Beautiful Ways To Refresh The Outside Of Your Home

May 6

April showers have the made way for May flowers and now is the time to start looking at the outside of our homes to spruce and refresh. As I’ve done before with my family room, I’m using my personal home - aka the CK Hoffman Design Laboratory - as an example.

In the 26 years since we built our house, I have continually refreshed and updated the exterior as well as the interior. For the latest transformation, I moved away from our home’s more formal, tailored look with shutters and English style landscaping and went forward with a more loose, Craftsman/Transitional look.

Before and After

To start, I removed the shutters and changed out the front door and handle, door bell, house numbers and exterior lights. To complete the transformation, we repainted the house with new color palette. We also achieved the desired look by changing up the landscape. All these adjustments overall created a more relaxed and casual vibe, plus the yard became more “earth friendly” because we removed the lawn and added lots of shrubs, grasses and flowers.

Simple and Easy Changes To Make

Exterior paint consulting has been a huge and enjoyable part of my work, but over time, I’ve discovered you don’t always have to paint your house to get a big change in your look. Below are a few basics steps to update the outside of your home – some are just so easy, you’ll be amazed.

Potted Flowers
Easiest and biggest bang for your buck. Even if you do nothing to your existing landscape, just filling a pot or two (or more!) with some pretty flowers for your porch will bring a huge boost to the first impression of your home!

A New Door Mat
Always such a fresh and nice upgrade, I sometimes do this two or three times a year.
Clean and Spruce

Clean out weeds and old leaves from your planting beds
Remove any dead plants, add a few a perennials or evergreen shrubs in any bare spots
Add color spots – pansies are always a pretty choice
Refresh the bark – best color bark to use is the aged Hemlock which a rich dark brown
Sweep your front porch and wipe away cobwebs
Power wash your driveway
A gentle power wash of the exterior of your home is recommended every few years
Resources: Cornell Farms Nursery, Danny's Green Surface Cleaning LLC and Blessings Landscapes

Add a Touch of Art to Your Yard

I’m a huge fan of yard ornaments – all of the garden stores have them! These objects are like little jewels you can scatter in between your plants to add to the color, texture and interest. They add a little personality throughout your yard. I also love decorative rocks! Resources – Oregon Decorative Rock, Backyard Bird Shop and Cornell Farms Nursery

**Entice feathered friends with a bird bath**

**Reflect your personality with unique pieces**

Add Some Finishing Touches

These super simple changes add so much:

New door bell
New exterior lights
New house numbers

Resources - Cornell Farms Nursery, Globe Lighting and Chown Hardware

Paint the Exterior and Change Out Your Front Door

These two are little more complicated, but these are heavier hitters for sure! Most people wait too long to repaint – even though the “high quality” paints say that they last 10 – 25 years. The true answer to this is “sort of”. The paint can be in good condition, but the caulking at your windows and siding need resealing every 7 – 10 years. Paint DOES last a long time on siding with a cement Hardi-Plank type of material (used on many of the homes in the West Hills), but the door and window trim is typically cedar, which needs to be painted more often. A good schedule that works for me: paint the trim every 3 – 4 years, then paint the exterior every 7 years.
Resources: Simpson Door Company, Therma Tru Doors, Kwikset, and Emtek

**Painted with Sherwin Williams Emerald Exterior Paint**

What Colors Should You Choose??

This is a tricky question – and one of my favorites things to do in my job! Because of “metamerism,” which is the phenomenon of how the same color can look totally different in different lights, choosing the correct color for the outside of your home is crucial. Light changes drastically throughout the day, and also throughout the seasons. The trick is to find a color that looks good in all the differing lights.

**Source: Two Day Painting, Waukesha, WI**

The best way to do choose your colors is by getting lots and lots of samples. It is not uncommon for me to order 10 different choices:

4 colors for the exterior
3 colors for the front door (if it’s being painted not stained)
3 colors for the window and door trim.

Long story short, picking the right color is harder than it might seem – that said here are some good guidelines…

House Body Colors - Best to stick with neutrals – muted tones greys, creams, greens and blues. Dark colors like charcoals, blues, greens, reds, and sometimes purple look amazing, but require a little finesse when selecting. Maybe best to use some professional assistance when using these.

**Exterior siding paint suggestions (paint from Sherwin Williams)**

Door and Window Trim - Typically some shade of white – my go to favorites are Sherwin Williams Alabaster and Snowbound, as they are nice soft whites. I caution against a “white-white,” think Pure White or Extra White, they can be too harsh, especially in direct sunlight. Dark trim color is now becoming more popular as well, Sherwin Williams Peppercorn or Black Fox are often times good options, but with these colors, I advise professional assistance.

**Exterior trim paint suggestions (paint from Sherwin Williams)**

Front Door Colors - Good basics are black, navy, green and charcoal. With front doors you can be a little more adventurous – turquoise, purple, and some reds may look really great depending on which shade you choose! And… since you’re repainting, it is a really good time to consider changing out your front door and starting fresh.

**Miller Paint Top 10 Door Paint Colors**

Last tip – I use the best quality paint available – my home was painted two years ago using Sherwin Williams Emerald Exterior Paint and it still looks really fresh and newly painted.

Professional Assistance by CK Hoffman Design

In my humble opinion, it always makes sense to seek out professional assistance. Even if you’re not repainting or changing out the front door this year, it is always helpful to look at or create a “master plan” to determine the easy fixes you should you now. It’s good to have an idea of WHAT and WHEN the next phase might be and what steps you should you take and who you should consider hiring.

Because we’re a design/build firm, if and when you’re ready to proceed with your project, we can be your one-stop-shop for all of the (best) vendors and subcontractors you’ll need:

Painter
Siding repair person
Installer for new door
Electrician (for the doorbell and new exterior lights)
Power washer
Landscaper

Consider a Exterior Home Consultation Which Is…

Socially Distanced
1 ½ hr long
Only $350

CONTACT ME FOR AN EXTERIOR CONSULTATION

Caryl Hoffman