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Quick Ways to Add Curb Appeal to Your Home
Adding
curb appeal to your home simply means to make the exterior
of your home, including your lawn and garden, look more
attractive to anyone passing by. This can be accomplished
either with major home renovations (new roof, new paint
job, new siding, new addition, etc) or with relatively
simple touches that can really make a difference.
Whether you're looking to sell your home or just to
freshen up a bit, we came up with a few ways that you
can quickly add or increase curb appeal to your home.
Pressure washing - We talked about this in our spring
cleaning guide as well and truly believe that it is
a relatively simple task that can make a tremendous
difference in the look of your home. You can purchase
a pressure washer for around $200 from a home goods
store if you have somewhere to store it, otherwise you
can ask around and borrow one from a friend. Pressure
washing your home will clean and brighten the exterior,
freeing it of grime, dirt, and pollen, and provide a
huge first step to adding curb appeal to your home.
Window Boxes - installing window boxes off of
front-facing windows or railings or hanging plants from
a front porch ceiling can easily improve curb appeal
and make your home stand out from the rest. Make sure
the window boxes are easily accessible for watering
and re-planting and plant all boxes with hardy plants
and flowers to prevent wilting or dead flowers if you
miss one watering session. Severely wilted or dead flowers
look worse than no flowers at all.
Paint or Stain Front Door - Whether you install
a new front door, paint or stain the existing door,
or put on a new screen or storm door, this change can
really help accentuate the exterior details of your
home. Make sure that the door color and design coordinates
with the shutters, railings, window trim, and roof details.
This will help focus the look of your home and bring
all the elements together for a beautiful appearance.
Landscaping - You don't need to hire a landscaping
crew to come in and redesign your yard, but spending
some time and energy in your yard can really make a
difference. Start with the front since we're talking
about curb appeal here and envision how you want it
to look. If you already love the landscape design, then
you can go to work cleaning it up - raking, mulching,
trimming, and mowing. If you're thinking "What landscape
design?," then you might want to take some photos and
then take a trip to your local garden store. Show your
yard photos to an expert at the store and see if they
can come up with a vision for your yard and if they
can suggest what plants and accents to use and where.
Working on these four things can really help improve
your home's curb appeal, which is valuable to your own
piece of mind, the appearance of your city block or
suburban neighborhood, and is especially valuable if
you're planning on selling your home anytime soon.
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