Don’t over-commit on your home’s exterior renovation – small updates can make a massive difference and save you thousands!
It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that a complete overhaul is necessary, but the truth is that you can often make a big impact to your home’s exterior with even just minor adjustments – when you do the right things.
While your ‘go-to’ solution of a re-paint and a yard tidy are valid, you’ll find there are numerous other ways to make small but significant changes – and allow you to beautifully update your home without breaking the bank.
Every day I hear about home owners doing unnecessary updates, using the wrong colours, making mistakes that could have been avoidable, and forgetting the small but essential tweaks that would otherwise have transformed their home.
Investing in design help is the best way to avoid these problems and ensuring you make the very most of the money you spend on your renovation. Here are some others;
1) Use cost-effective materials and products generously – depending on your home and budget, this might include painting, rendering or inexpensive cladding, landscaping and other items that cover largers areas on your home.
2) Use more expensive materials and products sparingly – this might include feature stone, timber (or timber-look) cladding, new lighting, hardscaping features and other areas where small accents can make a big impact.
3) Focus on small updates – give your home a fresh look by updating your front door, adding new wall lights, planting a feature tree, replacing old paths with pavers, fixing up your front fence and painting old windows.
4) DIY where possible – Make your $$$ go further by doing some of the work yourself (or have a working bee with your family and friends by bribing them with pizza and beer!). For example, painting easy-to-access areas, landscaping, easy hardscaping and any cleaning/power-washing. However, it’s important to be realistic about your skills and abilities. If you’re not comfortable doing a particular task, it’s better to hire a professional than to risk causing damage to your home.
5) Shop around for products & tradies – I find a good way is to email/text photos or plans and have a quick phone discussion and get a ballpark figure before inviting tradies or suppliers to your home to quote. Get a few quotes before committing as there may be a significant difference in your options. And remember, the most expensive is not always best and the cheapest is not always worst!
For a fool-proof way to updating the exterior of your home, check out my Facade Design Plan service.
We’ll work through options together on Live video (Zoom) so you are involved with the development of the concept and can assist in creating a look you will love (I will also introduce new ideas/tweaks and extra details to bring the best out of the house).
Send me a photo of your home to jane@hotspaceconsultants.com or ph 0411705556 to see if it’s suitable for the Facade Design Plan service.
Jane