Changing Home's Identity with Exterior Architectural Products
When decorating a home, many people think only of the inside. As if there is nothing more that can be done to the exterior than paint. Au contraire! The exterior is just as important (some say it's even more critical) than the interior, and there are so many choices in changing your home's face available these days. It doesn't matter what style the exterior of your home is - you can make a big difference in your home's curb appeal by adding a few exterior architectural products.
Enhancing the outside of your home doesn't have to be fancy or "over the top" if you don't want it to. And it never has to be complicated. The simple act of adding some shutters on the windows can give your house a down-home flavor or make it feel like an island hideaway. Cover up the vents on your gables with stylish louvers. Don't have a vent to replace with louvers, but still love the style? Not to worry - you can fake it just as easily. How about installing an exterior trim around the front door or windows? These small touches will do wonders for a house that looks a little plain on the outside. Your neighbors will be trying to figure out just what changed about your home - and only you will know!
If you think your home's facade needs just a touch of style, exterior architectural products, such as exterior molding, crossheads or pediments over the entrance will add a hint of grace and elegance. If you'd like to give your home a touch of gentility, the application of Victorian trim on the gables will have you thinking about starting a 4:00 tea time tradition! Replacing the railing on your front porch or gazebo with a more decorative balustrade system can have a more significant impact than changing the color of your home. It also lends a feeling of refinement and luxurious style.
For those of you who want to redefine the style of your home's exterior completely, it's easier than ever. Pilasters and columns can completely transform the facade of your home. Give your home the flair of Greek Revival, noble Georgian or romantic Italian with pilasters spaced evenly across the facade, on either side of your front door or on the corners of your home. Non-structural columns can replace or augment a plain railing on a front porch, as long as the structural components are still in place. Make your home look like a Roman villa and have a staycation!
When it comes to exterior architectural products, let your imagination be your guide. From basic and barely noticeable to bold and daring, these simple, yet elegant components can give your home an entirely new personality!
Exterior Trim
Exterior trim-work defines a style. In many cases, the type of trim-work used depends on the style of the house.
Exterior trim is not purely ornamental. In fact, it is rarely just ornamental, and when it functions as an ornament, it is often as an afterthought. Its primary purposes are to create transitions between fields of siding and to seal vulnerable areas of the house against harmful weathering. In terms of pure design, trim derives its importance from its prominence. Because siding is almost always repetitive, it tends to be monotonous. Anything that breaks up this monotony, as trimwork does, necessarily catches the eye.
Exterior trim also plays a significant role in visually outlining a house, the way simple lines define a rectangle. Corner boards form hard verticals, fascias are strong horizontals, and rake boards hold the roof to the end walls so it won't fly away. Knowing something about trimwork can be edifying in itself, particularly if you are interested in house design. But it becomes more actionable, as they say when you want to buy a new house, or you're planning a substantial addition to your current house. Because exterior trim is so vital to the final look of a building, you'll want to be confidently involved in specifying the proper details. At the end of the day, the architect, builder, and contractors go home. Make sure what they leave behind is what you want.
