Here are six architectural updates that can transform your home into a neighbourhood showpiece.
Adding architectural details to your home’s exterior is the perfect way to improve its curb appeal and honour its roots, whatever its style.
Install a custom wood door
Real wood doors are much higher quality than pre-fabricated doors. They fit better, last longer, and can be designed to match your personality.
Custom exterior doors can be constructed out of a wide variety of woods, complete with hand-carved filigrees or mouldings that match the style of your home. They can feature stained glass or clear glass windows of nearly any imaginable shape and size.
Custom bi-fold and sliding doors can add beauty and elegance to other areas of your home, including the backyard, patio, or garden retreat. From the inside they work to frame the view, and from the outside they showcase the light within.
Related: Three ways to make your home stand out in the neighbourhood
Porticos and columns
If the entry to your home feels too plain, consider adding a portico. A portico is a porch-like structure with a roof supported by columns. These structures can be built in a wide variety of styles, using square or rounded columns and a flat, pitched, or domed roofs that provide shelter from the elements.
Update the facade
The exterior of your home is its face, and it sets the overall tone for the building. For a new facelift, consider stone, wood, or stucco.
Enhance the entryway
What does your entryway say about your home? Accent details, such as the mailbox, lighting, door hardware and accessories, and new decorative features such as planter boxes and art pieces can lend big impact.
Also, take a close look at the exterior of your home to determine what could benefit from an update. Replace the old wooden stairs leading to your porch with stone steps, or replace the metal porch railing with custom-made wrought iron railings or wooden balustrades.
Update the windows
If your home is ready for some new windows, take a look at some custom options before settling on plain and simple square replacements. From multi-paned to classic arched Palladian windows, the style you choose can dramatically transform the exterior of your home and increase its curb appeal.
Add some shutters
Consider dressing up simple windows with shutters. Shutters can frame your windows in a variety of styles — from stately to ornate — and can be custom-designed to fit your aesthetic and your home’s architectural style. Paint them in a colour that is complimentary to your home’s overall colour palette. This works to create a cohesiveness to the exterior of your home.
An important rule of thumb when choosing exterior doors and other architectural details is to stay true to the original architectural style of your home. Don’t try to turn a cottage into a Victorian showpiece, or give a gothic exterior an ultra-modern makeover. However, don’t be afraid to combine architectural styles to create a harmonious marriage of compatible details that will make your home truly unique and utterly yours.
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