Homes are designed for human beings, but they don’t look anything like us. Cars, on the other hand, have been specifically designed with eyes, teeth, and facial features because we feel we can relate to them. Call this a stupid marketing ploy, but ask yourself would you ever drive a car that didn’t have two eyes, one mouth, and an expression that was mean or alluring? No! So why not focus on doing this sort of thing for your home too? Think of the roof as your hair or hat, the windows as your eyes, the front door as your mouth, and the porch columns as a mustache or lipstick. All of these things make up the face of your home and if you invest in it, it can become a very recognizable face.
Improving the Roof
As we mentioned, the roof behaves kind of like your hair or hat, so it should be stylish, ordered, kempt, and clean. If you find that your tiles are old and they have cracks in them, or they are bathed in moss and bird droppings, speak with experienced roofers who can clean or replace the tiles and improve the strength of your roof. They can not only give you better tiles, but they can reinforce areas of your roof that are weak and subject to rainwater or wind damage. They’ll also show you how to keep your roof clean and able to resist silly damage like the gutters clogging up from leaves or tiles that have been moved due to the wind and putting them back in place, etc.
The Eyes of the House
Take one glance at your windows from the outside. Do they reflect how you want your home to look? Chances are, you think they could be improved. Take a look at the colonial design, which is a rustic design with multiple square windows. These can give your home a sophisticated look and protect your windows from wind damage over time. The window frames would also be better if I could paint them to fit your style. This means you need to take a look at the color of the exterior cladding and or the brick. If you have an orange type of brick, then you could paint your window frames red, burgundy, or cream.
The Front Door
The front door can be one of the biggest investments you make for your house. It’s kind of a statement whether you think this or not. You can repaint your front door to bring it back to life, or you can fit an entirely new door. Now it gets interesting. There are lots of front door styles.
- The classic front door style comes from the Georgian style. This is probably the most common front door in places like New York, London, and Ontario.
- The modern style is sleek and minimalist, but it uses the best wood and the finest paint. This kind of style will have large panels on the front that can be painted or left bare. The use of resin and oil on the wood is very common for a great finish.
- The traditional front door is rustic and you can find this in rural England, in the southern states of the US, and around large cities in Canada. It will have multiple rectangular designs, layered or tiered on top of each other.
The Forgotten Porch
The front porch of the home is often that part of the home that gets next to no love. Even though it’s a direct reflection of the door, people don’t see the need to make their porch stylized. This is nonsense, you should be investing in porch columns. The classic Greek style is quite good for large homes, but switch them out for the Roman style and you can fit them into a normal 3-4-bedroom house.
You should also consider a hardwood floor for your porch but keep it lighter. The rain, dirt, and damage from the usual wear and tear will naturally make it darker over time. So something like ash, walnut, and oak are brilliant choices. Use an oil finish to protect it from the rainwater.
Your home has a face. It’s the first thing all your guests see and the roof, windows, front door, and the porch all reflect on the kind of style you have. Invest in these areas and you’ll start to see how people positively look at your home as opposed to before.
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