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Showing posts with label curb appeal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label curb appeal. Show all posts
Thursday, 25 May 2017
Curb Appeal - First Impressions
Monday, 6 March 2017
Making an Entrance - A Black Door
Just as a white door can look striking against a black or grey house, a black door against white or pale grey paintwork can look amazing. However, if you have a narrow door, painting it black it can make your doorway look smaller, so let's look at a simple trick to prevent this.
Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Front Entry - Curb Appeal on a Budget
Photograph via Alpana.deshmukh on Instagram
The first impression you receive of a home is the exterior, so the exterior of your home should be as inviting as you can make it. Landscaping need not cost thousands of dollars, it may simply mean planting something that will give your home the 'wow' factor such as this amazing wisteria or some carefully placed pots.
Friday, 23 October 2015
Spaces to Love - Week 8, Curb Appeal
Above: A pergola can make a huge impact on an entrance way - Landscape Designers AHBL Above - Designers AHBL
Friday, 16 January 2015
Bungalow - From Heritage To Contemporary
Growing up in New Zealand I wanted to live in one of those cute little villas you see in the Auckland suburbs of Ponsonby, however, when we were searching for the perfect do up, we ended up with a 1930's bungalow in a tree lined street in Mt Albert. Although it didn't have quite the same exterior charm as a villa, we found the interior more spacious and loved the built in features. The NZ bungalow is now the focus of a major new book about NZ bungalow architecture, 'Bungalow From Heritage to Contemporary', a stunning book I was keen to review.
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Progress of My House Makeover - Front Exterior
I was going to begin this post with a statement about 'my boxy 1930's ex-state home', however I am retracting it to describe how I am improving my little piece of 'iconic' New Zealand. I recently met a woman whose daughter is studying the history of New Zealands architecture. I was moaning about the lack of interesting architecture of my home when she informed me I owned a piece of New Zealand's history, an icon and I should embrace it. After hearing this I decided to do a little research on the history of the state homes and what I learned was quite enlightening.
Apparently the early brick, state homes were originally built for soldiers and servicemen after the war. Later, the Government decided it vastly needed to improve the standard of NZ housing and plans were drawn up to build new houses in cities around New Zealand. Eventually the Government allowed the architectural plans for these 'state homes' be released for public use. The designs were claimed to be ahead of their time and aimed at providing New Zealanders with a far better standard of living. The drafty wooden villas and Californian bungalows so sought after today, were surprisingly classed as 'sub standard', which when you think about it with their scrim and wooden framing is most likely an accurate statement. I found an interesting article about State housing from the AC archives. If your a Kiwi, you may be interested in reading more, however, I think I have probably enlightened you enough on the history of state homes and realise most are here to see my 'before' and 'after' images.
In a previous post on 'curb appeal', I wrote about my unattractive, 'iconic' 1940's bagged, brick cottage and how I am trying to improve its aesthetics. Unfortunately I don't have an image of the original exterior paint colour. When I bought the cottage the exterior, including the windows were painted a dark blue/grey. The 'before' image is after two coats of white undercoat and two coats of Karen Walker, Foggy Grey. I drew inspiration from interior designer Andrew Melvilles' home, which he has since sold. Andrew's house was a similar era to mine and most likely after what I have recently discovered about this style of architecture, is one of the privately built homes when the Government released their plans for public use.
Apparently the early brick, state homes were originally built for soldiers and servicemen after the war. Later, the Government decided it vastly needed to improve the standard of NZ housing and plans were drawn up to build new houses in cities around New Zealand. Eventually the Government allowed the architectural plans for these 'state homes' be released for public use. The designs were claimed to be ahead of their time and aimed at providing New Zealanders with a far better standard of living. The drafty wooden villas and Californian bungalows so sought after today, were surprisingly classed as 'sub standard', which when you think about it with their scrim and wooden framing is most likely an accurate statement. I found an interesting article about State housing from the AC archives. If your a Kiwi, you may be interested in reading more, however, I think I have probably enlightened you enough on the history of state homes and realise most are here to see my 'before' and 'after' images.
In a previous post on 'curb appeal', I wrote about my
My initial inspiration board:
My before...
My rather boring, ex state 'iconic' house in need of a makeover
Below, progress to date...
Not yet complete, however, lighter with a sense of more space and some badly needed landscaping.
My Bay Laurels
The small white plant will be re-planted with something that will trail down over the pots (suggestions welcome)
- Windows stripped back and painted in Resene 'Black White'
- Addition of two topiaries and pots to front entrance
- 3 Bay Laurels which smell divine
- white river stone chips, help reflect light and create a sense of more space
- Buxus either side of front entrance. The right side re-located from the neighbours so not yet established and clipped properly
- Star Jasmine to espalier in a diamond shape around wire to left side of the house
Still to be completed..
- Tile front steps
- New front door
- Shutters either side of front window
- Boxed trellis to either side of front door with Star Jasmine to disguise the down pipe from en-suite bathroom
- Small portico over entrance (see inspiration board)
- Star Jasmine to grow up the carport support post and along the front barge board, to soften the straight lines of the roof
- Replace the sensor lights with a carriage style lamp
One annoying problem is the front windows. All the windows around the house are quite large apart from the ones at the front which belong to an en-suite and master bedroom. There is a much larger window around the corner of this bedroom and I guess as there is a carport roof in front, the previous owners chose to keep these smaller windows when renovating. However, I feel they are set too high and look out of proportion. I had thought possibly a window box but don't want to end up with the house looking too 'twee'. Maybe when the shutters go up, it will look much better. I now feel quite proud to say I live in an iconic NZ house but still going about my way of trying to add some curb appeal and look forward to sharing the final reveal once it's finished.
