Having a small home is not a bad thing. If anything, it allows you to be creative and turn it into a cozy haven. A lot has been said about improving the interior, but house exterior design can also contribute to transforming a small house.
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Small Home Exterior
Here are some easy tips and ideas that can turn your modest outdoor area into a riveting sight.
Plant a colorful garden
Plants can make all the difference in your house’s exterior design. Potted plants can make your entry welcoming, while flowers on the window sill can make the façade come to life. However, a nice flower garden full of colours and fragrances can make your house feel more like home.
Mix evergreen shrubs, like boxwood with low-growing flowery plants, like hydrangeas and yarrow. This will perfectly bring together different shades of green with lively colours of the flowers making your house stand out and looking bigger.
Update a facade with paint
An old façade may have that vintage charm, but it can make your house unappealing if the paint is chipped and the surface is full of cracks. One of the easiest ways to transform a small house is with fresh and light paint. Using the same colour in different shades can be effective in masking the smallness of your house, giving it a sophisticated and elegant look.
The bright façade with a dark roof is a classic, but you can still play with shades here. Use off-white tones, like butter yellow or beige to create a serene and eye-catching exterior design that will go well with any landscape.
Build a fence
It may seem like a big endeavour to build a fence, but it all depends on the type of materials you use. Sometimes a simple hedge is perfect to give you privacy and make your house exterior more alive. A modest gate with an arch made of jasmine or wisteria can be a nice way to say ‘welcome’ to your visitors.
Building a fence around your property will make your house look bigger by isolating it from other properties in the neighbourhood. However, make sure that you use a short fence or transparent one so that your house is not concealed from view. Otherwise, it can look tiny and barely catch an eye from the passers-by.
Cover for your front door
If there are layers to your exterior design, it can create an optical illusion that your house is bigger than it is. This may sound like something expensive for your budget, but actually, it can be done with only a few basic additions. One of them is a cover over your front door you can build to match your roof or just use a few boards to create a permanent awning.
To make it all more interesting, give your front door a makeover with new paint, to make it pop from the façade. Allowing climbing vines to take over your entryway is another way to achieve an ideal welcoming accent.
Upgrade your roof
The roof is something easily noticeable from the street, making it one of the central details in house exterior design. If it looks great — everyone will marvel at its beauty, but if it looks wrong — it can seriously affect the curb appeal.
Slate roofing will not only make your house look gorgeous, but is also durable, fireproof, and weather-resistant. Just make sure to pick a hue that will go well with your façade and match the architectural style of your house to achieve the best aesthetic result.
Install more lights
Lighting is an important addition to your house exterior that will put certain aspects on display and make you feel more comfortable. The most practical solution is installing solar lamps along the pathway since they are budget-friendly and don’t need electrical wiring.
A couple of wall lanterns will give a relaxing setting to the porch and go hand in hand with the light above the front door. If you want to create a more intimate mood, use string lights you can hand on the wall, railing, or tree branches.
Complete windows with shutters
Shutters are another addition that will bring more layers to your house exterior. Adding shutters to windows can give a cottagey charm to your small house. White plantation shutters on the cream walls can make your façade larger and more spacious giving the illusion of a more spacious interior.
If you have small windows, open shutters by each side can make them look bigger, especially if they are painted in contrasting shades. Moreover, if you have a lot of greenery around your house, shutters will contribute to the more natural feel of your house and make it more organic.
All in all
Transforming a small house can be tricky since you want to avoid details that will downsize it visually. Although renovations can be costly, some house exterior design tips and tricks can help you gain wonderful results on the budget. The best of it all is that you can unleash your creative streak and give your home a personal touch, making it unique.
