Real Life Rooms: A Modern Exterior Curb Appeal Update
Hey there Remodelaholic readers! Dawn here, from AD Aesthetic, and I’m back this month with another reader question mockup to hopefully inspire some creative ideas for your outdoor space. If you’ve missed any of my previous reader question mockups, you can always see all my posts here.
If you follow Remodelaholic on Facebook, you’ve probably seen several of the reader questions that are submitted every month. Well each month here on Remodelaholic, I choose one reader submitted photo to offer my two cents on, and I create a Photoshop mock up of what I would do if I were in your shoes! (Pssssst— you can submit your reader questions by messaging Remodelaholic on Facebook!)
First though, my disclaimer: While I can recommend ideas that I think look nice, I have never seen this house in real life and don’t have accurate measurements. I am also not an architect or landscaper and do not know the planting recommendations for your area- I just like to make things look nice. I can’t guarantee that any of the items I put in my ‘virtual’ design will actually work in real life (or that they’ll fit your design style for that matter), and this is not intended to be a professional design consultation. So think of this as a just-for-fun rendering that hopefully gets your wheels turning and provides some inspiration!
On to the fun!
READER QUESTION from Katie — We need some help with the outside of our house. We are going to rebuild the deck. But it also needs new siding. Yellow and red have to go! We are at a loss for what colors and types of siding. Siding companies we’ve had out have been no help whatsoever.
Modern homes like this one, with their unique angles, are one of my favorite styles, so I immediately had some ideas in mind for this beauty, but before diving in, I also searched the web for some additional inspiration:
Sufficiently inspired, I got down to work. Here’s what I came up with to give this dated home a modern makeover:
To start with, I nixed the yellow and red in favor of a neutral and timeless black and white color palette. Or rather, charcoal and cream, to soften it just a bit.
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A new, sleek wooden railing with horizontal boards instantly updates the deck, while adding warmth to the exterior as well. To make sure the wood didn’t feel out of place, I also added a few other wooden elements, including a matching fence to hide the air conditioning unit, and a wooden bench along the side of the landscaping.
Speaking of landscaping, this is by far the most dramatic change in my opinion. The weathered railroad ties, while they have their place, are a bit too rustic for the modern style of this home. A symmetrical and streamlined concrete planter that doubles as steps up to the stairway fits in much better with the overall aesthetic and really cleans up the look of the landscaping. Adding in a few wooden steps helps balance out the cement and bring that warmth down to the area also.
A few other changes of note include an updated modern garage door, and additional lighting on both the upper and lower levels of the exterior. Those two details really pulled the whole look together, and I think the combined effect is a beautifully updated modern home.
So what do you think? What would you do if this were your home?
As always, thank you to Cassity and the Remodelaholic team for having me back each month. If you like this post, and have a design dilemma you’d like me to mock up some ideas for, you can ask your questions by sending Remodelaholic a message over on Facebook, or checkout my mockup design services over on my site adaesthetic.com. And be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram and say hello! Have a great day, friends!
-Dawn
More modern curb appeal ideas:
Dawn is one half of the team behind the creative blog, AD Aesthetic. By day she works as the VP of Creative for a design and marketing company (getting paid to make things look good!), while by night she renovates her Midwest home, refinishes thrift-store furniture for fun, and works with her husband on raising two tiny humans. Dawn believes in the potential to design your surroundings and your life one day at a time, and lives by the motto, 'Make everything beautiful.' Get to know her better by visiting her blog, ADaesthetic.com, or following along on Facebook and Instagram.
It is amazing what using the right colors can do to make a total change to a house. I like the pictures and the way they illustrate those changes. Thanks for sharing and the illuminating write up!
Very inspired by your post! I’m trying to find inspiration on how to modernize the exterior of my house and these sure help. If you ever find inspiration for a modern duplex in the city, i would be amazing!
Trying to find the right color to match the outside of my home to make it stand out beautifully.