Top Reno Tips - Street Appeal (Part 4)
This is our fourth house renovation and we’re undertaking it whilst living here with our four kids and two dogs. We’re doing the renovation in stages. So far on the blog I’ve discussed Stage 1 (Flooring), Stage 2 (Wall Paint), Stage 3 (Bathrooms) and today it’s all about the changing up the exterior to create street appeal.
I’ve found that taking our time with each stage of the renovation has been great as it’s given us time to really think about how we use the house and outdoor spaces and how we could use it better. So now, let’s talk about Street Appeal.
Street Appeal (Part 4)
When we first bought our house it had zero street appeal. This didn’t bother us as we knew we could turn an ugly duckling into a swan. The three previous houses that we’ve renovated were also ugly ducklings. Creating a swan was something we knew how to do.
To create street appeal there were some major changes needed:
Front Garden - removing all the old shrubs and thousands of white pebbles;
Barnacles - removing the barnacles (or ‘add-ons’) to the house such as a side verandah, privacy screen covering a pathway, decorative steel fish (?!?!), an old BBQ area and a fountain wall in the pool (which blocked the view);
Landscaping;
Exterior Painting;
Replacing old balustrading; and
Replacing gutters.
Exterior Painting
This is a big ticket item but it makes the most difference to the look and feel of the house. The house was mustard and blue and we changed it to white. I still marvel at the difference! See the before and after (as well as all the details on the white paint I chose) here. Photo 3 above shows the house after it was painted white.
Stage 5 - Battens on Veranda
To add some street appeal, I removed the old fashioned balustrades and added ‘timber’ battens. I’ve done a separate post with all the details here. In the photos 1 and 4 above I’m inspecting the balustrades. I replaced them with Deco-Battens (photo 2 above).
Next Steps
Stage 6 - is replacing the old sliding doors and some windows.
Stage 7 - is going to be the new mudroom and laundry.
Stage 8 - will be the new kitchen.
Stick around, the best is yet to come.
Amber x
PS. Want more tips on transforming your home from an ugly duckling to a swan? Become a Studio V insider here.
