Improving Your Home's Exterior
Saturday, December 20, 2008 by dev
There are many incentives why homeowners long for an improved home exterior. Perhaps you want to sell your residence in the future, are bored stiff with the old look or wish to add equity to your home. Painting, landscaping and new window shutters will give your home fantastic results.
Exterior paint can chip because of dire weather conditions or abuse from the sun. Deciding on what paint you want for your residence is an exhilarating process. Remember that if your home is of a particular architectural design, you may want to choose paint that is authentic to the house's historical context. Flip through books and magazines to find out colors that were traditionally used for your home's architectural style. Have old paint chips analyzed to find the original color. There is no mandatory rule when picking a color. Nonetheless, if you want to sell your home in the future, stick to traditional colors or your home's original paint color.
There are three different shades to choose when purchasing paint. You need a color for the siding. Then, you must choose one color for the eaves, moldings and trim. Lastly, you should opt for a color for doors, window sashes and railings. You may want to use complimentary colors or paint with contrasting trim to emphasize the fine craftsmanship of your home. Light colors will make your home look bigger and darker colors will give a home a rustic look.
When selecting how to landscape your home, first, go through books to find landscaping plans that harmonize with your personal taste and style. Then illustrate a plan of your yard and incorporate all constructed elements such as fences, swimming pools and gazebos. Decide what sort of lawn you would like to have. Do you want gravel or grass? Would your like your own vegetable garden or do want only ornate plants? Many yards mix herbs, vegetables and fruit trees with ornamental plants. Go to your neighborhood nursery and ask about the flowers of your region. A nursery will be able to tell how much work is required when taking care of specific plants. You may want an elegant look or an English garden. On your plan, draw flowerbeds, walkways and trees. Be inventive in this process because improving your yard can be amusing and the options are almost infinite.
Window shutters can become hideous when they start flaking, tearing and decaying. There are four types of shutters, which consist of louvered, raised panel, board and batten and Bahama. Shutters are made of either wood or polyvinyl. Various homeowners choose wood shutters over polyvinyl, because of polyvinyl has tendency to crack. Wood shutters come in a few types of woods including pine, western cedar, cypress, California redwood, which all have wonderful benefits and downfalls. Regardless of the fact that cypress and cedar will not rot, it is always important to guard the wood with a sealer.
Make a plan for how you want you house to appear. Then create a budget of how much you are willing to spend. There are loads of ways to spruce up a home's appearance that are cost-effective and rewarding for both you and your home.
If you are looking for a new home, be sure to view the Sherman Oaks realty or the Simi Valley, CA realty. There is a wide variety available. Or look at the South Gated homes that are on the market. You are sure to find just what you've been looking for.
About the Author:April Walters is a real estate expert. She writes articles that will help her clients and others to understand the ins and outs of the business, so they know what to expect. She gets many of her leads from real estate Internet marketing.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/improving-your-homes-exterior-690376.html
