employ them as designed elements of the front facade. They can be extended from property line to front door, or hanging directly over the entry. The variety in shapes and techniques should give you plenty of choices in mouldings, cornices, crowns and arches or vine arches, pergolas, awnings, plexi-glass to invite style and attention. With smart implementation, covers make stunning and very attractive in addition to protected entries.
Choose a style that fits in well and again you may opt mainly for formal and elegant or warm and personal. Design the cover raised at least 10 feet and with an area of 6 feet or larger extended from the front door, this way you can add many smaller interest items later without cramping the space. If you have uneven landscape or hills, many innovative and creative ideas derives from unusual settings and make even more interesting settings for entries and covers. Plus remember those long goodbye's that ride out outside the front door? They all take place in the front, right?
6.LANDSCAPING.
There is the common idea that in order for a house to have spectacular look it must have full forest-like and lush landscaping. Yet we have seen many examples of very attractive homes in the city or dessert where little or no plant-life is visible at all. Having a garden with full plants means you have the time and are willing with the up keep in maintaining the garden. Successful curb-appeal does not absolutely require plants or to have attractive landscaping. Sculptures, urns, pergola's, low lawns, with gravel, sand or rocks may work as well. The key aspect is to have a balanced, clean and manicured front yard that looks complete, finished and with light and color appeal. The best designs in landscaping combine nature and culture.
Landscaping, is the largest segment if you have a large lawn, also because of its prominent site in the front of the house. If you decide on landscaping, design the entertainment / activity areas with direct access first then the pathways leading to them. If you enjoy privacy but desire a front porch or a secluded area that are not directly in view, include them now, and finally design the landscaping around these. Should the climate in the vicinity permit and your preferences are to have a plant garden, make a list of the plant types that are suitable for this type of climate and then check off those that you like, based on ground and potted plants, leaf size, shape, color, height and width. Start with the larger items, like trees, then hedges, shrubs and flowering plants. Add additional outdoor elements, such as fountains, pools, statues, columns, pedestals, mirrors, or others to add interest and variety. Finally run pencil lines for the irrigation system. Make sure to have good contrasts for daytime and nighttime.
7.ELEVATIONS.
Elevations and levels in areas add interest whether they be sunken or raised. Most exterior elevations of a home are by raising the entry at the front porch and sunken in the rear. Elevations can extend an inviting and warm welcome by offering delightful paths, interesting visual elements, perhaps even some animals, birds, fish, views of the surroundings, perhaps even pleasant breezes and scents from your front lawn to the door. There are a few different styles for elevations, some plateau, other rolling curves, steep straight up steps or flat. Layering is the most effective way to showcase varied plants and garden features and many times capture the eye before the front door does. It allows for several elements to be displayed at the same time.
8.NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL LIGHT.
Light helps to set the ambiance and it is no secret that light effects at night help you display a spectacular show if you can avail yourself of just a few clues to produce magnificent night-scapes.
There are two suggestions I'd like to reveal to you, and these are to consider the lights permeating to the outside and the lights at the exterior side that highlight your house's architectural features. There are two reasons to light up outside, one is for safety and clear vision of paths and the other is to add visual beauty and interest to special features. What needs to be lit? For safety: walkways, steps, doors, exterior entertaining areas and porches. For visual interest: walls, special architectural details, like water pools, fountains, statues and trees and some plants so that they become visible at night.
And if light in itself is an attractive feature, do not underestimate the shadows that create interesting contrasts when falling in the right places in the evening time. Nowadays with so many options in solar powered energy even less of a concern in terms of energy consumption. For exteriors usually low intensity, low voltage is used for the smaller light pools. Remember that the indoor lights permeating to the exterior may already cause a dramatic effect. But taking this aside for a while, mind the height of your home and its walls, and special features to accentuate. In addition to this again safety and prevention of accidents by emphasizing steps and changes in level.
One more tip, is to remind you of special occasions and festive seasons where you may want to scale up the display a notch as to regular seasons where a more even light use is more appropriate. It would be smart of have outlets, and hooks laid-out so that it becomes easier to add festive lights later.
Daylight
Natural light has a lot to do with the sun-orientation and it's intensity. There is not much to be done with natural light during day-time, except to adjust to its orientation, create shade and to filter and reduce its strength. Another aspect is the wind-flow and direction to cool off from those beaming sun rays for ease of vision and human comfort with high temperatures or to create windbreakers for strong gusts especially in extremely low temperatures.
