Imagine clear blue skies, warm weather, well manicured green landscape, a show stopping family house and a white picket fence to wrap it all in. This is what everyone envisions when they imagine their dream home. As much as this is breathtaking, it calls for great skills and a creative mind.
When it comes to constracting, renovating and redecorating homes, most people tend to pay more focus to the interior and not the exterior. This shouldn’t be so because people actually encounter the outdoors before getting a glimpse of what’s indoors. This is your opportunity to put your right foot forward and give your guests, neighbors and passersby a sample of your taste, skills and personality. If you’re wondering what to do to spruce up your exterior, these tips will get the ball rolling for you.
1. A Solid Exterior Structure
Before you think of making the landscape of your exterior beautiful to look at, the house needs to be solid. Your family needs to sleep peacefully without worrying about a leaking roof or a faulty door. There’s a wide variety of roofing options for you to choose from. You can choose a color that sits well with the overall look. You can also make this choice depending on your location. If you live in a place that experiences extreme weather, the roof needs to be properly fixed so as the shingles don’t get blown off.
2. Landscape
The whole idea of enjoying the great outdoors is soaking in and becoming one with the natural beauty. The ambience needs to be completely different from the indoors. When it comes to landscaping your home’s exterior, you probably needs to work with a professional in order to get it right. A large front and backyard allows you more freedom to try out different landscaping techniques.
No matter what you’re working with, the grass on your exterior needs to be short and evenly cut. Trees, shrubs and bushes can be cut in any shape depending on your preference. For privacy, it is advisable to let your trees grow out. This is especially so for homes that have neighbors living close by.
3. Floral Color Addition
The green from the trees, bushes and shrubs can be excessive and monotonous. This is why you need to add some color. Flowers are not only divine to smell on but beautiful to look at as well. Add a few hints of flowers to your yard. This depends in the available space that you are working with.
If yours is a large yard, you can incorporate different colored flowers and even space them out. For a small yard, choose one or two colors for the flowers. If you do not have ample room to space them out, plant them in a neat way at the front of your house and make it your exterior flower garden.
4. The Patio Splash of Color
Your backyard entertaining days are about to be colorful and fun. An easy way of giving your patio a fresh face is by artistically adding splashes of Color. Furniture is a great way of doing this. The furniture doesn’t have to be over the top and expensive. Wicker and metallic frame seats plus a table are preferred for exterior decor. Plastic is also a viable option in this case.
Throw some colorful throw pillows on them and observe the life trickle in. This can also be done by placing some colorful coasters on the table and even a rag. The ideal colors in this case are fun candy colors such as; pink, sky blue, apple green, red and yellow. They also blend in very well together which is a bonus.
5. Lively Sculptures
Sitting out on a warm bright evening, sipping on your favorite wine or tea will not feel too lonely with a few garden sculptures keeping you company all around your exterior. You can choose to create a sense of mystery by having them spread out in the grass. If you want them to define the mood of the back yard, opt for large sized sculptures. These can be in the form of animals, artistic figures, instruments or shapes.
6. A Cosy Lounge Spot
Nature is to be enjoyed so consider putting together a comfortable lounge area to soak in the peace and tranquility out there. If yours is rarely used, small in size or you’re working with a limited budget, you can simply opt for a hammock.
If a hammock doesn’t quite work for you, choose a swing for your exterior. The best thing about a swing is that you can throw some pillows on and even throw a rag underneath for warmth and color.
However, if you intend to frequent your backyard with family or friends, you should create a proper sitting area. In this case, wicker chairs and a coffee table are ideal. They can withstand harsh weather without compromising your comfort.
For this, you do not need four walls to set the sitting area around. Simply cluster them up strategically in an open space and that’s it. Hang a Chinese lantern over the table and put a rag underneath the table.
7. Lighting
The outdoor exterior can be naturally bright during the day but the same cannot be said about the night. If you have long trees, bushes and shrubs grouped up in a small area, it is bound to be dark. This will determine how much artificial light you’ll need out there.
String lights are a common choice for the exterior. With a large exterior to work with, you should consider garden lights and evenly distribute them amongst the vegetation. You can choose different colored bulbs for a dramatic and fun effect especially for a party. LED bulbs are a worthy consideration as they consume less energy hence saving on power bills.
In addition to this, consider other specialized lights for instance, reading lamps the patio is where you prefer to turning a few pages of your favorite book.
There are several ways that one can go with exterior decoration and designing. Remember, this is your home and should reflect your taste and preference. If you do not feel confident about this project, you could hire a professional landscaper to work hand in hand with. It doesn’t matter which way you go as long as you achieve a creative, functional and scenic look for your exterior.
