Curb appeal is a term often used to describe your home’s first impression. It’s how your house looks from the street to you, to passers-by and potential home buyers.
When your home has super curb appeal, you can take real pride in ownership.
In this article we share 42 great ideas you can use to supercharge your home’s curb appeal and welcome visitors to your front door. Read on to learn more.
#1 – Start at the curb. Brighten up your street-side mailbox by giving it a fresh coat of paint Coordinate your mailbox landscaping color scheme with your house for a uniform appearance.
#2 – Plant a nice little garden around it your mailbox and along the curb if possible. Choose plants for your mailbox garden that extend your home’s color theme.
#3 – Spruce up the path to your home by upgrading it for safety and style. If you have gravel paths, rake them smooth and add more gravel as needed for safe footing.
What Looks Unsightly and Messy?
Look around for those simple things that make things look messy. Unsightly things like the garden hose.
Make the hose more accessible and attractive by justing hanging it up.
#4 – If your concrete paths are damaged and dangerous, take the necessary steps to correct the problem. Resurface your plain, old concrete walkway with a colored concrete resurfacer for greater visual appeal
#5 – Border your front path with an interesting collection of container plants to add visual appeal and interest. Don’t line the containers up like soldiers.
Instead, stagger them a bit, putting shorter pots in front of larger containers to show each plant to its best advantage, soften the appearance and provide “flow” to guide your guests to your door.
#6 – If you don‘t like the idea of container plants, create a mini-garden alongside the path and plant a beautiful border of flowering plants or small shrubs. Remember to mix colors and textures for a welcoming, natural look.
#7 – Add a pretty block, brick or stone edging to your front path to give it a finished appearance.
Add Stone Veneer To Columns, Posts, Foundations or Stairs
Add a high-end look can be achieved by adding stone veneer to columns, posts, foundations, walkway, driveway or stairs. DIY curb appeal enthusiasts love the specially designed pieces which are easy to mount using screws and adhesive.
#8 – Make your porch safe and attractive. Check all railings for safety. If they are wobbly, fix them or replace them. Paint railings to match your home’s trim. Add railing planters filled with colorful flowers.
#9 – If you have a wooden deck, stain and seal it or paint it for the best appearance. Check all the deck railings and repair or replace any that are wobbly or splintered.
#10 – If you have a concrete porch, the entrance to your home will pop with a tiled stoop. When you tile your doorstep, you create a permanent doormat.
Choose tiles that provide secure footing in colors that coordinate with your overall color scheme or in neutral colors that will easily tie in with future changes.
#11 – Put a wall mounted mail box by your front door. Even if you have a street-side mailbox, a smaller box by your door looks cute and makes it handy for friends to leave notes.
Related: Tips on Adding Landscape Color without Flowers
#12 – Symmetrical placement of porch decorations, such as planters, furnishings, etc. is more pleasing to the eye than a random, scattered appearance.
Place an attractive planter on each side of the door and/or line porch or deck railings with well-cared-for potted plants.
#13 – If your porch is too small to add floor planters, try adding a vertical planter. This is an easy DIY project that really adds color and charm to even the smallest porch.
Just cut a panel of lattice to fit the wall of your porch. Resin lattice is durable and available in about half a dozen colors to blend with almost any color scheme. Frame it and hang it.
Use “S” hooks to hang small pails with handles on the lattice. Plop a small potted plant into each (all the same or mix and match) and voila! You have custom vertical planter.
#14 – Add outdoor lighting at the front of the house to give your home nighttime curb appeal. Use accent lights to show off the best features of your home, yard, and garden. Add safety to paths and stairs with well-placed lighting.
Pick up an affordable, convenient solar powered lighting kit at your local home improvement center or online to make a big improvement quickly and easily.
#15 – Replace your old porch light with a fresh, new overhead fixture or wall sconce. Strive for symmetry around your front door.
When you install your lighting fixtures, you’ll create a better appearance overall by making sure your overhead fixture is perfectly centered or installing matching sconces on both sides of the door.
#16 – For a uniform appearance, strive to match your lighting fixtures with your door hardware. If you have an older home, oiled bronze fittings and hardware provide a classic look. For contemporary homes, brushed nickel is a good choice.
#17 – Give your front door a makeover with new hardware and paint. Paint your front door and surrounding trim a bright color to perk up your home’s appearance fast.
#18 – Add a full-length storm door to protect your freshly painted front door and show it off to its best advantage.
#19 – If nothing else, give your front door and its hardware a good cleaning. Remove the hardware and perk it up with metal polish. If it is very old and worn, replace it or try spray painting it.
#20 – Replace your house numbers with a standout font. Larger numbers in an attractive style help your house look it’s best and make it easy to find.
#21 – For your home exterior, painting is one of the quickest and most affordable home makeovers both inside and out. A fresh coat of paint can give your house a whole new appearance. Be sure to do good prep work first (cleaning, sanding and repairing any defects) before you begin. This will ensure the best results.
Related Reading: Outdoor Palm Tree Landscape Lighting
#22 – Replace damaged siding. If you have vinyl siding, a good power washing will do wonders to perk up the appearance of your home.
