Improve Curb Appeal – Make Your Home More Appealing
How to Improve Curb Appeal – Making Your Home Look More Expensive
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OK.. so maybe my home and your home don’t necessarily look like the one pictured, but there are still plenty of things that can be done to improve your curb appeal and make your home look more expensive.
MAKE YOUR HOME MORE APPEALING – DOORS, HARDWARE, LIGHTING:
As Will Rogers so famously said: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression“. The first thing people notice when they walk up to your home is the entrance. Arriving at your front door, they may be standing there for a couple of minutes while waiting for you to answer the door. As they wait they are glancing around at your door, your entry light, and whatever else may be near the door.
REFINISH YOUR FRONT ENTRY DOOR TO IMROVE YOUR CURB APPEAL:
Not only will this improve your home’s entrance and improve your curb appeal, it can also improve your home value.
If you have been considering restaining your front door, or giving it a new coat of paint, but haven’t been able to make a decision as to the color.. see our next post: Best Front Door Colors
IMPROVE YOUR CURB APPEAL – NEW FIXTURES AND HARDWARE:
Is your door hardware showing signs of age? This might be a good time to replace it. On the assumption you have a light next to your front door, try to pick hardware that will go with the finish of the light fixture. Of course, if you are really in upgrade mode, and your budget allows, you might want to shop for a new light fixture to go with your new door hardware.
If your outdoor light fixture is the one that came with the house when it was first built, it is likely too small, really plain, and totally lacking any sort of style. Builders like to cut corners wherever they can, particularly if the items are things that will not make or break the sale of a new home.
Newly upgraded hardware and a new coordinating light fixture will help improve your curb appeal.
What Size Light Fixture is Appropriate? The height of the average residential entry door is 6 feet 8 inches, or 80 inches. The size of the fixture outside the door should be no less than 1/4 the height of the door. This means you should be looking for a fixture that is no less than 20 inches high.
IMPROVE YOUR CURB APPEAL – FOLIAGE, PLANTERS AND POTS:
A welcoming entrance is always a good way to improve your home value. If you have a planter area by the front door, plant some greenery and flowering plants. Be careful what you plant, however! You do not want to create an inviting environment for bees right by your front door.
Some people have life-threatening reactions to bee stings. You don’t want your guests to have to run for their lives to avoid being stung by a bee.
If you don’t have a planter area by your front door, pick up a couple of matching pots. If the pots are large enough, you could plant some taller greenery in the back, with some shorter flowers in the front for color.
Some of the flowers you can plant which will not attract bees are:
- Foxglove: The long blooms of this plant are simply not attractive to bees. Hummingbirds, however, love this plant. They are the only ones who have beaks long enough to suck the nectar from the long throated blooms.
- Roses: The ever popular roses are a welcome addition to almost every garden. This flower will need some TLC, but the beautiful blooms are well worth the trouble. The added advantage is that the unscented varieties of roses, particularly red roses, do not attract bees.
I am sure there are other flowers as well that bees don’t particularly care for. You could probably come up with a whole list if you were to do an online search for “flowers that do not attract bees”.
IMPROVE YOUR CURB APPEAL WITH OUTDOOR WALL DECOR:
You may wish to further improve your curb appeal with a piece of wrought iron outdoor wall decor. This works especially well if you have a wall which is perpendicular to your front door. You can find wrought iron wall decor in all shapes and sizes.
If you find a piece of wall art you like, but you would prefer it in a different color, they can easily be painted using Rust-Oleum spray paint. You might want to pick up a painter’s mask as well.
Untwist a wire coat hanger and make a hook to hang it in a tree. Find a long stick or something to hold it gently in place and keep it from twisting while you are painting, then spray away.
After the paint dries, you should add a coat of clear Polyurethane for additional protection against the elements.
If you are concerned that your wall art could be stolen from the front of your home, do what we do; hang it using rope guides.
Rope guides are shaped like a mini drawer handle with a screw hole at each end. Use one at the top and one at the bottom where you see the two pieces of wrought iron being held together. Attach to the wall using wall anchors and screws.
* Rope guides are normally silver. You may want to paint these at the same time you paint the wall art.
MAKE YOUR HOME MORE APPEALING WITH NEW HOUSE NUMBERS:
We live in a gated community and every home has a lighted address plaque. In an instance such as this, you would probably not want to replace your house numbers. This would defeat the purpose of all the homes having some sort of continuity. If you have an HOA they would likely not allow you to replace any uniform address plaques.
However, if you are in a neighborhood where everyone is allowed to customize the exterior of their home however they please, within reason, you might want to do something different with your house numbers.
A lot of people like the big shiny brass or silver colored numbers. Due to their reflective qualities, these types of numbers may be seen more easily at night as well.
The big wooden numbers are also popular. Most times the wooden numbers are painted to match the trim of the home.
If the trim of your home is a light color and you feel the numbers won’t stand out enough, you could paint them a darker shade of your house color.
Classic black may also be an option, or a dark brown wood stain or paint color, making them look like they are Mahogany, Walnut, or Cherry.
Attractive new house numbers will help to improve your curb appeal.
