Work on your street appeal

Here are five key areas of the property to consider for maximum and timeless kerb appeal.

House exteriors

The obvious place to start working your kerbside appeal is the exterior of the house itself.

Grey greens and grey blues remain hugely popular on the exterior of our homes. That’s because they are essential neutrals but with some depth and interest. The subtle green or blue tones means they work well surrounded by leafy foliage, they look great with bright white trim, but they can also take the addition of some bold contrasting colours. Try Resene Loblolly, Resene Tasman or Resene Emerge.

Going black is another trend that’s continuing for house exteriors as it will make most buildings look contemporary and dramatic. Resene Bokara Grey is a popular choice, and check out Resene All Black.

Top tip: For dark exteriors, remember to ask for Resene CoolColour paint or stain. It reflects more of the sun’s UV than standard versions of the colour, protecting the paint, stain and the cladding by minimising heat stress and potential damage.

Other areas to consider are the everyday details like the spouting and guttering – do you want them to blend or be a feature, such as a metallic look. Today’s ranges of spouting are far removed from the white plastic off old – see the Marley website [www.marley.co.nz] for more.

Once you have a colour scheme you’re happy with on your house, any other colour or design feature you add to the rest of the exterior section is about adding complementary or contrasting features.

Front doors and porches

A brightly coloured front door is an easy way to make your home look bold and interesting from the street. Think bold red, greens, oranges or yellows or go dramatic with dark colours instead.

Top tip: Use Resene Enamacryl for surfaces that take a bit of wear and tear, like front doors. It’s a touch waterborne enamel with a gloss finish.

But it needn’t stop there. You can treat a partially enclosed front porch or a veranda much the same way as an interior room, with layers of colour and accessories. Go for a sun-drenched vibe with bright shades but if going bright for your front door or porch doesn’t suit, play around with neutrals or a tonal scheme instead - try shades of grey, green or blue.

Another clever idea for porches, paths and steps is to opt for a painted stencil design to emulate tiles. If you’re working on concrete you can paint it to resemble almost any other material with a bit of research and practice and just a few Resene testpots.

Top tip: If you’re painting any surface that will be walked on, choose from a range of colours tinted into Resene Non-Skid Deck & Path paint, which has a slightly gritty finish for non-slip safety.

Fences

A sharply painted and well-maintained boundary fence adds everything to the kerb appeal of your home. Remember that it has two sides. You may have it looking fantastic from the inside, but what about the street side?

Most front walls and fences need to be functional first, finding a balance between effective security or animal control, while still looking good. Pick a paint colour which will complement your home exterior from the street view. A classic approach is to use the same colour as your window trims, or you might choose a darker tonal colour to your cladding.

And, of course, the key thing once you have your fence or wall spruced up, is to keep it maintained, free of loose boards, mould, moss and peeling paint.

Paths and landscaping

If you feel out of your depth when it comes to garden or landscape design, there’s some good news. The latest garden trend is to embrace the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, or finding beauty in imperfection and transience. In other words, let it go.

Simplify your design and accept the natural cycle of growth and decay, and believe it or not your garden can still look elegant and inviting. Choose plants that are well suited for the growing conditions in your garden and let them do their thing.

Think about how people get from the street to your front door. Make sure there is at least one clear pathway and think about how it may be improved with the addition of colour or lighting. You can tie paving stones back to the colours you’ve chosen for your porch or house, or use them as the key colour focal point that blends or contrasts with your plants.

Pots and planters

Adding pots and planters to your porch or front door is one of the quickest ways to add interest and street-appeal. Use them to add different heights and levels to the planting. Paint them in bright bold Resene colours that pick up the contrasts in your house colour scheme and the plants themselves.

If you can, move them around as the mood takes you, so your entrance never looks the same for too long.

Do you have a home full of wonderful Resene paint and colour? Send us some snaps by emailing editor Sharon Newey on editor@habitatbyresene.co.nz.

Story by: Sharon Newey, Habitat

Photography by: Resene