Whether you are shopping online or pounding the pavement in search of the perfect property, your first impression of any home is almost certainly based on its exterior. And - splendid, dreadful or somewhere in between - the outside likely says a lot about what you should expect to find if you cross the threshold and experience the interior.
With people, "it's what's inside that counts" - something that takes time to figure out - but I think it's safe to say that when judging houses you can make an accurate call at first glance.
When I first saw the century house I eventually bought for my TV show, Sarah's House on HGTV, the flaws in its exterior and the aesthetics of the property were obvious, and I knew what that foretold about the interior. But I overlooked that because I'm enticed by good old houses that look down on their luck and in need of attention. Besides, I also fell in love with the neighbourhood - and the price of the house.
Mind you, I came upon this place after a mad search carrying a 10-week-old baby in a June heat wave. But even if I had been lucid and well-rested - and known it would cost me in excess of $100,000 to rejuvenate the exterior - I would still have bought it.
When you restore a century home, I think you get a better-quality building in the end. I also think that interiors are always more interesting when they are informed by a sense of history and architecture. And most of all ... I can't say no to a challenge.
Stake it on cedar
I'd never considered spending the equivalent of a down payment on a small house to reroof my place, but I was soon hooked on the idea of installing a cedar roof instead of the more common - and more economical - asphalt kind. "It will give the house presence," I was told. "Cedar is the right choice for the area," my contractor said. (Oh sure, tell me all the cool kids have it and just see if I can say no.) At the end of the day, the cedar cost about $25,000, but that didn't seem so bad when compared with the premium asphalt option at about $16,000. Since I was having trouble finding the funds to pay for this splurge, I came up with a plan to save a bit of cash: I covered the back slope of the roof in asphalt and used cedar just on the front. (This doesn't work in every location, but my house backs on to railway tracks and no one can see the rear roof.) This tradeoff saved me $2,000. That doesn't sound like much but trust me, every penny counts in the race to the finish line.
Porch presence
I have a weakness for covered porches. They add such charm to the front of a house. Sadly, mine was rotting from below, not properly supported and beyond repair, so I opted to rip it off and start again. I did, however, salvage the roof structure and propped it up on supports while we fixed everything beneath it. If you have a peaked roof with a flat ceiling below, you might want to think about doing what I did to get more ceiling height. We removed all the ratty tongue-in-groove ceiling and created a tray ceiling, which provided another 18 inches of ceiling height and made it possible to hang a lovely lantern.
Go for the good stuff
I know quality costs more, but I can't stress enough how important it is to use top-quality wood windows instead of their less-expensive vinyl counterparts. I know it's tempting to rule out the idea of investing in wood windows and just pop in the cheaper cousins, but I think it's a huge mistake, especially in older homes. You get what you pay for with windows and should always think about the long run. No matter what you do to dress them up, vinyl windows always look out of place against a traditional, well-built home. If you think vinyl wins over wood because it's low maintenance, you might want to consider opting for metal-clad wood windows, which will never need to be repainted and come in lots of great colours.
Avoid aluminum
Next on my hit list of no-no's is taking the easy path when it comes to trimming your new windows. The installers will likely want to just dress all the sills and surrounds with prepainted aluminum, but once again this is not an appropriate solution for a nice old home. It strips away all the character and detail. My recommendation is to use new wood trim to bridge any gaps left after installation. If the old paint is in rough shape, it can be burned or scraped off, then sanded, caulked, primed and repainted to complement your new window. Sounds like a lot of work, but you'll never get a second chance to make a first impression on the exterior of your home, so why not do it right?
Try before you buy
When selecting outdoor paint colours, you must always test the colours and look at them in full daylight to understand how they will translate outside. You will be amazed at how much lighter they look and how subtle variations in colour disappear in natural light. Even when I select colours knowing this will happen, I am always surprised at how different they appear, and thankful that I tried them before signing off with the painters. After all, there's no point paying for a multicolour paint scheme if the difference in the colours is imperceptible.
Keep it natural
The most expensive lesson I learned about rejuvenating an old dame of a house is that new, less-expensive building materials just don't blend with a backdrop of character and quality. When it came time to commit to a material for the rebuilding of my retaining wall, I was presented with three choices and, like a group of high-maintenance women, all of them had their issues. A timber wall would be fast and easy to install, was the most economical of the options, but would need to be replaced in eight to 10 years.
After living in our current home for six years, my family feels like it's just settling into the groove and is not the least bit interested in replacing things that were just done. And Band-Aid solutions don't work for me. (I also feared that the timber wall might introduce a vaguely 1970s vibe to my very 2007 revamp of my 1913 gem.)
A man-made stone wall was middle of the road for price, would be relatively easy to install thanks to the clever engineering of the blocks, and would stand the test of time. But my landscape team and my stonemason both told me they thought such an interlocking wall would be out of context and cheapen the look of an old home like mine. Also, the colour choices available were anything but complementary to my new paint job.
So that left a dry-laid, chisel-faced natural stone wall - the Cadillac of walls. It would look like a million bucks ("better look like it," I said, "or else I'm losing money here!"), and be the most expensive and time-consuming solution. Despite the fact that it was more than triple the price I had envisioned spending on this part of my project, I agreed to take the plunge. My mantra is accomplish the most for the least and stretch a budget as far as you can, but I won't sacrifice quality. If the only good choice is an expensive one, I will do it right and accept the consequences. I'd rather overspend and be proud of my choices than sacrifice and have regrets.
When the real estate agents came to evaluate my house, they oohed and aahed when they saw my wall, steps and pathway, and commented on what great curb appeal the house had. I certainly spent more than I should have on the exterior and it pushed me way over budget (which cut pretty deeply into my resale margins), but my investment in curb appeal will not only enhance my house, but the value of the street and the quality of the neighbourhood.
Sarah Richardson is host and co-producer of Sarah's House and Design Inc. on HGTV ( ) and Principal of Sarah Richardson Design ( ).
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Where to buy
Landscaping - Earth Inc., 416-216-0378,
Windows and doors - Loewen,
Door and window installation and trimming - Fieldstone Windows Ltd., 1-866-202-0286 or
Light on porch - Universal Lamp, 416-787-8900 or
Chairs on porch - Sarah Richardson for Andrew Richard Designs, 416-601-1451 or
Pots on porch - IKEA, 416-646-4532 or
Columns, trim, railings, spindles - Royal Wood Shop Ltd., 905-727-1387 or
Stone retaining wall, steps, path and driveway resurfacing - MBKL Ltd., 416-836-7295
Exterior painting - Technicolour Painting Inc., 416-737-2595 or
Exterior paint - ICI Paints, - Window trim: "Grey lady" (50GY 37/021); soffits: "Grey hearth" (30YY 16/032); pickets/ceiling/floor of porch: "Frost grey" (30GG 52/011); columns: "Mansard stone" (30YY 20/029)