Guest Post - How to Keep Up With Exterior Design Trends

When most people are trying to upgrade or remodel their homes, they focus on interior design first. That’s usually because both tastes and trends change, and you spend most of your time inside your home. 

But, exterior design trends change, too. Unfortunately, they might be tackled less often because they can seem overwhelming. After all, it’s easier to paint a few internal walls than put new siding on your home. 

So, how can you keep up with exterior design trends? What can you do to erase past trends and bring your home exterior up-to-date, either for yourself or to boost curb appeal? 

Let’s cover a few exterior home trends that have stood the test of time and will undoubtedly look great, even years from now. When you know what will last, you can make better exterior design choices for yourself or a potential buyer. 

Look at Your Landscaping

Landscaping can make a big difference when it comes to curb appeal. It can boost the value anywhere from 5.5%-12.7%, potentially allowing you to add thousands more to your listing price. 

But, not all landscaping endeavors are created equally. 

Maximize curb appeal with timeless landscaping trends, including:

• A pristine yard

• Additional plants and flowers

• Little/no clutter

If you’re not sure where to get started when it comes to quality landscaping, think symmetrical. Whether you’re adding stones, plants, or furniture to your front yard or back patio area, keeping things as symmetrical as possible will give your home exterior a clean, welcoming look. It will draw the eye and make people interested in seeing more. 

Speaking of furniture and decor, another good idea is to make a seamless transition between the inside and outside of your home. Warm lighting and comfortable outdoor furniture can give your patio a “living room” feel while bringing live plantsbringing live plants inside your houseinside your house can add a much-needed touch of nature that reminds potential buyers what they liked about your landscaping. 

Lighting Replacements

If you want to renovate your home exterior on a budget, consider changing the lighting that surrounds your property. It’s easy to think that certain lighting elements are “trends,” but there are some things that are here to stay – or, they should be.

Switching to LED bulbs throughout your home can save you up to $1,000 a year on utility bills. That includes exterior lights. Whether you plan on selling or you just want to save money, it’s a great investment and can boost the overall appeal and value of your house. 

The good news? LED lights aren’t going to go out of style any time soon. They are quickly becoming the norm thanks to their energy efficiency, and you can find bulbs in just about any shape and size you could want. 

Another option is to install solar lighting around your house. Having solar lights in the ground to illuminate a pathway or on the corners of your house to light up your yard at night is a fantastic way to make your house feel more like a home while remaining energy efficient. 

Update Your Roof

One home exterior trend that will never go out of style is a solid roof. Composition shingles will last 12-20 years. So, if you’ve been in your home that long or you’re planning on selling, installing a new roof is a great idea. You can choose from different materials for your roof, including: 

• Metal

• Asphalt shingles

• Cool roofs

• Green roofs

• Synthetic materials

Some of these options are “hot” trends right now, especially green roofs or roofs with solar panels. And, metal roofing is making a big comeback. Instead of giving in to trends, though, think about what would most benefit your home for the next 10+ years. Think about other features your home has. For example, if you have a smart home or a sustainable home, a solar or “green” roof might be the way to go. 

There are so many ways to update your home exterior, it would be impossible to list them all at once. But, don’t fall victim to trendy designs that won’t be popular in a year or two. Do your research, go for the classics when possible, and think about how your home will benefit from certain trends. 

Author Bio: Noah Rue is a freelance writer.

Creative Ways to Keep Rodents Out Your Home

If you don’t want to use traps and baits to remove rodents, use these creative ways to keep rodents out of your home. A few methods are using essential oils, reducing waste, and inspecting the inside and outside of your house to locate potential break-in spots.

Using Baking Soda

Lightly sprinkle baking soda around the perimeters of your house. If you don't want to spread it, you can make a concoction instead. For example, mix chocolate, baking soda, and cornmeal together. Place it where you saw rodent droppings; this will kill the rodents after consumption. Make sure to properly dispose of the bodies.

Dropping Peppermint Oil

Dab peppermint oil on cotton balls and place them around the area. Or, you can use a spray canister—simply combine two teaspoons of the oil for every one cup of water—and spray around the outside of your house. Peppermint Oil is a harmless way to eliminate rodents while not harming the other animals in your ecosystem.

Using Mothballs

A creative way to keep rodents out of your home is by using mothballs. You can place them in a bag and throw them under your porch or in any other area of your house where rodents live. Mothballs are great for driving out small rodents such as raccoons, squirrels, and others.

Relocating Their Environment

If you inspect your house and see a nest or burrow, and noises don’t work to scare the rodents away, you can relocate their homes. However, if you’re unsure what to do and don't want to get attacked, call a professional.

Removing Waste Sources

A great way to keep rodents away from your home is to ensure that you always keep a lid on any garbage pales near your house. Also, check your yard and crawl spaces for any waste—specifically food waste—passersby may have thrown. Rodents will be disinclined to visit your home if it doesn’t provide food. On top of ensuring that the lid is on the garbage, make sure your trash stays somewhat clean so rodents don't feel compelled to make nests inside of them.

The desire to keep rodents outside your home isn’t a lot to ask for. These are the steps to take if rodents are in your air ducts. Alternatively, you can always call a professional.