Toldo's, hedges, pergola's, arbors and trellises all available in a myriad of designs
9.COLOR
Moods are set with color. Outdoor color schemes are usually very subtle and many effects can be created with the combination of color with light. Light or Dark colors are not right or wrong, these too match personality and architectural character and many homeowners today have gained more confidence in choosing house colors. The traditional white and light colors are being replaced with bold dark blues, greens and browns and even daring red shades and the whites that were once perceived as the norm and safe choices are gradually receding and more favored are tinted neutrals that play off landscaping and other building materials. These are increasingly being used as are mid-tone values of neutrals. But in truth all colors are fair game: stark whites, contrasts, matching color blending in with the landscaping, monochromatic complimentary, analogous or triasic.
If you want your home to stand out, step outside the convention and be the first or only terracotta house in the block. Important is the the overall theme has to be harmonious.
Take a photograph of your home both during daytime and evening and appreciate its features, then decide which features merit attention so that color and light are best reflected on them. Heavily wooded gardens make colors look darker due to shade and bright colors look better in sun-intense areas and too dramatic for the northern hemisphere. Darker colors also make the house look smaller, but more substantial, this is especially important for small lots.
As easy as color is to instantly improve curb appeal, don't forget that mistakes in choice have to be entirely redone. If you enjoy cheerful and sunny colors, choose darker hues like deep mustard yellow or dirty yellow, bright canary may not be the right choice for exterior walls, but perhaps the door or the door frames, maybe some flowers or accent tiles. For walls the colors are always more subtle.
A few more ideas on color and paint works. Consider the unchanging colors of the roof, shingles, bricks, slate, stone veneers. Another is that it is best to 'hide' unattractive elements such as gutters and other imperfections and body trims by blending the same tones and not use a different color for these functional elements. Accentuate interesting architectural details.
Lastly, Don't be afraid to be 'you' Did you ever notice that flamingo-pink or the bold rustic house that is different but just looks so perfect?
10.COST & BUDGET
I suggest to make a list of wishes and wants first, boldly and with no apologies as to what you would like to have, then upgrade or downsize on budget. Simply because there is no limit to what could be spend on home improvement and in this way you will find yourself naturally giving first choice to your prime preferences according to budget and taste. There is never a minimum, only a maximum and you know how much this is.
The main thing is to have a true sense of satisfaction after the facade is completed. Invariably you always find it was well worth it and that the money was well spend and the value of your home is always increased.
If some elements are beyond your reach they can always be included later. Just make sure the most essential elements are included in the first phase of development. It would be more costly to add irrigation systems after the entire facade is finished. Another variation is to stretch the changes over a period of time, say 6 to 9 months or allot a percentage, say 15% each time on the major elements, then purchase the smaller items last.
Also, you don't have to eliminate all choices, you may reduce some to a smaller size or place them elsewhere. Would the sculptural fountain look better in a corner, centralized or in the backyard?
A final note....
.. about curb appeal. It is important that the design honors the original architecture and that the house is true to the owner's personality and that it blends in well with the surroundings.
How to evaluate your home for it's curb appeal? Here are a few questions to ask: How long has it been since the last overall maintenance was done? Is the overall appearance, the windows, color, doorstyles outdated? These only look good with period style houses. Is the facade 'tired'? the gates and doors hanging, the windows or gutters sagging or warped and portuding? Has it fallen in disrepair and damage? Is your front yard well maintained, or does it look like a dessert or an abandoned lot? Are the plants sheared and manicured, roots crawling, pots shining and undusted? Is the entry inviting, with light and color? Is the roof discolored, peeled or missing some tiles, or shingles?
Finally I want to add, curb appeal has nothing to do with the size of your house or it's cost. It has to do with a finished and complete look, no matter how elaborate or simple. And don't forget about your own likes and preferences. Inwardly you know what styles you would be inclined to, incorporate them into the overall design. If you admire them from pictures of other homes, you can create a miniature detail from these. Be creative and have confidence into your ability to make a spectacular welcoming and inviting presence with your home. Lastly, with these few guidelines, let me also say that there is no fixed rule, and if there were, there are always exceptions to them, go with your inner guide into what feels right, and then as you plan and execute them you will find yourself refining and modifying, always improving the initial concept.
Being different can pay off richly. Do you want to match the look of the other 30 homes that have a sago palm in the front porch? Be yourself, If you love plants but live in an arid zone, this too could be a feature to stand out as the oasis in the neighborhood. Or same with a lighted metal cactus in the middle of the winter season.
Houses that were once unassuming, barren and exposed to the street, with unadorned yards. with the addition of simple architectural features and new landscaping, they have achieved privacy, grace and better defined entryways that benefit the neighborhood as well as the homeowner. Assuming you have no desires for absolute privacy, prefer no high walls and courtyard, I suggest that in the next few months, you add some pizzazz and deliberately ask for some attentions from drivers by and be the one to stand out from the curb!
Thanks so much for your attention, see you again for the next blog. All about homes.
Please post comments and I also appreciate suggestions for blogger articles.
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