Tuesday 12 January 2016

Five ways to spruce up the outside of your house in a weekend


It's easy to forget about the front of your house. After all, it's inside your house that you spend most of the time. But here's the thing (and this is going to sound dead obvious I know, but it kind of dawned on me a while back) - the front of the house if the bit that EVERYONE sees. Sure your fam and friends and the occasional meter reader get to see what your house is like from the inside, but loads of people see it from the outside, so it's worth making it feel as nice as the inside, with a few little touches along the way that reflect you.

Since I had this realisation, we've done a few things to spruce up the outside of our house. There are a still a few on the list that we want to do, some of them those annoying, expensive-and-important, but not-actually-that-visually-different kid of jobs (the worst kind). The ones we've done so far tend to be more of the fun, minimum-effort, maximum-output kind of jobs (the best kind). So if you're thinking your front could do with perking up, here are five easy ways you can make a difference in a jiffy this weekend:

1. Paint the outside. Or just a bit of the outside, like we did recently when we got the front of our bay window painted in a nice neutral colour. As you can see from the before and after picture above, (the before of which was taken before we'd even moved in!) we had a few fussy light blue bits, and we wanted to 'clean' it all up a bit and it's made a huge difference.



2. Make up some window boxes. Like we did just the other day. You won't regret it. 



3. Change the numbers. So this is the thing I want to do next. I don't hate our house number at the moment, but I think it could do with a bit of an update now that the rest of the house has been spruced up a bit. These are my current faves, and there are more ideas on my pinterest board here, so watch this space.


4. Change your curtains. Net curtains don't have to be frumpy. I found our spotty ones in Ikea (where else?) and they look as nice from the outside as they do the inside. They don't make these ones anymore, but I found the two pairs above which I believe to be pretty lovely too. They get bonus points for helping visitors figure out which house on the street is yours - I'm always telling people we're the house with the spotty curtains.



5. Get a new front door. I want this more than I want any of the following: a new series of Spaced, 10 Whistles dresses, waking up every morning with really amazing eyebrows ready to go*.  That's big. You can see more front door porn romance in this post I wrote here






*Nah, actually I think I'd go for the eyebrows. But the front door is close.






Home Etc

11 comments:

  1. Great ideas Poppy! The paint job really frreshened up the front of your house, and window boxes always brighten up a house, I find.
    I too would love a new front door and a new house number. I really must get a new number. It should be pretty low-cost and I detest the one the previous owners had.
    #HomeEtc

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  2. The bay looks so much brighter, the addition of flowers is a massive help to. I have door envy for that pink door, it's gorgeous, we live in rented so I can never get a new front door, hope you manage to get one that pretty soon. Try places like Freecycle, you would be surprised how many people just chuck them xx

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  3. I LOVE this!! I'm so with you, lots of people think I'm mad for wanting the outside of the house to look nice but it's my total obsession. We changed the outside light and numbers almost straight away, and then replaced our windows at the front and added plantation shutters - it's made a huge difference! This year we want to tackle the front door too :) Brilliant post X #HomeEtc

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  4. I want a new series of Spaced too! That pink door is glorious too! Luckily we have a great front space super lucky as I rent but I'd still change it a bit with some flowers. #HomeEtc

    http://nancystraughan.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/blossoming-gifts-giveaway.html

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  5. I love how you've painted your bay window - it looks fab. In my dreams I'd have a pink front door like that, although in practise I'm not sure I'd be brave enough! We have a large hedge in front of our house, which is great for privacy but does make it a little boring at times. Like you I like to add a bit of colour with plant pots #HomeEtc

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  6. Oh wow! What a massive difference the change of paint colour makes. I would love window boxes but our windows are quite small, yours are gorgeous. I love the outside of our house and I'm always changing things around and decorating out there. Good luck with your front door dreams xxx

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  7. Oh I so wish there was a new series of Spaced! I need more Marsha & Brian in my life!

    Window boxes make a huge difference to the front of a house - and can really make a huge difference to the street as a whole I feel. Xxx #HomeEtc

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  8. That pink door with the roses is pretty special though! #Homeetc

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  9. Looks so much better Poppy!!! And WOW. The house with the pink front door!!!!! How lovely is that?! I quite like our front door — it's a pretty sage green although I'm thinking of painting it charcoal grey... not sure it would make the house look drab though. Certain houses can really carry it off but it may not suit our little cottage.

    Thanks so much for linking up with us! #HomeEtc

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  10. Love the changes! And how amazing is that pink front door!!! makes my black one look so dull ;) Thanks for linking up :) Jess xx #HomeEtc

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  11. I think the three easiest projects to tackle are to change your curtains, buy and install some new house numbers, and finally getting a new front door. After I read this article the first time I did two minor upgrades. First I replaced the old numbers with a new style. The second thing I did was install new curtains. The curtains were a great idea because it also gives us a refreshing feeling on the interior of the house.

    Earl Mark @ Eastway Lock

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