First impressions are as important in the property market as they are in dating or job interviews. Kerb appeal helps sell houses, and tells visitors something about the sort of home you have before they step inside.
This aspect of our homes, and the message it sends, also features in the aspirations we have for our ‘forever home’. According to Origin research, 42 per cent of us would like their ‘forever home’ to have a long driveway, and a further 42 per cent aspire to having a gated front and a traditional front door.
Wherever your aspirations lie, here are our suggestions for dressing the front of your house to make the best impression.
Doors
Both functional and beautiful, as the entrance to your home, the door is the key feature in the front of any house. A new front door can transform a tired looking façade, and it can be a bold statement or stylishly in keeping with the period of the property. Whichever look you’re aiming for, combining style with security is the smart choice. The Origin Residential Door is the ultimate combination of advanced security, tasteful aesthetics and thermal efficiency.
With 35 panel options offering different glass panels, contemporary design, classic architecture and modern materials, there’s a bespoke door solution for every taste. Each door is crafted with a highly efficient Thermimax core, which is sandwiched between aluminium inner and outer layers. This gives the best thermal efficiency combined with excellent security – keeping the warmth on the inside, and the bad weather and intruders on the outside.
Hardware
Door handles, hinges, door knockers, locks and letter boxes are all part of your front of house’s character and provide the finishing touches to your chosen door. Ensure the style of your add-ons complement the door; keep contemporary with contemporary and traditional with traditional. Match the colour of metal for a neat, uniformed look. Remember to consider both practicality and style – there’s no point in a great looking letterbox if nothing fits through it.
Colour
Colour is crucial in setting the tone of your home on the outside as much as it is on the inside. It is also dictated by the style of property and the statement you want to make. If you are in a row of terraced houses, you might want your home to be ‘the one with the red door’. Elegant town houses look good with statement black or neutrals. Consider how the door colour fits with the rest of the house fixtures; it should complement the window frames, external boarding and guttering. A classic look for period homes in warm coloured stone is to have matching muted pastel shades across all external surfaces. Origin Residential Doors come in 150 different RAL colours, making it guaranteed to create the perfect match for your home.
Front gardens
Front gardens can be a blessing and a curse. They are a great way for your house to dress and impress, but fail to maintain it, and it can seriously reduce kerb appeal. Consider maintenance levels first and be realistic about what you can do. It’s better for it to be simplistic and elegant and be able to maintain the look, rather than have a highly stylised front garden that takes up all your spare time. Front paths and lawns need to be kept weeded and neat. Tiled paths and doorsteps that complement the style of house and colour of door are very popular and can be an eye-catching feature.
Often, the front garden is an area of the house which needs to be practical or used for parking, so invest in smart gravel or elegant paving, ensuring it is kept neat and weed-free. Add colour and texture with pots of flowers or shrubs, of which are easy to care for and can be moved around to change the look.
