Facades for First Impressions

From the moment you make the decision to build a new home you adopt a whole new language, you will find yourself talking the ‘new home lingo’.

Words like floor coverings (you used to call these carpets and tiles!), splashbacks, WCs, and slide rails become your new vernacular, and you say these new words out loud in public as much as you can. You have joined the new home tribe!

One word you will learn quite early on is façade, and it’s an important one. For the uninitiated, the façade is the external design aesthetic of the street-facing front of your home. The facade elements integrated with the front landscaping design, floor plan layout and interior theme all work together to embody your individual style and make a statement about house pride.

It’s the last thing you see when you head off to work, it welcomes you home after a long day, helps your friends find their way for a visit, plays a big role in re-sale, and is a difficult area to refurb, so it pays to get it right.

Our top 5 façade design tips will help demystify the selection process and have you spouting a whole vocabulary of design terms to impress even the most well versed home buyers!

First impressions do count…

Remember when you started out on the home search, pulling up to a display village with an hour to spare and 35 homes to visit. Impossible to see them all, so you short list them by the ones that look great from the outside, the ones with the street appeal calling your name. There’s no reason why you can’t replicate this street impact for your home. Take the time to make note of facades you see that appeal to you, and you will soon develop a list of desirable design features.

Designer features included…

Choosing the perfect floor plan goes hand in hand with the façade selection. One should never compromise the other, but rather integrate design and quality for overall wow factor. And then budget comes into the equation. Investigate which facade is included in the base price of your home, and make sure it complies with design covenants. Look for façade options that include statement design features such as glass balustrade, rendered details, architectural style windows, eaves and even timber detailing. And of course, make sure you do your research as there can be a huge difference in cost from builder to builder.

Visualise your look…

When you start the new home search you will inevitably turn into a ‘visual person’, just check out your camera roll on your phone, it will be packed with hundreds of shots of ‘things you love’! There is no better way to experiment with ideas and find that unique look than to visualise the options and colours in situ. With the Carlisle Visualiser tool, a few simple clicks can customise your facade with hundreds of textures, materials and colours and see your home transform right in front of you. Save it, share it, change it until you find the look you are after.

Covenants rule the world…

Here’s another new word for the list – the covenant. These are guidelines set by the estate developer to ensure the built form of your new community aligns with the planned neighbourhood character and to ensure a diverse mix of façade treatments are achieved. You should make sure you are familiar with the covenants applying to facades for your block of land to understand what elements are mandatory.

Keeping it looking nice…

While it shouldn’t be a deal breaker, considering what upkeep and maintenance is required for the façade you choose should be added to the equation. The reality is that timber windows will need to be oiled, timber features may need to be re-stained, and darker façade colours may fade over time, it’s all part of looking after your home.