House Exterior
Kiwis chase the sun, all year round. When the front of the house is the best spot for sun (north facing) and spreads into outdoor living, landscapers solve the problem of regulations for high swimming pool fences by inserting a wide bed of grasses, trimmed mop top robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Umbraculifera’), to soften the edges at streetscape.
All-white and layered neutrals Whatever your home’s style, a palette based around neutrals delivers timeless appeal. “Whites and neutrals are colours that most home enthusiasts feel comfortable with scheming for the home exterior,” Lucena-Orr says. “These include white, beige, grey, greige, taupe, charcoal, black and tan in many varieties of shades and tones. Using shades of neutrals in a monochromatic scheme can create a timeless look.”
An all-grey palette is particularly effective with period homes, striking the perfect balance between formal and inviting. For a cool, contemporary look, consider picking out balustrades, iron lacework and other decorative details in a darker version of the wall colour. “Architectural detail on older homes can either be painted white along with the other trim, or quite often is painted a deeper shade of the main colour to add interest and focus,”
Grey on grey The last word in elegance, grey is versatile enough to be used on all styles of architecture. “Undoubtedly, grey is here to stay for a while,” Stephenson says. “We’re seeing a lot of blue-based grey in coastal areas, while charcoal and even black is a popular choice in the urban landscape. There are many terrace houses in the city in a mid- to deep-tone grey, with a bright front door.” Whether your preference is for silvery, bleached-out greys or darker steely-blue hues, you can build a high-impact grey palette with just three shades: walls, trim, and guttering/fascia boards. Working with tonal variations of the same colour creates cohesion across the facade.
Down to earth Colours inspired by our own sunburnt country are inherently appealing in any setting. A palette of earthy hues takes its cues from the colours of the surrounding landscapes. Build the look with layers of warm ochres, slate grey and rich browns, incorporating tactile elements of timber, brick and stone. This type of colour scheme is easy on the eye and can add warmth and interest to the stark lines of contemporary architecture.
For timeless elegance, you can’t go past a classic, two-colour palette. Pairing a muted pastel on the walls with a white trim looks clean and fresh, and is particularly well suited to weatherboard homes. Picking out window frames, fretwork and other architectural details in crisp white conveys a Hamptons feel.
Black or charcoal paired with white is also a visually arresting choice for heritage-style and weatherboard homes. “A popular look at the moment is to have the weatherboards or main colour in a darker grey with a crisp white on trims, windows and features,” says Lucena-Orr. “A vibrant dash of red can really finish the scheme and give the exterior a contemporary look.”
1950s house
What can be done to a 50s house
What to consider when fencing a heritage property For a period property, such as a red brick Federation cottage, you can honour the feel of the property by going with a heritage-style fence. Heritage-style fences are characterised by restraint, elegance and the absence of striking contrasts that you find with modern fencing.
Set up systems now to make it easy to keep things organised in the future. For example, the easiest place to store waste bins is close to the street, concealed by a structure or clipped hedge. Designate a spot for the bins so that putting them away in the future will take minimal effort.
Unlike most verandah roofs, which slope toward the ground, this one angles up. The roofline lets in the winter sun, keeps out the summer sun and allows for a view of the sky.
The back porch is a new addition. The rear of the house had previously been defined by a poorly integrated addition topped by a single sloped shed roof,
Improving a low sloping roof
Add a hot-red accent Red has such vibrancy; a little goes a very long way. Try a bright red bench, planter or letterbox to add zing that can be seen from across the street.
4. Polish or repaint your house number for good feng shui 5. Update your mailbox 6. Light the way to your front door with solar-powered garden lights 7. Sweep away the cobwebs and grime around your entryway
Mid grey and lime green Freshen up a grey palette with a high-chroma colour, such as a pop of lime green. This works for both exteriors and interiors. TIP: To ensure you have the right shade of green, lean more towards mid-green than yellow as some yellow-greens have the potential to make people feel a little nauseated.
Make it vanish Take advantage of a sloping site to tuck your garage back into the site. Here Auckland’s Creative Arch architects have used a number of visual tricks to make the ground-level garage disappear into the background. Painting the ground-level walls and door a single dark colour makes them recede, while cantilevering the cedar screening beyond the house draws the eye to the upper floors. By wrapping strong stairs from the street to the front door and adding a dark plastered wall around the courtyard to the left, they have balanced out the bulk of the garage.
In fact, a good tip for picking out a siding color that complements your brick or stone is to pull a color you like out of the brick/stone. This handsome house features an interesting palette of black and a steely blue-green along with the red brick. The blue-green and red brick are complementary (opposite each other on the color wheel), so they offer maximum contrast from one another, each intensifying the other.
Add big, bold house numbers It’s so easy to replace house numbers, and this one task can make a huge impact. Echo your house style in the numbers you choose – a clean sans serif font for a modern house, handpainted tiles for a cottage, aged copper for a rustic-style home, etc. 2. Paint the front door A front door that ‘pops’ can be hugely cheering. A relatively small effort can make a huge difference to your home’s exterior.
olor surprise. Adding an unexpected hue to that brick wall gives it a point of difference and a contemporary twist — just right for this studio, which is just as colorful within.
Another tip for deciding where to add a contrasting hue is to look for areas broken up by a line of trim, such as on the gables of this lovely home. Unlike in the previous examples, these are not shades of the same color, but because the gold is soft and the taupe is neutral they work well together, as well as with the colors in the landscape.
Of course, two-tone schemes need not be limited to contemporary-style homes. And you don’t necessarily need to go bold, either. A subtle color contrast is a good option for a more traditional home. Pick a house color you like and simply go a couple of steps lighter or darker on the swatch card to find your coordinating hue.
This pergola over the front gate creates a strong visual link with the traditional character of the house. Setting the gate back from the footpath a little provides an inviting porch-like space that mediates between the street and the green private world beyond.
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