How to: Transform the exterior of your home

The exterior of your house is something all visitors see and there are ways to improve the look and feel of it.

Here’s a look at seven different techniques the team at Three Birds Renovations has used to transform the exterior of the Baulkham Hills house.

1. Adding weatherboard cladding & spraying the roof

Fibro houses like this one, need to be handled with care as they can contain asbestos. Call in licenced professionals to remove this hazardous material.

The roof and outside of the house before the renovation began.

Here cement boards resembling original timber weatherboards were added as cladding for that cottage-style look.

These cement boards give the appearance of traditional timber cladding without the upkeep.

A look at the house after the cladding had been added and the roof painted.

The original roof tiles were dark brown and were sprayed using a lighter colour. This tone contrasts well with the grey cladding.

2. Defining the front yard

This house didn’t have a fence and the front yard wasn’t defined.

A new fence clearly defines the space within the large front yard.

A white picket fence was added to the front and side of the house to clearly define the large front yard.

3. Box extension

To modernise this classic cottage, a box extension was added out the back with vertical cladding painted in a dark charcoal.

The box out the back.

There is also a three-metre feature window in the centre which looks great.

4. Fretwork

Fretwork, an interlaced decorative piece of cut-out timber, was added to the front gable.

The fretwork really adds to the look of the front of the house.

This is one of those small details that can make a big difference.

5. Pink, grey & white

The exterior colour scheme is a subdued pallet of soft grey with white trims and a gentle pop of dusty pink courtesy of the new front door with gold hardware.

This softer palette improves the look of the home.

The palette here is a softer look compared to the original yellow and brown exterior.

6. Lavender plants

Lavender adds to the cottage look and feel.

What cottage would be complete without a bed of dusky purple lavender plants?

7. Spraying the old fence

It’’s easy to refresh the look of an old fence back with a spray gun and tin of paint.

Spraying the fence made a big difference.

Here the original timber and Colorbond fences were sprayed using the same colour as the house itself.