If you’re considering updating the outside of your home, you might be thinking about cladding or re-cladding some or all of the exterior. Cladding plays a big role in the overall appearance of your home, so it’s important to choose a material that not only looks good, but is also durable and suited to your local climate. Here are the most important factors I consider as an exterior designer.
Scale and shape of your home:
If your home is large, then aesthetically you can afford to use a larger scale of cladding. However, if your home is smaller or low set, or if it has lots of windows (and therefore less wall space), then a smaller scale/pattern cladding could be a better choice.
Appearance:
The appearance/design of your cladding is a critical factor. Not only the texture or scale, but also the colour and finish. Choose a material that complements the overall style of your home and fits in with the surrounding neighborhood. There are many options to choose from, so have a look online for inspiration.
Maintenance:
Different types of cladding require different levels of maintenance. For example, timber cladding will require regular painting or staining to keep it looking fresh, while brick or stone cladding may require minimal maintenance. Consider how much time and effort you’re willing to put into maintaining your cladding when making your decision. Luckily there are plenty of ‘faux’ options out there these days, including composite ‘timber’ products, stainless-steel wall tiles, aluminium pre-oxidized copper and everything in between!
Climate:
The type of cladding you choose will depend in part on the climate in your area. For example, if you live in a hot and dry climate, you’ll want to choose a material that is resistant to heat and UV radiation. On the other hand, if you live in a cooler, wetter climate, you’ll want to choose a material that can withstand rain and wind.
Cost:
The cost of different cladding materials can vary significantly, so it’s important to consider your budget when making your decision. Some options, such as brick, stone, composite or aluminium can be more expensive upfront, but may have longer lifespans and require less maintenance in the long run. Others, such as real timber or other cheap cladding solutions, may be more affordable up front, but need more maintenance so as not to rot, bow or fade over the long term.
When it comes to choosing cladding for your home here in Australia, there are many factors to consider. By taking the time to research your options and think about your specific needs and preferences, you can make an informed decision that will give you the look you want and the durability you need.
Conclusion
In conclusion, choosing the right cladding for your home is key to achieving a stylish and durable exterior. From aesthetics to functionality, carefully consider your options to enhance both the appearance and value of your home. With the right choice, your house facade will make a lasting impression.
Jane Eyles-Bennett x
P.S. Want to receive our latest and coolest Before and After’s straight to your inbox? Enter your details here and I’ll keep you in the loop!
Planning a reno with young children around? Here are a few tricks!
PLANNING
With kids in the picture you’ll want your make-over done as quickly as possible, so avoid delays by planning ahead. Articulate exactly what the reno will entail, including what you are altering, removing and leaving alone. Decide on paint colours, tiles/pavers, lighting, landscaping and every other product you are going to be using so there is no delay once you have started. Depending on how big your make-over or renovation is going to be, this could be a very long list! Be gentle on yourself and don’t expect to complete your entire exterior in a few weeks. If you need a step-by-step for selecting colours and working out your overall renovation plan, check out my course (Google ‘Street Appeal Academy’) or click here.
TRADIES
Get quotes from trades and let them know up front what your expectations are. For example, you might insist there is no smoking, drinking or bad language on site, and they must arrive after a certain time so you can get the kids up and ready before they arrive. Specify if you want them to clean up after themselves – some will charge a bit more for this, but it’s worth it to keep the kids safe and your sanity intact. Choose tradies that are good, fast and reliable. Never sacrifice quality for cost. As a professional exterior designer, I can’t stress this enough! Do less to your home rather than compromise on product or labour quality.
PRE-BOOK YOUR CONTRACTORS
Do a timeline of what needs to happen, when. Estimate how long each component is going to take and try to minimise the downtime in between so that you have one trade in directly after the other. This can be a tricky task, so ask someone who is experienced if you need to. It’s a case of you don’t know what you don’t know sometimes – so employing someone who’s around renovations regularly is a better bet than trying to work it out yourself.