Understanding the Importance of Upgrading the Roof of Your Old Home

As a homeowner, one of the things that you will have to do at some point is replace the roof of your home. Within 10 years, it is always in the homeowner’s best interest to get a new roof. With a new roof, homeowners will be able to get a lot of benefits that will contribute to an increase in the home’s value as well as making it more appealing to potential buyers. It is important to consider a few factors before replacing the roof such as the cost and the available materials and designs. By getting a new roof, you will be able to ensure that your home remains safe and secure.

Increase the Home’s Value

One of the main reasons why it is a good idea to replace the roof is because it will increase the overall value of the home. Once a new roof is installed, the home will be able to add up to $20,000 in additional value. With a more valuable home, you will be able to sell it at a higher price and get more money for it when and if you want to sell the home in the future. Since a homeowner will likely spend between $5,000 and $10,000 on a new roof, it is important to make sure that you can get a roof that will drastically increase the value of your home. With the increased value, you will be able to get the initial investment back and more.

Keep the Home Insured

Another one of the benefits of getting a new roof is to keep it insured. Whenever you get a modern updated roof, you will be able to maintain your current homeowner’s insurance policy. Since a homeowner’s insurance policy is necessary to protect your home, you will want to keep the policy as affordable as possible. Using a reputable contractor such as Everest Systems that specializes in polyurethane to install the roof will also help maintain your homeowner’s insurance costs. With a new roof, you can keep your policy and at the same rates as you did before replacing the roof.

Improve Energy Efficiency

A new roof will also improve the energy efficiency in your home as well. With the development of alternative energy resources such as solar power, getting a new roof that has this feature will benefit any homeowner. With more energy efficiency, you will be able to save hundreds of dollars per year in energy costs.

When owning a home it is important to invest in some things that will help increase its value and structure. A new roof is a wise investment for any homeowner who is looking to maximize the value of their home as well as keeping residents protected from the elements. By getting a new roof, you will be able to ensure that your home remains a safe and energy efficient place to live.

5 Budget-friendly Home Improvement Projects You Can Do as a Family

Whether you have just moved in or you have been living in the same place for a few months or years, a few home renovations or improvements may come inevitably. May it be just to fix a small crack that would soon lead to discovering more things that need repairs or a general overhaul of your previous architecture with some new interior designs? These things can be costly. Above paying for materials like paint, paintbrushes, and other tools, if you would be getting a repairer, for hire it would cost you more than a few bucks regardless of how small you think the repair or renovation might be. 

So if you’re thinking of saving a few bucks if you’re renovating your home on a budget, or if something that needs to be fixed in your home, you can try doing it as an activity with your family.

Here are 5 budget-friendly home improvements you can do as a family

Declutter

To start fixing your home, you have to begin with the seemingly easy but is never done- cleaning up. Determine which stuff lying around the house can be salvaged and turned into something brand new and useful, like repurposed furniture or what you could donate, sell or even throw away. Cleaning up and decluttering seems like an easy task, but honestly who ever has the time to organize and revisit old things collecting dust? By doing this with your family, you are not just starting your home improvement journey but looking back to past times through the memories that will be brought back by the old stuff you may have even forgotten you had. 

Rearrange

Once you’ve started decluttering, you could see the space that has been taken up by the things you’ve left lying around for so long that you sometimes don’t even use anymore. You can now use this space and rethink where you should rearrange the furniture now that you have all this brand new unoccupied space. If you do this with the helping hands of your family, you’re going to be able to save a lot of money by avoiding labor costs.

Sales are key

Usually, when you are improving or renovating your house, this isn’t decided on a whim. You decide about it with the help of your family until you all come to a unanimous decision if you’ve all got the time, the eagerness to help, and maybe money to pitch in on this. Hence, it is advisable for you to wait for the items that you want to buy to go on sale, and usually, this happens during vacation time so it’s really a win-win for everybody. 

Do it yourself!

  Of course, what better way to spend quality time with your family than to be painting the walls or new furniture together? If you’re deciding to do this as a family, it is better to do all the labor by yourselves if you can, because it will entail more time that you will be spending with one that in turn will save you big bucks because you won’t need a professional painter or carpenter to do the labor for you. You could even get the grandparents involved with the fun family DIY activities like painting the figurines or cutting cardboard letters for signs or even decorating the living room. 

Think of what decorations you could add

Now that you have polished the old furniture, painted out the walls, and covered the holes in the ceiling, it is time to think of what new decorations you could add to make your home look renewed. This doesn’t have to be expensive. You could display some of the reimagined materials that you found lying around that used to be just old scrap lying around or finally add the piece you’ve been waiting to go on sale or you bought at the garage sale. Decorations don’t have to be expensive to look good. 

At the end of all this, you not only have a home that looks much brighter and brand new that you didn’t overspend for, but you’ve also been able to have the time to spend with your loved ones! Home renovations or improvements don’t need to cost way more than they should because you can follow some tips and tricks that would just not help you save up more than a few bucks, but in turn, also let you have a good time with the process! Being hands-on in your house renovation may seem tedious, but if you have good people like your family to help you out, then it might be a new activity you would actually be waiting to do from now on! A new family holiday tradition cleaning up and decorating for holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.