Have you been thinking about making over the exterior of your home? If so, you may need a little help knowing where to begin. If this is to be an all-encompassing project, there are a lot of components to take into consideration.
It may seem like an overwhelming task to think things through to the degree necessary, but you really ought not make haste with any of this until you’ve at the very least thought about what each will entail, what should be accomplished in what order, and how cohesive the finished product will be.
Getting the Gestalt Picture
If you’re totally scrapping the current look of your house, you might want to draw upon reference material to help you get the gestalt picture of what you want the new house to look like. Keep in mind that unless you want your house looking generic or worse, like a concrete Jell-o mold, you’re best off conducting some thorough research on what constitutes design balance—that is, a good proportion of wood to stone, or wood to brick, or stone to earth plaster, or wood to stucco, etc.
Take a walk in your neighborhood and see the examples of both good and poor design, taking photos of the dos and don’ts. Then assemble a collage of the dos with other photo references from online. Once you determine your materials, you may see that those materials have a range for which time periods they may evoke.
If you’re going with many different wood textures and ironwork accents, you can easily go Victorian, as many houses of that era used these materials in this proportion. Consider color as well, as some Victorian houses are known for their quirky yet beautiful color combinations.
The Importance of Expertise
When you’ve arrived at a design aesthetic, consult a designer and contractor whose expertise is perhaps in the area of period-style homes. Even if you’re just going with a simple East Coast, Cape Cod-inspired home, there might be some amendments to the design you’ll want to make to accommodate the climate of your region.
If you live back east, by all means, base your house on the classic Cape Cod or Maine homes. However, if you choose this aesthetic but live in Southern California, it would make more sense for you to open the design up a bit, adding larger windows than you’d see on the classic houses. If you don’t, you might regret shutting your rooms off from the cheery sunshine.
The Final Details
When all your tweaks are made and tasteful colors are chosen, think about the finer details like finials, pediments, classic shingles, artisan-carved porch railing, ornamented eaves, and column covers. These will complete the look of your home exterior.