KID-FREE ZONE
Have a kid-free zone where you can store paint, chemicals, equipment and products needed for the reno. Seal it off as much as possible so the kids can’t get in! Put up a kiddie gate blocking access if necessary (or make sure the space is lockable), even if you don’t have toddlers; it acts as a reminder to older kids that it is a no-go zone.
DURING THE RENOVATION
Have a skip bin out the front and put all the junk in as you pull it out, e.g. pavers, broken/old tiles or any other materials you’re disposing of. It will help keep the space clearer and more manageable as well as reducing hazards.
Allow twice as long for the renovation than you had planned. Inevitably there will be delays, so if you have a longer period of time in mind, you are less likely to get disappointed or frustrated.
Jane Eyles-Bennett x
https://hotspaceconsultants.com/
Planning a mini make-over to the front of your home these holidays? Here are a few ‘quick wins’ to get the ball rolling!
1) You’ve heard it before. This is not rocket science! Start with a pressure wash of your entire house, driveway and paths. Even if you don’t like the outside of your home currently, at least it’ll look fresh and clean. You’ll be surprised at how much better you feel about it!
2) Pick one small area that is the most desperate for a lick of paint. Is it the window sills, the road-facing wall (render, weatherboards etc), the gutters, the front door, garage door, front fence or maybe just the mailbox? Check the Handyman Magazine YouTube channel for tips https://www.youtube.com/@HandymanMagazineAU or talk to your local paint shop to find out how to paint what. Remember the prep is key, so don’t skip it! TIP: If bigger changes are on the cards, it’s a good idea to work out your overall colours and materials before you start!
3) Paint your driveway. This will depend on the type of driveway you have, including the slope. Choose a neutral colour that links back to your house colour in some way (usually a mid-grey of some kind). Here is an article to help determine the suitability of painting a sloped driveway https://www.berger.com.au/how-to-and-diy/how-to-paint-sloping-surfaces/
4) Trim your trees, mow your yard, remove weeds and dying plants, then add mulch or dark brown (please, not red!) bark to finish! This is one of the easiest way to refresh your front yard and begin to transform your home.
The key with all of this is to start with a big-picture plan of what you ultimately want the front of your home to look like. This will dictate what you do, what colours you use and where you focus your time and energy. In my role as an exterior designer of house facades I often see piecemeal renovations that look totally incohesive – so plan it all now, then chip away towards your end goal over time.
If you need help coming up with a big-picture plan of what to do to your home, you can get in touch with me via my website. Link in bio or go to https://hotspaceconsultants.com/.
Jane Eyles-Bennett x
Dark and Stormy is not an official design term but I think it clearly describes the style I’m referring to today. I absolutely love this look, but there are definitely some things to consider before you go painting your house entirely black!
Firstly, a pure black may not be the right colour to paint your whole house exterior. Perhaps a charcoal grey could take the edge off and make it just that little bit less intimidating.
If you do choose a dark and stormy theme for your renovation, be mindful of giving it some ‘lift’ in other ways – otherwise it can feel like a big black prison block. My preference when renovating in a dark colour scheme is to use interesting textures (slats, dark stone etc) to give the house some depth.
In my role as an exterior designer of house facades I always recommend at least one contrasting colour or material. In the example here, I added a timber feature (hidden near the bottom in this image) and also some vines to soften the overall effect.
The trick is to make it look interesting without introducing lots of colours, so timber and landscaping work wonders here. Even if your home is not of a contemporary shape (eg a 70’s brick home), you can still use the same concept of introducing the darker colours and adding accent areas to complement them.
Another factor to think about is the heat. If you live in far north Queensland, then a black house is probably not a great choice. But if your climate is cooler, these colours could help reduce your power bill. Also, did you know that dark paint is more expensive than light paint (generally)?, so make sure you factor that in to your budget before you get started!
If you’d like assistance with sprucing up your home’s facade (dark and stormy or otherwise!), you can get in touch with me here.
