Exterior Home Designs

The exterior of a house gives the first impression of the style, creativity and distinct personality of the home owner.

Exterior home designs should be chosen carefully so as to blend with other homes in the neighbourhood while reflecting the home owner’s creativity.

The most common exterior house designs include Country, Victorian, Colonial, Mediterranean, Traditional and Contemporary.

1.) Country style
Country style is easily the most popular style worldwide. It is usually characterised by a large front or wrap-around porch that is topped with a gabled roof. A country house’s roofline runs lengthwise with a steep slope – giving a casual and informal appearance.

Small Country Home

2.) Victorian style
Victorian houses are commonly referred to as Victorian style but this ‘style’ is a period in history when Queen Victoria reigned (1837—1901). Victorian homes are usually characterised by steeply pitched roofs of irregular shapes with dominant front facing gable, asymmetrical porch and textured devices to avoid smooth-walled look. They are designed to be both unique and high-class.

Victorian house

Victorian house style

3.) Colonial style
Colonial house styles are usually two or three storey house plans with gable roofs and symmetrical façades. Common features of this style are columns and pillars often placed at the entrances of the homes. Double hung windows with shutters and huge panelled doors with sidelights topped with fanlights help beautify the exteriors which are usually brick or wood.

Colonial style

Colonial house style

4.) Mediterranean style
Mediterranean style homes resemble homes traditionally found in Mediterranean countries especially Italy, France and Spain. Common features of these houses are low-pitched tile roof (often red), stucco siding, courtyard, patio or deck as well as arched windows and doors.


 

Mediterranean style

Mediterranean house style

5.) Traditional style
Traditional style homes are a mixture of many classic, simple design styles including colonial, country, Victorian and more. It is therefore hard to define a traditional home, but traditional generally refers to any style that is remindful of a design of a certain era.

Common features of this style include simple roofs, little decoration and symmetrically spaced windows. Their exteriors are usually brick or wood.

Traditional style

Traditional house style

6.) Contemporary style
Contemporary style is a modern house plan with no style rules. These houses have audacious geometrical shapes, huge amounts of glass, large windows and roofs that are either flat or very steep often with great overhangs. The exteriors are a mixture of brick, siding, wood, stucco and stone.

Contemporary House Style

: Exterior and Garden

How to Make your Home Safer Against Burglars

Do you ever wonder just how safe your house is, against the eventuality of a robber trying to get in? If you haven, this article will guide your through the basics of making your home a safer place for everyone who lives there.

Standard doors feature very basic locking mechanisms. They aren’t terribly effective at keeping the criminal element out, and they do very little to keep little ones safely inside. When considering home safety, take a good look at your doors and consider making some smart changes.

Patio Doors

Pools are a danger, as well as trampolines, swing sets and other playground equipment. While you love taking the little ones on this equipment with your supervision, you don’t want them playing on it by themselves. Patio door locks are typically easy to figure out, even for toddlers. However, you can easily call your locksmith to add a safety door lock to your patio to eliminate this concern. One option is the bar that swings down to lock in place. It can be set high on the door to keep it out of reach from little hands. Another option is a peg that attaches to the sliding door and will push into the top of the frame to lock the door. The children will be too short to reach it, and thieves will not be able to break past them by jiggling the door.

Garage Doors

The garage is a prime target for criminals. The exterior doors are not usually well secured, and the door going into the home is typically unlocked completely. The interior door leading to your garage should be a steel door for safety from intruders and to help slow the spread of a fire that might start in the garage. This door should also feature a high quality lock, and a wide-angle peephole. The walk-through door for the garage should also feature a steel door with a high quality deadbolt.

If your garage has windows in the walls or doors, have the glass frosted or covered with curtains. This will prevent thieves from looking in and seeing when you are out of town. A better choice is to invest in a garage door that doesn’t feature windows. When you are going to be out of town, put a padlock on the garage door throw latch. This will prevent someone from breaking in through that door when you are on vacation.

Kick Plates

Install kick plates on every exterior swinging door. You can have the strongest door in the world, but it is only as strong as the doorframe that holds it in place. Most door frames are simple pine that is easily blown out with a solid kick. A kick plate is not visible on the outside of your door. The 48 inch plate is actually installed on the door frame in place of your strike plate. It is attached to the framework of the house using 3.5 inch screws. The hinges are also reinforced with three inch screws. When the door is kicked, the force of the kick is distributed along the plate, diffusing the energy and allowing the door to withstand the kick. It is an easy improvement that is affordable and effective.

Keeping your home safe involves a little more than just locking the doors at night and putting child safety locks on the cabinets. The right hardware on your entry doors can effectively keep the children safely inside and allow you to protect your family by keeping the criminals out. The upgrades are affordable and extremely effective.

: Concept Information

Living Rooms and Bedrooms

Hardwood, bamboo, reclaimed wood floors are on trend in 2012. These surfaces are easily cleaned and maintained. Bamboo flooring is highly sustainable, and has the looks of brand new hardwood. Homeowners looking for something more unique should opt for reclaimed wood floors. These floors are recycled from dismantled buildings and like bamboo floors, are a better choice for the environment. For 2012 any hard flooring option is a solid choice.

Eco-friendly and nature inspired materials are going to be popular choices for homeowners in 2012. Natural wood finishes on tables, dressers and furniture will be reminiscent of the outdoors. Colors that reflect nature, sky blues, forest green and neutrals are on trend. Take it a step further and use low VOC paints and stains.

: Interior Design