Flip a home … it goes without saying that no one is going to be remotely interested in going inside if they do a drive-by and don’t like what they see on the outside. Likewise, if the first picture on realtor.ca is ugly they won’t click through the rest.
The second rule of reselling homes is spend money where it counts – on curb appeal.
Up close this makes for a perfect example of UGLY!
A few shades of brick, yellow eaves and soffits, odd side windows, some horrendous patterned cement block …
and then there’s the blue door and gold trim, oh so pretty!
While functional; this remained a massive project that needed major upgrading pronto. Here’s what we did
- PAINT – and by paint we mean paint it out! There was NOTHING remotely redeeming about the look of this house from a historical or design perspective; its what we design folk would call standard. White window surrounds would leave enough of an accent but the rest (walls, eaves, fascia, doors, floors and stairs) would be painted in Benjamin Moore Dragonsbreath, a lovely hue of grey brown to go with the existing shingles which were in mint condition. The single paint color saved money and labour which was an easy decision (more money to spend elsewhere!)
As you can see – a dramatic difference.
The front door had interesting detail and looked entirely different with a new paint job. Remove the gold framed exterior door and add new hardware, mailbox and numbers and that transformation was seamless.
On the porch we discovered a much intact pine ceiling buried under an odd balsa wood covering. A lot of white paint, quarter round and a new light fixture did the trick.
The cement blocks were clad in cedar – which over time will naturally grey and blend in more, but in the interim at least look clean and well looked-after. They can also be finished with a stain or painted at the new owners preference. The matching cedar fence also offered full privacy in both the side and back yard’s for the first time.
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