Jane Eyles-Bennett x
Like most owners of a tired or older home, you know that a lick of paint is going to update it in a way nothing else will. But in addition to a well-chosen colour, you can boost your street appeal by incorporating other features, materials and landscaping to give it more zest.
One of the strategies I use as an exterior designer, is what I called the Sprinkle Strategy. The sprinkle strategy is used in addition to your main house colours and is what gives your façade a more cohesive and balanced look.
I always recommend a maximum of three or four colours for an exterior home renovation. These will include your paint colours, brick, timber, windows/guttering colours and every other element that exists there – except the landscaping.
Out of your chosen 3-4 colours, you’ll have one main colour (this could be a paint colour or brick for example), then one or two trim colours. And finally, an accent colour/material. I usually recommend using a differently textured material like timber or stone for the accent. And this is where the ‘sprinkling’ comes in.
The concept is that you sprinkle your accent colour or material across your façade and front yard three to four times, roughly in a triangle or diamond shape. I like to do this because it visually ‘pulls the house together’ and makes it look and feel cohesive and attractive.
For example, imagine you’ve painted your façade, done all the trims, painted the gutters and roof and you’re now ready for the accent or contrast colour – the sprinkle. You might choose timber as your sprinkle in which case you might choose a timber front door, timber accents on the letterbox or portico and a timber-look garage door.
There is no hard and fast rule about what colours or materials should go where because sometimes you just need to work in with whatever is existing.
In the example here, you can see that the sprinkle is the timber (actually timber-look aluminium). It’s on the ‘arch’ and the two upper windows.
The key is to not have too many sprinkles on your facade. Imagine if we’d designed it with the planter box in the timber as well. I think it would have been slightly too busy and that’s why we stuck with the charcoal on the planter box for this façade.
If you want to, you can actually extend your sprinkle into your interior too. This will visually connect the interior and exterior and assist with create a nice indoor-outdoor flow.
If you’d like assistance with sprucing up your home’s facade, you can get in touch with me here.
Jane Eyles-Bennett
You’ve renovated inside and now the outside of your home looks completely out of place. Sound familiar?
Whether it’s pure Hamptons, coastal Hamptons, Coastal, Contemporary, or something else, this is a common problem for many of my home owner clients as an exterior designer here in Australia.
Inside is easy to renovate. Outside – not so much! And that’s when people start looking for help.
What’s great to know is that most houses can be tweaked towards a Coastal/Coastal-Hamptons style, even if it looks nothing like it right now.
If budget is a factor (when isn’t it!?), then consider doing some of the following things now and chipping away at the rest over time. If you can come up with a ‘master plan’ now, your final renovation will come together cohesively and look like it was all done in one shot, instead of a mish-mash pieced together over a period of time.
I think there is a misconception about what Hamptons or Coastal style is made up of. Colour is absolutely an important factor, but it is by no means the only one. Weatherboard cladding helps, but it’s not the be all and end all. Gable roofs do wonders but again not essential.
The most important details on a Coastal-Hamptons home are the following;
– Light and bright colour scheme (render brick to create a clean backdrop)
– Accents of fresh white – eg guttering and trims
– Lots of texture made up from details in the gables, balustrades, and other accent areas
– Window mouldings
– Interesting doors in a contrasting colour
– Minimal soft landscaping and a variety of textured pots
– Simple fencing in a crisp clean colour (often white but not always)
Awnings, gable vents, frieze rails and balustrades can also add to a Coastal-Hamptons vibe on the right home.
The trick is to get the right balance to ensure an interesting and elegant combination of products, colours and materials, but not too much.
If you’d like my help achieving a beautiful Coastal-Hamptons look on the exterior of your home, you can get in touch with me here.
Jane Eyles-Bennett x
Join 11,000+ other renovators in my Facebook Group ‘Home Renovators Network Australia’ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/HomeRenovatorsNetworkAustralia/) for feedback & ideas as you update your home.
