13 tricks to make your terraced house stand out

Whitton Road, Phillips Tracey Architects Phillips Tracey Architects Classic style houses
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Traditional British terrace houses are gorgeous, but what with them lining street after street in the UK, it can be difficult to make yours stand out, for all the right reasons! Naturally, you want your home to be a reflection of you and your tastes, but at the same time, you want to preserve the heritage of the property and maintain a good potential sale value, so what can you do to give yours a little more oomph? 

Ask any architect and they'll tell you that terrace houses have an innate charm that you don't want to overshadow with too many outlandish additions, which is why we've honed in on some subtle yet effective changes that you can make. Come with us now and see how spectacular your terrace could look, but be prepared for some serious neighbour envy!

1. Paint the façade.

A fresh coat of paint will instantly give your home a new lease on life, especially if you tackle any cracks or flaky finishes while you're at it!

2. Make more of your trim.

Terrace houses always have lovely window and door trims, so why not think about painting them in a contrasting colour to the rest of the façade? Stick to something understated for a really classic look, such as this charming sage green!

3. Highlight period features.

If your terraced house has a wealth of period features on the front of it, such as ornate door accents, really make more of them! Commit to a regular cleaning and repainting schedule and maintain them properly to make sure they always stand out.

4. Be bold with colour.

If you love the heritage of your home but are a little more modern in your tastes, just go for it with a bold colour choice! The dark grey here shouldn't really work, but it looks exceptional, as everything else has been kept simple.

5. Add an extension.

There's nothing quite like a beautiful extension to make sure that your terraced house is different from the rest! If you place it at the rear, the front of your home will look untouched, but you'll have so much extra space inside!

6. Modernise the look.

As long as your home isn't listed, you can modernise the façade, if you want to. Smooth, unfussy bay windows, more energy efficient windows and an unusual colour will certainly get a lot of attention!

6. Give it curbside appeal.

Step back and take an objective look at your home. If there's anything that just doesn't look right, change it! It could be as simple as hiding your bins, trimming your hedges or even changing up the hardware on your door. Look at your home as if you were planning to buy it and you'll see anything that needs freshening up.

7. Make the front door stand out.

Your front door is a great way to add a little personal style to your terraced house! Whether you stick with a traditional style and paint it in a bold colour, or add something a little newer, it can become the main focal point of the whole façade.

8. Tidy up your front garden.

Your front garden intrinsically impacts on how good your home looks, so don't neglect it! Some simple privet hedges and shingle are a low maintenance yet pretty way to keep the front area looking well curated.

9. Try some window boxes.

Here's a great tip! Add some window boxes to your home and plant seasonal, pretty blooms that you can easily manage and swap out in the balcony. A little dose of natural colour will really grab passers-by's attention!

10. Add some custom railings.

Terraced houses look amazing when they have some heritage-style railings in place. They really are a match made in heaven! If you don't have any or yours are a bit tatty, replace them with something eye-catching and authoritative and you'll see what an impact they have.

11. Maintain your walls.

Don;t forget about your garden walls, whatever you do! Not only do you need to make sure that they are in good condition, you need to think about keeping them clean too! City homes are always getting covered in much and dirt, so grab a pressure washer and bring those bricks back to life!

12. Add a parking space!

Ask any terrace home owner and they'll tell you that having an off-road parking space is a huge selling point! If you can negate a garden in favour of some parking potential, we really recommend it and just think how much money you'll save in permits!

13. Make the path dazzling.

Last, but not least, how about adding a period-appropriate garden path that neatly leads visitors to your front door? Perfectly laid tiles, as seen here, really do look phenomenal and add so much majesty to a home!

To see a wonderfully renovated terrace project, take a look at this Ideabook: Brilliantly Updated Edwardian Terrace.

Bonus tips: Give the interior a facelift

For the renovation or extension of a terraced house, UK architects often focus on the changing interiors of the house, especially where council guidelines don’t allow too much modification of the front façade. A kitchen extension that connects to the backyard, or even updating the back of the house with a glass façade overlooking the garden, can completely transform the ambience within the house. It’s an excellent option for mid terraced houses which don’t have much room for expansion on either side.

Extend below ground in a terraced building

Another idea for updating a terraced cottage or house is to carve out or insert a space under the house to accommodate a den, library, relaxation zone or even a workout studio. It might involve dropping the ground floor slab, removing some of the internal walls and installing a glass floor to flood the new area below ground level with natural light. 

For renovating or updating a terraced house, London architects can come up with creative solutions that stay within the guidelines prescribed for the neighbourhood. 

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