My Victorian terrace looks terrible. How can I improve it?

[chilliplant634]

Hi. I bought a Victorian terrace as a first time buyer. It's not an amazing house. In fact it is quite ugly on the outside. It is what I could afford at the time. I'm looking for suggestions on what I can do to make the front exterior look better and what kind of costs would be involved.

The previous owner seems to have slapped concrete all over the front brick wall. I'm not sure why this is. Would the whole wall need to be knocked down and rebuilt? It doesn't even look level. Any ideas?

Well I think it looks smart. I've seen a lot worse.

But. I think if money were no object I would remove the render, have the roof tiles replaced with slate, get the garden wall rebuilt and have a proper Victorian tiled path to the door.

The render thing might be tricky as it looks like they were all done at the same time so could have been done to help insulate them.

I don’t think it looks bad but I’d paint the window frames, replace the front door if you can afford it, paint or replace the front wall, and add some small trees in containers either side of the door.

Hi, too me it really doesn't look that bad, as it matches the adjoining property and still has the original shape of window.

I would advise you to walk around your area and see if there are any good local examples and copy those.

Usually properties look better when returned to the way they would have looked at the time of building, rather than just sticking new things on.

The wall is not offending me tbh, better than the old concrete one to the left IMO.

The three things that I would do for starters that are not too expensive are a new front door (my preference would be more period charm and some colour), repaint the windows as they look grimy/worn and get some plants/flowers into that front garden, perhaps nice window boxes or potted small trees.

Be careful if painting the front, you need to be sure of the colour and that it will not look strange alongside the neighbours.

haha, @Bluntness100 said pretty much what I said but far more succinctly! Great minds think alike except for the wall.

I think it looks rather nice, I would have been thrilled with that as a FTB!
As others have said, smarten/pretty up the front garden, windows and door as budget allows.

I think biggest impact would be to get the render removed. I’ve seen amazing before an afters of that and it makes such a difference. The render is the only thing that’s bringing it down. Maybe once you do it everyone else will be inspired too!

I don’t think it’s horrendous but I agree with you that the render is ugly. Could you paint it yourself or re rendered? Even just white would be nice & fresh. I also would add greenery! Pots and climbing plants at the front of houses always look lovely & homely. If there are no ‘practical’ issues I would suggest a basic colour change & then some cute styling touches - greenery (big plants to add structure - symmetrical always looks smart) & also how about a nice light or two by the front door. Something classic in keeping with the style of the build! I think with a few touches it could be really sweet. Have a Google ‘Victorian terrace front makeover’ there’s lots of lovely looking places! xo

Paint the front door, the wall and the lintel around the windows. Plants in the front garden and next to the door. Nice curtains. Loads of good ideas on Pinterest

Are you in East London per chance?

Loads of houses like that round me.
You could remove the render.
Paint the render
Replace the white door.
Put a wisteria up the front (south facing best)

Repaint it white or pale blue, replace the terracotta tiles with slate and replace the front door.

It's a lovely house with lots of potential and congratulations on being a FTB! I wish you a long and happy time in your new home.

Replacing the net curtains with blinds or shutters can make it look smarter. I did the same for my house since no matter what I did the curtains always looked dirty.

Pressure wash the gas meter box at the front. If removing the render is too costly you could paint it. Get a new front door.

Drive around and see what others have done. Painting the render would be the easiest - a pastel shade maybe, with the wall to match. New windows and front door. Nice bright plants, a hanging basket or two.

But that's great for a first property - our second was worse than that!

Is all the street rendered? Have any had it removed? Might be costly though and I have no idea how effective it is, but the original brick or stone would look amazing if that was an option.

I'd buy a Victorian style solid wood door and paint it a nice colour. And add some plants - either something colourful like a hydrangea or possibly a hedge inside the garden wall. And yes, a nice tiled path - recreate some of the original features. I'd have a good look at the rest of the street to see if any have original front doors, walls/railings and front doors you can get inspiration from.

I don't think it's an ugly house though - I love Victorian terraces

What bluntness said

Are the window surrounds painted or just unpainted sandstone? I can't quite tell on a phone screen.

Replacing the net curtains with shutters is an excellent idea.

I'd paint the rendering. I really dislike that browny colour though. Perhaps white or a pastle?

Also some plants etc will help.

Can you paint the house walls?

Thanks guys! So many great suggestions.

I think I keep comparing the house to others along the row, which look so much better. Hence I keep thinking that mine is the ugly one. The differences that I see between my house and others on the street are they seem to have retained more original features. For example the tiled part extends fully over the front. They also have a nice brick front wall instead of the brown concrete thing that I have.

For the poster that asked- yes the house is in East London

Sorry if this is a silly question, but by render are you referring to the concrete covering on the front brick wall? Or the pebbledash on the exterior of the house?

My initial thoughts were to:

1. Repaint around the windows and doors in a white colour to match the neighbouring houses and to make it look more fresh.
2. I like the idea of replacing the front door. Can anyone post any links to images of styles of door which would look good with the house? Would you suggest replacing it with a more traditional looking front door?
3. The biggest bug bear out of them all- replace the front wall. I'm worried that this may be very costly. Does anyone know roughly the amount of money it would take to replace it and how long it would probably take?
4. I'm not sure if it is clear from the picture or not, but the front garden is raised. I was thinking of putting some gravel across, a chair and some potted plants/greenery

The window surrounds look as they have painted a weird beige colour by the previous owner.

Originally I was thinking to have the whole of the front repainted. i.e. both the walls and the window surrounds. But then I thought the house may stick out too much and look odd compared to next door?

The issue with the rendering is not just the ugly brown, but it seems to be really uneven and botched. I think painting over it wouldn't help it too much.

@karalime

Replacing the net curtains with blinds or shutters can make it look smarter. I did the same for my house since no matter what I did the curtains always looked dirty.

Pressure wash the gas meter box at the front. If removing the render is too costly you could paint it. Get a new front door.

Agree totally with this. The nets look grimey. I’m sure they aren’t but they are not helping the appearance. Blinds of voiles would smarten it up, voiles don’t cost much and you get some lovely ones on Amazon, also in different colours. Example below.

www.amazon.co.uk/Sienna-Crushed-Treatment-Textured-Champagne/dp/B0851G82XH/ref=psdc_3028602031_t1_B07P1HNBK9?th=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Walls are expensive yes, I’d paint it white to match the side wall.

Why do you want a chair, do you want to sit out there? If not then I’d not bother. I’d put some nice plants in. You could even plant a cherry blossom tree to give you some privacy or put some hedging in in front of the wall.

Pretty pots
If you haven't got a pressure washer buy some fenwicks caravan cleaner and wash the gas box. Are the windowsills stone or painted? If stone you could scrub the bay window (vim or cif and water with an old school scrubbing brush then rinse) which would brighten them up. Likewise the steps. Sparkling clean windows always improve the look of a place.

It's not that bad TBH.

I’d suggest:
New front door
Repaint window surrounds white
Window boxes or planters in front garden
Changing the nets for something nicer

Render in a lighter colour
Replace or repaint window frames
Replace front door
New wall or render it same as the house
Some plants