The weather is warming up and it’s time to think about sprucing up your exterior, so I’m taking the Sunday Seven outside this week!
In case you’re new around here, the Sima Spaces Sunday Seven is a weekly post in which I share seven home tips for organization, decorating, DIY, inspiration, and more. I’ve kicked it off with a list of seven ways to update every room of your home- see below!
Week 1: Kitchen | Week 2: Bathroom | Week 3: Bedroom | Week 4: Living Room
This week, I’m focusing on the exterior. I know this isn’t a room, per se, but your exterior sets the vibe for your interior, so you definitely don’t want to overlook it! Last fall, we did an exterior overhaul and replaced our siding and exterior doors, removed a door, added a front patio, and added new accessories like shutters, a mailbox, and house numbers. We still have some work left to do, including painting the gutters and garage doors, replacing the front railings, adding windowboxes, and adding a back patio. We’re planning on doing this all this summer, so I’ve been thinking back on what we’ve done and what we have yet to do. Below, I’ve brainstormed seven ways that you can update your exterior in just a day (and you don’t even need to replace or paint your siding)!
1 | Replace your lighting.
What does your exterior lighting say about you and your house? Does it say “fresh and modern” or “drab and dated”? Is it too big or too small? Updating your house lights can make a big difference to the look and feel of your exterior. You can spend upwards of $1000 for high-end design, but there are plenty of sites that you can find lights for under $100 (or even $50, as seen below).
2 | Add some color with plants and flowers.
I personally love the look of a window box filled with pretty flowers or greenery. You can decorate your window box year round from season to season, and fill it with everything from mums to spruce boughs to decorative cabbage. To me, a window box just screams “welcome!” There are plenty of DIY ideas on Pinterest, but you can also purchase them at most home improvement stores or even on Amazon.
Don’t worry if your windows aren’t capable of having window boxes, though. Adding some planters to flank your front door is also an option (one that you should consider even if you’re building window boxes).
Finally, rethink your landscaping. I’m certainly not a landscaping pro, but I do appreciate the beauty of a well-landscaped yard! Adding a flower bed, bushes, natural grasses, and/or trees can do wonders for your curb appeal. I personally love hydrangea bushes because they add pops of color while adding volume and height to your landscaping as well.
3 | Replace your house numbers.
Along with #1, this is a relatively easy way to change the feel of your home. Without making any other changes, modern looking house numbers tend to make your home look more modern overall. You can add individual numbers, DIY an address plaque, or even purchase a laser cut metal plaque from Etsy.
4 | Paint or replace your shutters.
Of course, this one only applies if you have shutters in the first place. If you don’t, ask yourself if your home would look better with them. Shutters can help add interest to an otherwise plain exterior, but not every exterior design is shutter-friendly. You can replace your shutters by purchasing them at a home improvement store or online, or you could build them like I did last fall. If you currently have shutters, you could consider painting them. When we moved into our home, painting the shutters was one of the first things I did! We had the old brown windows replaced by white ones, and our brown shutters suddenly looked very strange- so I spray painted them white! It was a $4 project that took hardly any time and slightly improved our exterior until we could take on replacing the siding.
5 | Paint your front door.
Painting your front door can really add interest to your home. Whether you have colorful siding and you want to paint your door white, black, or a wood gel stain, or you have neutral siding and you paint your door a fun color, it’s an easy way to completely change the feel of your exterior. A quart of paint is under $40, and you can always paint it back if you don’t like it!
6 | Add a seating area.
Nothing says “hey, come say hi!” like sitting on a front patio. If your house doesn’t have a front porch, don’t worry- make one! We built a patio last summer in just one weekend. (I know, I need to write a post about that!) You don’t even have to take it that far, though- you could just add a bench and a couple of adirondack chairs to your grass and call it a day! That might sound crazy, I know- but lots of our neighbors do this and it’s so inviting and fun!
7 | Paint or replace your door handle.
If you have a polished brass doorknob from the 90’s, this tip is for you! You can spray paint your doorknob for hardly any cost at all, and especially when combined with a new painted door (eh? eh?), your entrance will feel brand new! You can purchase a metallic spraypaint or go with a matte black. If you want to totally change up the look, you can purchase and install a new doorknob at just about any price point!
Hopefully this post gave you an idea or two to spruce up your exterior as the weather starts warming up! I know I can’t wait to finish up all of our exterior projects. I’ll be sure to share as they happen, so stay tuned! Comment below with which of the above tips you can see yourself implementing on your home- I’d love to know!
