An Aussie mum has used a simple and fun DIY task to enhance the value of her home, now her neighbours are following suit.
In Sydney’s inner west, Kate Hudson recently transformed her Hurlstone Park house from a dated cream and blue exterior to a sharp grey and white facade.
Picking up the paintbrush herself whilst on maternity leave, the DIY results have inspired three other homes in her street to now repaint their exteriors as well with an expected to add 10 per cent value to the home.
“When we bought the house in 2018, we loved pretty much everything except the front colour,” Ms Hudson said.
“I grew up with a house that was very much the same colour, it’s very old school and it didn’t give us happy vibes every time we walked past.”
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Kate and her family at the front of their home before the repaint. Pictures: supplied
Ms Hudson said she knew they could refresh the facade, having upcoming time off work was another catalyst.
“We were pretty confident on the colour theme that we wanted so I just went and bought the paint and just started,” she said.
“We’ve also painted the inside of this house when we first moved in a similar grey, we really like the grey feel with the white trim.
“I had the music blaring, it was beautiful weather when I did it and I quite enjoy painting.
“I really enjoyed it and the benefit obviously was the significant transformation at the end.”
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The Hudson family
Sitting in a common thoroughfare, Ms Hudson said lots of people walk past the home with many commenting on how the paint has brightened up the front of the house and is now more eye-catching.
“We know we added value, but we never got that dollar value because that wasn’t anything that we were interested in,” she said.
Shire Realty agent Aaron Godfrey estimates around one in three properties that come to market could use an exterior paint refresh with the transformation adding as much as $100,000 in value to the sale price.
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The home during the repaint
“A 10 per cent of the value of the home would be would be increased by the presentation of the home,” he said.
Mr Godfrey said the main ways to increase the value of a home is painting, floor coverings and landscaping.
“Doing the paint, the carpet and the floor coverings and the landscaping, that definitely adds value to the sale price,” he said.
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The house after the repaint.
Mr Godfrey said better presented properties where homeowners have opted to repaint also sell quicker.
“The days on market are much less and the sale price can be anywhere up to 10 per cent above,” he said.
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Dulux Marketing Director Richard Hansen said painting your home can help to enhance resistance to dirt, mould and algae.
According to Dulux, the average size of an Aussie home is 230 sqm meaning three coats of Weathershield would be roughly 45 Litres and roughly $875 (3x 15L).
According to Mr Hanson, if homeowners are going to paint themselves, they need to do their research and look for a paint that reduces colour fade, and sheen loss, meaning your home looks freshly painted for longer.
Hansen said Dulux Weathershield is one of Australia’s most popular exterior paints with around one in 10 Aussies repainting their home exteriors with Weathershield in the past six months.
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