Ideas for your home exterior to reach peak kerb appeal

You may not be able to judge a book by its cover – but as far as homes go, first impressions always count.

From fabulous entranceway lighting and hardware down to the stepping stones beneath your feet, achieving peak kerb appeal for your home exterior without a total renovation takes clever planning and styling.

Make a positive impact by updating your exterior and improving your home’s overall look, starting with these clever tips and tricks.

PAINT

To make quick and dramatic changes to the exterior of your home, it’s hard to go past a fresh coat of paint. The general rule of thumb is to pick out four colours that work in tonally with your roof.

If you’re wanting an extra pop of colour, opt for a contrasting, bold hue for your front door and window trims. For this Melbourne home, the team from Peachy Green opted for a custom shade of light blue that accentuates the rich tones of the adjacent timber cladding.

LANDSCAPING

Plants play a significant part in making your entryway eye-catching. A manicured garden ensures your home looks well cared for, elevating its street appeal no end. Natives or climbing plants are a great option for anyone seeking something low maintenance.

If you’re short on space, group planters by the door instantly add texture, as Formed Gardens did for this home on the NSW South Coast. And never underestimate the power of a freshly mown lawn for that added wow factor.

ENTRYWAYS AND PATHS

Pathways are necessary, not only for navigating your front yard but also in contributing to the overall outdoor aesthetic of your home. Stepping stones are the simplest way to build a path to your door because they’re cost-effective, easy to install and can be tailored to your design taste.

Bluestone billets broken up with some soft ground cover create a relaxed, cottage-garden feel for this Melbourne home.

CLADDING

As well as protecting your home from weather, cladding is an attractive architectural feature. Your location – be it near the beach, backing onto bush or in the city – will determine which type of cladding is best suited to your home’s character and needs.

Most cladding options are low-maintenance, cost-effective and pack a punch in terms of updating the overall look. Materials range from timber and stone to metal and brick. A mix of them, such as timber and stone, is a great way to bring some dimension to a home’s facade.

This waterfront property in NSW boasts bold timber cladding coated in Woca exterior wood oil in Anthracite, a perfect fit for the surrounding gardens.

FENCES AND GATES

A great fence can strengthen privacy and keep children and pets in safely if required. It can also be used to enhance the best features of your garden. So it goes without saying that choosing a fence which marries up with your home’s exterior is essential in establishing a cohesive external aesthetic.

Shown at this Sydney home is a timber panel fence atop a sandstone wall, generating colour and texture while still allowing the garden’s horticultural elements to shine.

DRIVEWAY

Few people think about their driveway when considering kerb-side appeal, but updating yours could be a cost-effective way to complete the transformation. If your driveway is concrete that’s old or stained, painting it could dramatically improve things – just remember to prime properly beforehand and choose a paint colour in keeping with the general look.

At this coastal home in Sydney, a freshly installed concrete driveway ties in beautifully with the property’s recycled brick walls and sandstone fence.

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