The way your home looks when you come home each day can dramatically impact how positively you perceive your home. You want your home to be attractive and welcoming, but you probably focus on the inside more than the outside, like many people. However, your house’s exterior appearance is also essential to achieving that welcoming perception. Your friends’ and neighbors’ first impressions of your home are based on its curb appeal. If you want your home to make a great first impression, focus on these key points below.
Plants, shrubs, and trees all enhance the look of a house. They break the line of the lawn, add visual interest, and create a peaceful, natural oasis. Create balance and harmony by consulting with a landscaping engineer or finding landscaping templates online. The landscaping looks best when there is a variety of heights and textures. Boldly colored flowers, leafy shrubs, and, if there is room, a few trees combine to create a beautiful setting for your house.
If you don’t have room for a garden, add interest and texture to your porch and on either side of the front door with potted plants or hanging baskets. Window boxes are also a lovely way to add color and texture to your home.
Fading vinyl siding, peeling paint, and dated brickwork can all create a disappointing exterior. If you’re tired of your house’s exterior, there are lots of ways to dress it up, including a fresh coat of paint, new siding, or a cultured stone overlay. Companies like Brickworks Property Restoration offer a wide range of cultured stone fronts that can be custom designed to cover brick, wood, or siding and give your home the elegance of chiseled stonework at a fraction of the cost of other natural stone or brick.
Is the front of your house a blank slate? Adding attractive elements such as new shutters and decorated house numbers immediately give your home personalized appeal and charm. Look for shutters in a style and color that compliments your house and stays true to the architecture. For a country-style home, rustic wood shutters are a great choice. For a more traditional, colonial home, paneled shutters are attractive.
The impact of minor improvements can be immense. Painting the doors in a bold, unexpected color can transform the look of an otherwise neutral or dark house. Red, turquoise, and yellow are all lovely shades that can add a vibrant element to your home’s curb appeal. Even a new stylish mailbox, flagpole hardware, or an outside water fountain also dresses up your property.
Insufficient lighting can give your home a dim, foreboding look at night. For some people, it’s also a safety issue. Make sure you have bright, pretty lights illuminating the doors and pathway lighting along sidewalks and paths. Consider lights around any yard or garden seating areas as well.
A picket fence, pergola, or garden arch are all ways to define areas of the yard and add visual interest. Try a pergola to define a seating area in the yard or a picket fence enhanced by flowers or greenery to highlight the size of your yard and add cottage appeal. Plant a ring of flowers around trees or a water fountain or birdhouse.
It’s easy to add curb appeal to your home by choosing one or two elements at a time. Start with something small and work your way toward more extensive, more time-consuming projects if you aren’t in a hurry. You’ll be amazed at how much more you enjoy your home when it looks beautiful before you even walk in the door.