Even though we know the power of the paintbrush, we're still amazed by what it can do. Like this home for example. The after, as well as some suggestions for making your home look better, after the jump...
Apart from the paint, there is only other difference between the before and the after is an improvement in the plantings. It's always amazing to us what a little paint can do. How about your home? Whether you live in a house or an apartment, take a look at your entryway:
- Think symmetrically: whether it's plantings on either side of the door or two lights, create balance.
- Clean the door: Sometimes all it takes it a wipe down of your front door, picking up the trash, tossing the flyers and trimming the scraggly plants to make your home look better.
- Check your home's exterior lighting: Better lighting not only looks better but it ups the safety factor.
- Add greenery: Potted plants and container gardens
- Check your accessories: replace a worn out welcome mat, hang a wreath from your front door or polish your hardware.
[image from Canadian House and Home]
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Comments (26)
That and a cleaned up gutter system . . always helps a house look better. Great fix!
that's inspiring - the outside of my house looks similarly sad and all we can afford is to paint. good to know it can transform the exterior that much.
Yes, the blue was horrible...
...but stopping the painted brick at the corners is an odd choice too. If one must paint the brick - at least continue it on all 4 sides of the house
Canadian not Candian.
Beautiful house! I love the new paint job.
My only critisism would be that I wouldn't have painted the face brick on the front wall... It looks odd at the corner.
Am I the only one who likes the blue better?
I like the blue better too!
My initial reaction favored the blue, but closer inspection makes me think that the white is the better option.
Auburny - YES.
does it also look like they changed the shingles for gray ones?
No, I like the blue better too - the poor little house doesn't have much character, so the off-beat color was a nice addition... If it were mine, I might have taken the blue up on the siding instead!
Auburny, no! I think the after is kind of blah. Why do people feel the need to paint everything white?
What they really should have used was some elbow grease and removed the paint from the brick back to it's original state. The natural brick would look far more lovely than white or blue paint.
I'll add that the house *did* need re-painting, but I would have stuck with the blue. I like the way it looks against the natural brick, whereas the white, where it meets the corner, looks odd to me.
I agree with most posts, I think the blue was pretty. I would have sandblasted the brick and changed the siding to blue, left the trim bright white and definitely left the teal door!
My fav mag. Oh ah Canada! Love it!
I definitely liked the blue better - sure, it needed repainting but it had personality. Now the house looks like a cookie-cutter house.
They also changed the color of the front door from aqua to red, and added a downspout.
I prefer the original blue also. And the *improvement* in the plantings did not go far enough, IMHO.
Thought it looked like Toronto. Or maybe Hamilton.
The fascia and vinyl (or aluminum?) siding though bring down the look.
that is definitely a toronto house. it's pretty common here to only paint the front of a house, and leave the rest brick, fwiw. and i don't think they improved the planting at all - I think it's taken further along in the growing season, is all!
Heather C, I thought the same thing. I think it looks like they did, but it might be the light and seeing with with blue vs. white.
I too prefer the blue. And if nothing else I would have kept the turquoise door.
The original blue was prettier, I think.
Normally, while I would agree the blue would be nicer, but in this case, I find it kind of a destraction since the rest of the house is white and thus I'd have painted the front brick white to keep it all cohesive, at the expense of blandness or better yet, get rid of the vinyl siding and repaint the entire thing.
I'd have sand blasted the paint off and left it brick, paint the trim to match the rest of the house and added the downspouts and painted the door red.
The turquoise and the blue just didn't go as the door blended in and I'd rather have my door say, welcome! than anything else.
Blue. Or something other than 'neutral whatever', blah. I'd be movin' and a groovin' in that flowerbed too! What a sweet little place, just aching for more personality.
The blue paint seemed to emphasize the fact that the porch and railings are replacements.
What they really should have used was some elbow grease and removed the paint from the brick back to it's original state. The natural brick would look far more lovely than white or blue paint.