Easy Tips to Spruce-Up Your Home’s Exterior Trim

(StatePoint) Trimming out a house “from the top down” with colorful but low-maintenance finishes and accessories is a growing trend for busy homeowners looking for easy-care home exteriors. Experts advise starting at the top of your home with gable vents and louvers, and then making your way down with decorative millwork, window and door trim, followed by a balustrade system and porch columns.

“Today’s homeowners are selecting materials for the outside of the home that are long-lasting and require minimal upkeep,” says Heather Kovacs, product manager for Fypon. “Urethane and PVC accessories perfectly match the needs of homeowners looking for stylish exterior enhancements that resist moisture, insects, cracking, peeling, rotting and warping.”

Depending on the look you’re going for, keep in mind the finish. If you plan to paint the accessories, a smooth finish works best. For staining, opt for timber. A stone cast replicates concrete. With these options, you can personalize your home exterior and complement your home’s design with durable, synthetic materials.

Roofline

At the roofline of the home, consider gable vents and louvers that come in shapes like octagons, cathedral, triangles and ovals. Functional venting louvers should feature corrosion-resistant screens to help keep insects out of the home and angled slates to protect interiors from rain, while still encouraging ventilation for attic spaces.

Windows and Doors

Pilasters, pediments, crossheads and shutters can enhance key elements of a home’s exterior.

“The windows on the front of a home gain tremendous curb appeal when accented by trim accessories,” points out Kovacs. “Similarly, you can transform a ho-hum entryway into a stunning grand entrance for a home by installing easy-care door surrounds.”

Eaves

To add the ultimate finishing touch to eaves and window areas on the exterior, Kovacs recommends incorporating brackets, dentil blocks and corbels. These pieces can be positioned under showcase window areas and on porches, and are also typically found under the roofline of a home. A trellis system installed above a garage door or a secondary entryway of the home can carry through the decorative elements on the exterior.

Color

With the right color combinations, the trim you add to your home can be striking, drawing together the entire exterior. For this reason, it’s best to consider materials that come with a pre-primed surface ready to stain or paint. For example, Fypon offers paintable detailed mouldings, brackets, trellis systems, louvers and other millwork pieces in a variety of architectural styles that are low-maintenance and weather resistant. For color and style tips, visit www.Fypon.com/design.

For an easy way to add instant curb appeal and character to your home, consider trimming your home top to bottom.

*****

*****

*****