Lee oxo
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Monday, 2 December 2013
Grand Mansions in Auckland - Sneak Peek
Although I live in a small cottage, the suburb I reside in is fairly affluent and walking around the local streets sometimes feels like I am flicking through the pages of House and garden. There are some really beautiful homes in my neighbourhood and some have inspired and influenced me with my own home. Although my modest house cannot be compared, I realise the importance of 'Curb Appeal'. I believe ones exterior (house), should portray a little of your personality and what lies beyond your front entrance. A few weeks ago the front of my home far from fitted into this category but using ideas I have gleaned from the Internet and walking around my local suburb, my front exterior is currently receiving a makeover (to be shared on the blog).
In the neighbouring suburb of Orakei, however, there is a street whose homes are definitely not in need of makeovers. In fact, listed as the most prestigious street in New Zealand, last week one of its mansions, sold for a whopping NZ$39 Million (not a typo!). I have never walked down this particular road but had heard about it, so recently my girlfriend and I donned our walking shoes, camera over shoulder and decided to head off to see what all the fuss was about. The street, which I will not name to allow a little privacy, is located on a cliff top overlooking the harbour. Views to the city, Devonport and Rangitoto Island can be seen from the mansions who certainly don't need any help with their curb appeal. Grand iron gates, waterfalls, vast walls of travertine, stone pillars, immaculately landscaped gardens with pristine hedges and mass espalier surrounds. In an adjacent street were some smaller homes which I equally loved and although they might not have had the grand views and vast sections they were a little bit more manageable in my eyes and so I snapped away frantically in both streets to share a snapshot of the grand side of New Zealand.
In the neighbouring suburb of Orakei, however, there is a street whose homes are definitely not in need of makeovers. In fact, listed as the most prestigious street in New Zealand, last week one of its mansions, sold for a whopping NZ$39 Million (not a typo!). I have never walked down this particular road but had heard about it, so recently my girlfriend and I donned our walking shoes, camera over shoulder and decided to head off to see what all the fuss was about. The street, which I will not name to allow a little privacy, is located on a cliff top overlooking the harbour. Views to the city, Devonport and Rangitoto Island can be seen from the mansions who certainly don't need any help with their curb appeal. Grand iron gates, waterfalls, vast walls of travertine, stone pillars, immaculately landscaped gardens with pristine hedges and mass espalier surrounds. In an adjacent street were some smaller homes which I equally loved and although they might not have had the grand views and vast sections they were a little bit more manageable in my eyes and so I snapped away frantically in both streets to share a snapshot of the grand side of New Zealand.
The most stunning entrance I saw today
The scent of Star Jasmine from the front of this grand stone home was unbelievable!
An amazing espalier
Symmetry works fabulously on exteriors and interiors
Although this wasn't the grandest home, I love its character
A grand Tuscan home so large I could only photograph the entrance
A smaller home, I love the way the trees on either side have been tapered off at the top
An unusual colour but certainly a statement in architecture
Some of the sea views towards the city and marina below
I hope you have enjoyed looking at these homes, in a few weeks time I will be sharing the progress of the exterior of my own home which is currently undergoing a makeover. After the mansions, mine may be a little bit of a let down, however, I want to illustrate how a little landscaping can provide a lot of impact. My home is far from grand but I do love it and get great satisfaction as I complete each project. My makeover is minimum expenditure with maximum effect, the type of makeover I love and I hope you will enjoy. And, I noticed I do have one thing in common with the homes above, the abundant use of Star Jasmine and topiary which feature in my landscape plan.
Have a great week, its glorious sunshine here in Auckland and I hope it is where you are too.
Lee x
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Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Cottage Style - Creating Curb Appeal
Don't neglect the exterior of your home, make it as welcoming to your guests as your interior. Until now my exterior has sadly been neglected but it is currently undergoing a mini makeover. There is no better words to describe my homes exterior than, 'plain Jane', a square, ex-state house which is sadly lacking in exterior beauty. In fact, I am so embarrassed by it's lack of architectural design, I will not be showing the 'before' photo until I have the 'after' to wow you with. However, as I know that people love 'before and afters' I do promise to show both images when my challenge is complete next month.
If your not blessed with an elegant portico or charming cottage architecture, I believe you can still create this style with a little imagination. Standard Bay Laurels, box hedging (Buxus) iceberg roses and climbers can add a cottage feel to your home. Add a porch roof or portico and appropriate style entrance door and you should have that much loved cottage look. I realise that some of the images below are a little more grandiose than cottages, however they all have a 'traditional' feel which is what I am trying to portray. From the inspiration I have found, I created a mood board to help me achieve the look I desire.
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Since drafting this post my incredibly kind neighbours (who are re-structuring their own garden), have given me all their buxus hedging. I had little time to get the plants in so have had to make a really quick decision about where they should go. Already there is a huge difference in the look of my exterior and I cannot wait to complete my makeover.
Addendum: Since publishing this post I have progressed with my makeover, you can now see the 'before' and 'after' photos in progress, here.
If your not blessed with an elegant portico or charming cottage architecture, I believe you can still create this style with a little imagination. Standard Bay Laurels, box hedging (Buxus) iceberg roses and climbers can add a cottage feel to your home. Add a porch roof or portico and appropriate style entrance door and you should have that much loved cottage look. I realise that some of the images below are a little more grandiose than cottages, however they all have a 'traditional' feel which is what I am trying to portray. From the inspiration I have found, I created a mood board to help me achieve the look I desire.
Symmetry never fails to work
A grand entrance, traditional style...I do love the shutters
Symmetrical potted plants is the easiest way to lift an entranceway
Roses and buxus for a cottage appeal
A portico is an easy way to add architectural interest
Addendum: Since publishing this post I have progressed with my makeover, you can now see the 'before' and 'after' photos in progress, here.
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