How to redo the exterior of your home without spending a fortune

Rebecca asks: “I want to modernise the outside of my home but don’t want to spend too much. Any ideas? PS: I don’t want to render!”

Jane says: The main reason this home looks old fashioned is because of the colonial-style detailing, not so much because of the brick. I would guess that it is not much more than 15 to 20 years old, so at least we have some great bones to work with.

The most important things I’d be looking at doing if you don’t want to render the brickwork is to get rid of the colonial colours and update the gable detail.

Grey and black trim details work really well to modernise a brick home and it’s a technique I use often. The actual colour I recommend does vary based on the colour and size of the brick itself and other elements that I need to take into consideration.

In your case, we also need to work in with the cream window joinery, so it does get a little tricky. However, I’d recommend a medium-dark grey such as Dulux Klute for the front door, garage door, fascia and front porch support posts and we will tackle the “cream” issue in another way.

Removing the existing timber work from the gables (the two triangular areas on the roof), including spires, and replacing with Merbau timber slats will really make a low-cost difference. The slats should be fairly narrow – about 40 millimetres wide – and positioned only about two to three millimetres apart to give a more solid and less “slatted” effect.

Make the gable slats work a little better by referencing to some 50 millimetre slat timber blinds within your front windows.

Window dressings are an often forgotten element to the upgrade of a home, but they do have a significant impact on the front elevation.

The guttering and roof could be Dulux Mt Eden, a very dark grey colour, and the soffit (underside of the eaves) and trim above the garage door could be Dulux White Swan to tie in with the colour of the cream windows – and viola; we just tackled how to deal with the cream.

Update the coach lights on the front of the house with a brushed stainless steel cylindrical up/down light. This will not only modernise the look of the house during the day, but provide a more contemporary lighting effect at night.

I’d also be replacing the bushes along the front of the house with some linear style landscaping; such as some large grasses and Cycads if suitable for the level of sun exposure and soil type in the area.

And if budget permits, recolour the driveway to provide some colour contrast to the house (a medium grey will work best). Nothing says ’90’s like Terracotta.

Jane Eyles-Bennett is an interior designer and renovation consultant. She’s the creator and driving force behind Hotspace Consultants and has consulted on more than 550 property renovations.