Add Appeal to Your Home

“With the right knowledge, it’s easy to transform any room of your home, as well as the exterior,” says Niki Decker, senior product and marketing manager with Fypon, a company that creates synthetic millwork products. Here are some tips.

Before adding shutters to your exterior, do a bit of math. The width of shutters used in pairs on a window should be half the width of the window.

The higher the ceiling, the taller the baseboard should be. Additionally, the height of baseboard molding should always be larger than the frame around a door or window.

Make a room feel taller by placing a chair rail one-third of the way up from the floor. Chair rails should be 1/2 or one inch narrower than door and window frames.

If you have a classic Georgian-style home characterized by strict symmetry and a centered, paneled front door, cap the front door panel with an elaborate crown supported by decorative pillars.

Enhance a Victorian-style home with ornamental spindlework on porches and patterned shingles on the roof. Offset the complexity with simple surrounds for windows.

For country-style cottages, consider clapboard shingles for siding or wood shake for siding and roofing and wide white trim or shutters around windows.

Complete the look and feel of a Mediterranean-style home with decorative accents such as round columns, tile and stone. A lush garden and ornate fountain provide further enhancement.

Maintain a traditional look with innovative, updated building materials that last longer and need less upkeep. For example, polyurethane pieces are a lightweight alternative to wood. The pieces are easy to install and resist insects, moisture and weather conditions.

Niki Decker, Senior Product and Marketing Manager
Fypon
fypon.com

To learn more about enhancing your home’s architectural style, you can download Fypon’s free style guide at www.fypon.com/literature/catalog.asp.