Easily Improve Your Home Street Cred

Fashionistas understand street cred – that indefinable sense of style and absolute cool. Home street cred is the extension of this design aesthetic.

Your home is your castle. It can be a highly personal piece of you. Your pride and joy. And you want it to be the most incredible property in your neighborhood. That chic property everyone stops to look at for a few extra seconds. The home your friends and family love to visit on weekends.. and crash when your entertaining excels. It’s vibrant with home street cred that you can sell in a jiffy the moment you decide to move on.

Is this the type of home you want? There are a hundred reasons why improving your home can be the best thing you ever do, but knowing where to make improvements can be the hardest. However, I’ve put in some legwork doing market research so you’ll know which improvements will make your home the cool place everyone loves. So lie back, take notes, and start planning your best improvements ever.

Home Street Cred: First Impressions

The first thing anyone will see when they approach your home is the exterior. First impressions are vital as they hint at what may be within. Regardless of whether it’s friends, business clients, or even the postman, make the first impression count.  I recommend you start with a fence. A fence will give your property an outline within which you can create the impression you desire. Fencing provides privacy and protection, as well as a welcoming balance of plants, paths and lighting.

Pillars at the entrance to your home can be regal or rustic. Options include concrete, wood, brick, slate, and even metal cubes filled with recycled stones; great home street cred. Fences can be low or high and bordered with shrubs for extra privacy and noise reduction. Depending on how close to the street your house is or whether you have a driveway, how much you allow visitors to see the actual house is up to you. Decorating with colourful flowers, planted containers, trimmed edges, and a quirky garden ornament or two will tell visitors alot about who lives there.

I live in a rural area on a property filled with native trees. Our front gate is always closed as our dog loves to run down to see who is passing. My partner added a pair of water buffalo horns to the driveway gate. They are quirky, rural and rustic.

If you have a front patio or porch, create a vignette that welcomes visitors. Potted plants and succulents are always a great combination. If you have room, a three-piece table and chair setting with colourful cushions and hurricane lamp candles say “Welcome, have a great time in our home”.

Home Street Cred: Your Garden

Luxury is all about perfection, space and making things pop. If you can afford a gardener, even for a few hours a week, you can spend more time enjoying the gardening than working in it. Address any untidiness such as weeds, overflowing foliage, dead branches on trees, messy grass edges, etc.It is amazing how much a tidy up will have your home looking like it just fell out of House & Garden magazine.

When it comes to boundary walls, there are two ways to go – white and bright or dark and recessive. When you paint a boundary wall white or cream, you will notice it. Trees, shrubs, and flowers will pop against it for sure, but you’ll also be reminded that the wall exists.

If you paint a boundary wall in a very dark charcoal or even black it recedes. Leafy plants and colourful flowers will take centre stage and you won’t even notice the wall. This is also a great tip for garden sheds that are useful but can blight the landscape. Paint these items a very dark colour and they will ‘disappear’.

Garden sculptures, especially recycled iron, tin, and old farm furniture will display your fashionable street cred. Avoid kitsch concrete animals and angels instead opting for one-off artistic pieces. Even an old rusty wheelbarrow filled with flowers looks cool. Or shape birds, insects, and reptiles from corrugated iron and hang them on a wall. They will get better with age and you’ll never get sick of them.

Water features are another refreshing and calming addition to any garden, If you love a DIY project then dig in a pond. Use railway sleepers, rocks and plants to create a more natural environment. A ‘waterfall’ can be created using a hollow log down which the water flows. We did this at our house and the birds love it. Cut out half the top of the log so birds can access the water flow down to the pond. I recommend using a solar powered pump of adequate energy for the size of the pond.

Home Street Cred: Inside The Castle

People will enter your home and say ‘WOW’, for two main reasons: comfort and entertainment. Maybe they walk through the front door and are met by gorgeous vistas beyond a wall of windows, or a stunning bronze statue. Black metal windows and French Doors have gained incredible popularity because they add rock star cool to homes.

However, it is all going to have an added impact if they are hit by a wave of cool air at the same time, so make sure you have an epic split system. You can’t be comfortable if you’re hot. Add sumptuously comfortable furniture, lounging pillows, and an ottoman or two. Other features like a big-screen TV, window seat, or grand open fireplace also add street cred. Use your space to maximise the impact of your furniture, and the views.

Unusual surfaces such as 100% sheet metal for walls and lamps that are really works of art will show that you are confident with your decorating skills. Why follow the crowd when you can be an individual?

Home Street Cred: Make Some Statements

Perhaps you have a jacuzzi that glows at night, or a swimming pool that wraps around half of your home. Maybe you have a gorgeous water feature made out of marble in your backyard. Whatever it is, have some focal point that you can work around, something that will grab people’s attention. You are impressing them with every aspect of your home, but having that hard hitter, that statement will encourage them to gasp out loud.

And a final note, outdoor lighting. Whether you choose solar powered or connected lighting, illuminate pathways, trees, and entertaining areas with a warm glow. Your guests will never leave.

Home Styling and Decluttering

Yes, we also offer home styling and decluttering services. Love the house you live in with expert advice, colour consultation, mood boards, furniture positioning, and discounts on purchased items. Contact us for more information.

Header image courtesy TruexCullins Architecture and Interior Design. All other images, please click each photo and you’ll be taken to the designer’s website.