From Roof to Curb

How do you add curb appeal to your house?  There are a plethora of DIY shows dedicated to helping you improve the exterior appearance of your home.  When I started looking for help online I found this article in the Houzz.com archives.

I recently decided to make some minor changes (read: improvements) to our home's exterior.  Of course I couldn't do it without a little help from a builder. ;)  Due to approaching post deadlines, I'll have to skip the 'before' picture of our house before the shutters were installed.  Jim made cedar shutters, and mounted them beside each window on the front of the house.  They are wide plank with larger spaces between each slat.  I was looking for more of a cottage feel.  We painted the shutters two shades deeper (darker) than our front door for contrast, and will finish them off with black wrought iron s-hooks.

Before:

Our roof was project #2.  We built our house 10 years ago, and for all intents and purposes our roof was still considered relatively 'young'.  However, in the span of one year we encountered multiple hail storms. We didn't think our roof was damaged, but an inspection proved otherwise.  Thankfully, our homeowner's insurance covered all of the necessary expenses for the addition of a new roof. 

After: 

Author and architect Bud Dietrich of Houzz recommends we, "keep in mind that the roof connects the earth to the sky, so it is an important design element."  Although we didn't alter the roofline, both the color and texture were affected.  Hopefully we chose our new roof color well, and it will add to our home's curb appeal and earth --> sky connectivity!