#23 – Stone veneer is a nice addition in a number of applications. You can use it to dress up your entryway or create focal points at various areas around your home. Manufactured stone veneer skirting gives your home a finished look and improves energy efficiency by preventing drafts under the house.
#24 – Add natural stone as accents incorporated in a concrete foundation, add to column footings or dressing up other masonry.
#25 – Charming window boxes add a tremendous amount of curb appeal. The easiest option is to choose an ornamental planter box that mounts easily and acts as a holder for potted plants. This allows you to change out the plants seasonally for an always-fresh look.
#26 – Add shutters and accent trim to give your home a very finished appearance. There are lots of options in shutter materials, including:
- Polyurethane
- Aluminum
- PVC resins
- Fiberglass
- Composite
- Vinyl
- Wood
Adding ornamental shutters to windows of different sizes can bring a sense of uniformity.
#27 – Adding functional shutters is a good idea in a number of ways. They can protect against high winds, punishing sunlight and even home intrusion.
#28 – If you have loose shingles on your roof, replace them. Remember that the view of your home from the street is about 40% roof, so if your roof looks bad, the rest of your house will, too, no matter what you do. Just a few shingles curling up or hanging haphazardly can make your whole house look shabby.
#29 – Replace the roof if you have more than a few loose or curling shingles. If you are trying to sell your home, a new roof will add to the value because the roof makes up between fifteen and forty percent of the value of a home.
#30 – Clean and bolster your gutters and downspouts. If they are dirty, sagging and/or hanging haphazardly, it ruins your home’s curb appeal.
#31 – If you have rusty old metal gutters and downspouts, replacing them with new vinyl versions is a quick, easy fix that really improves the look of your home. Vinyl fittings are quite affordable and are available in several colors.
#32 – Decluttering is the easiest step you can take to improve your yard’s curb appeal. Pick up fallen limbs, yard toys, garden hoses, tools, etc. that may be cluttering up your yard.
#33 – Install a garden shed if you don’t have any place to put your clutter. A well-chosen, pre-fab garden shed can help improve the appearance of your property, increase its value and add curb appeal. Garden sheds are available in a wide variety of colors and styles to match any architectural style.
#34 – Tidy up your flower beds and hedges by pulling weeds, pruning and adding a fresh layer of mulch for a neat appearance. Add new plants as needed, according to the season.
#35 – Edge along the verge of your flowerbeds and add a block, brick or stone border for a very neat appearance.
#36 – If your flowerbeds are very bedraggled and disarrayed, why not start fresh? Remove or turn under old plantings and set out a new collection of fresh plants that reflect the season.
This is an especially good idea if you are selling your home. Flowerbeds filled with pansies and daisies in the spring or chrysanthemums and an ornamental pumpkin or two in the fall make a good first impression.
#37 – Add small garden plots at the corners of your yard, or along the front curb to help your house stand out and give it a cheerful and welcoming appearance.
Be sure to coordinate plant and flower colors with the color scheme of your home. Mix textures and colors to soften the silhouette of your plantings and add visual interest.
#38 – Adding weather-resistant works of art to your landscape is another excellent way to increase interest.
Natural sculptures made of wood or stone, metal cutouts, birdbaths, fountains and smaller items like wind or rain chimes add charm and beauty to your setting.
Remember to place water features in such a way that they do not become cluttered with fallen leaves.
#39 – Fencing can define your yard, even if it is only decorative fencing. Add an arching trellis over your walkway with a decorative garden gate.
Define the corners of your property with decorative fence panels. Shade a length of walkway with an arbor. All of these decorative features (painted or stained to coordinate with the colors of your home) add interest and make your home more inviting.
#40 – Clean up your driveway. If you have a concrete drive, clean up oil stains and give it a good power washing to help it look its best. If the concrete is cracked, patch or replace it.
Likewise, if your drive is made of pavers or bricks, replace damaged ones and repair as needed. If you have a gravel drive, treat for weeds as needed and add fresh gravel for a smooth, attractive appearance.
#41 – Expand your driveway by adding a parking space to the side. This is kind of a big job, but it does add value and curb appeal to your home.
You’ll need to clear off any vegetation and prepare the ground to lay concrete, bricks, pavers or gravel to create space to accommodate one or more cars.
#42 – Paint your garage, and dress up the door with new paint and trim coordinating with the color scheme of your home. Frame the door with a pergola and trailing vines for a very attractive look.
Whether you are selling your house or simply want to present it in a way that makes a great first impression, refer to the ideas presented here as you strive to improve your home’s curb appeal.
This video provides good information about the value of adding curb appeal.
#43 – How To Hide Your Air Conditioner
Most air conditioning units are not concealed very well and often stick out like a sore thumb.
Hiding your air conditioner is as simple as building a basic screen. You can easily adjust the look, height and width.
This can be done even easier and faster by creating a screen using pre-made fencing panels. If you get tired of the look… the panels can be changed out or removed.
There are even kits to hide A/C units:
b/t – bhg.com