Finally, the summer outdoor entertaining season is here. It’s the perfect time to harmonize your home’s outdoor, landscaping, and exterior elements with the neighborhood (or stand out).
Whether you’re doing it to improve your property before selling it, or because you want your home to look the part in your neighborhood’s landscape, you might want to consider some exterior upgrades and cool touches.
To help you turn this vision into reality, we’ve listed our top six favorite home exterior ideas, which you can implement right away.
6 Home Exterior Ideas to Blend in or Stand Out
#1. Perfect Exterior Color Coordination
Choosing your house’s exterior paint color is the most significant decision that impacts the harmony of your neighborhood. Opting for neighborhood palette colors helps maintain a unified aesthetic, thus fostering a sense of community.
Also, consider the local landscape and regional colors. Integrate native elements into your home’s exterior color scheme for a seamless and natural look. It can be anything from the arid tones of a desert landscape to the lush greenery of a suburban area.
The safest bet is to opt for neutral shades, like white, beige, or grey. But, whatever color you choose, make sure it complements the style and aesthetics of your home.
#2. Refresh the Landscaping
Professionally revamping your outdoor landscaping is a sure-shot way to improve the curb appeal. However, it doesn’t have to be an expensive venture. Minimally, refreshing the landscaping can make a huge difference.
For example, you can:
- Mow and edge the lawn, ensuring it’s fertilized, watered, and free from weeds
- Add a mulch of flower bed around trees
- Install wall-mounted planters or vertical gardens to walls or fences
- Incorporate hardscaping elements–walls, stone borders, or decorative rock features.
Rotating seasonal decorations like wreaths or flags will also help your home blend in with the neighborhood.
#3. Install a Porcelain Paver
Porcelain pavers are gaining popularity for all the right reasons: quick installation, durability, resistance to stains, scratches, fading, low maintenance, cost-effectiveness, and more.
Adding it to your home’s exterior–front walkway, pool deck, patio, courtyard, or garden pathway–enhances curb appeal. They contribute to the overall aesthetic of the neighborhood with their clean and modern look. But more importantly, their coordinated designs help you create a cohesive appeal and a sense of balance.
So, install porcelain pavers in your outdoor living space. And while it’s better to have them installed by professionals, you can also DIY the entire project, provided you have some experience and knowledge.
#4. Maintain Architectural Consistency
Every neighborhood has an architectural vernacular rooted in culture, history, or regional influences. They take on the personalities of their residents with a rhythm, scale, and proportion that adds cohesiveness to the locality.
For example, you might live in a historic neighborhood characterized by traditional architecture. Here, you can maintain architectural consistency by opting for conventional elements such as colonial-style windows, clapboard siding, and symmetrical facades.
Invest in quality materials that contribute to your home’s architectural authenticity. For example, you can choose natural stone veneers or brick accents that complement the architectural style of your neighborhood and convey a sense of timeless elegance.
#5. Revamp Outdoor Lighting
Lights are one of the most powerful ways to achieve a cohesive and visually appealing harmony. This is true, especially when you select lighting fixtures that complement your home’s exterior colors, landscaping, and neighborhood.
Opt for a high-gloss finish fixture to add an elegant and sophisticated touch–if the neighborhood appeals to luxury and modern aesthetics.
Even better, adopt a layer lighting approach to create dimension, depth, and visual interest in the exterior. Combine lighting, such as wall-mounted scones or pendant lights near the entryway. The aim is to accentuate your home’s architectural features, like arches, eaves, and columns.
Brownie Tip: Illuminate your pathways with landscaping lighting. Along with improving safety, it can dramatically uplift the property’s nighttime appeal.
#6. Integrate Community Amenities
Lastly, focus on incorporating community amenities into your outdoor design. While adding curb appeal and value to your property, this would also foster a sense of connectivity and belonging within the neighborhood.
Start with integrating shared features and communal space to create an inclusive and harmonious environment.
You can also work closely with the homeowners’ associations to develop collaborative plans that align with your home’s exterior designs. For example, you could partner with them to install neighborhood signs, street lighting, landscape enhancements, or a walking pathway.
Streetscaping around your exterior will also encourage a vibrant and pedestrian-friendly atmosphere, thus fostering community engagement. Consider adding street furniture (like benches), bike racks, or beautiful trash receptacles along sidewalks.
Putting it All Together
Whether shifting to a new neighborhood or preparing the property for a high-scale sale, your home’s exterior will play a predominant role in its success. Above all, a good-looking house that blends harmoniously with the neighborhood (or stands out, if that’s your goal) fills you with pride.
However, while undertaking the DIY project, don’t fall into the trap of:
Going overboard: Start with one upgrade at a time, and don’t get carried away. For example, there can be such a thing as too many flowers or trees–and while it’ll look beautiful, it can also take away from the curb appeal.
Making bold changes: Avoid being too dramatic with the exterior paint. Stick to neutrals or the neighborhood palette.
Not consulting your HOA: Ensure all your upgrade plans (say installing an outdoor structure) are within the rules.
The rest depends on your budget, time, and creativity. So, put your favorite tips from above into practice and transform your home’s exterior–one step at a time.
Make sure you look into our blog for more tips on how to improve your property, and explore Allaroundmoving for our great moving solutions.
We hope you found this blog post on Neighborhood Harmony: 6 Home Exterior Ideas To Blend (Or Stand Out!), useful. Be sure to check out our post on Home Improvement Projects to Make a Home More Valuable for more great tips!
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