Curb Enthusiasm: Increasing Curb Appeal

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.

The key to curb appeal is in the roof: here is how to give your home exterior a beautiful, cohesive look.

Every homeowner dreams of having a home so beautiful, strangers stop by to tell you how much they like your siding. Who doesn't want to be the envy of the neighborhood with the prettiest shutter covers?

Curb appeal is a point of pride in homeownership; moreover, it makes your home more valuable. Curb appeal is important because it is the first impression your home makes, and attracts potential buyers to your home. High curb appeal in a home makes it 7% more likely to sell, and 25% of sellers who make home improvements end up selling above the asking price. 

Your roof plays a huge role in your home's appearance. It covers the whole house, so it is most of what people see. The roof is an essential curb appeal item that homebuyers will notice. A roof replacement will up your home's curb appeal tremendously, but even if you aren't looking to replace your roof, it can give you color cues to make your home the prettiest on the block. 

If you want to be sure you will get a return on the investment, then you  should redo your roof. When making this choice, DaVinci Roofscapes advises homeowners to focus on the patterns of your home.

If you have a noticeable vertical surface pattern created with your brick or stone, choose a roof without as much pattern or texture so that these two areas won't be fighting for attention. 

Roofing installed in even rows rather than staggered courses can balance the stone or brick's texture and pattern. Additionally, you can install both composite multi-width and single-width slate and shake in this fashion. 

If your home features little to no competing patterns, then you can consider a multi-color roof to add a wow factor. 

When one fixed feature creates a pattern, choose colors with subtle variations to let that patterned element stand out.

Create an attractive exterior home color scheme when you blend the color of your roof with other elements of your home's exterior. When selecting a roof color for a home with brick or stone, find a roof color blend that complements or has the same color cast as the stone or brickwork. 

Additionally, you can match your shutters to your roof, using a color on the lower part of your home to give the exterior a cohesive appearance. Coordinating colors around a monochromatic color scheme can also unite your home's aesthetic. It reduces the contrast, meaning fewer elements will be vying for your attention. Low-contrast shutter colors give a home an upscale appearance. 

Of course, you can choose any shutter color you like, but if you are stuck on finding that perfect color, the roof is a great place to find a foolproof color.

Ultimately, your home’s curb appeal is improved when you focus on the design cues from your roof color, texture and pattern, to create a gorgeous cohesive exterior.

Have a question? AskARoofer. 

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