Improving your home’s curb appeal doesn’t have to involve an expensive landscaping makeover.
We’ve rounded up 10 easy curb appeal ideas to give your home a new lease on life. Read on to see more.
13 Unique Curb Appeal Ideas
Making your house look like an inviting place to come home to is essential to selling your home.
If buyers can imagine themselves enjoying a glass of iced tea on your front porch or tending a flower bed, they’re far more likely to make an offer on your home.
Here are a few easy ideas to increase your home’s curb appeal.
1. Add New House Numbers
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Attractive new house numbers are an inexpensive addition that’ll help prospective home buyers find your home.
If they’re driving around and can’t locate your home because of house numbers that are hard to see, they may turn their attention elsewhere.
2. Trim Overgrown Hedges and Trees
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Hedges and trees that are unkempt and overgrown make your home look neglected and unloved.
A potential buyer may take one look and leave with the thought of all the yard work needed. A well-cared-for yard is beautiful and welcoming, accentuating your home instead of hiding it.
3. Add Color
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Pops of well-placed color can make your home more eye-catching. Add a hanging basket of impatiens to a shady corner, some fresh green ferns, or a colorful welcome sign.
Even some bright outdoor pillows on your porch swing will add to the curb appeal of your home.
4. Add Planters or Window Boxes
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Do you need instant color? Install window boxes or planters around the front of your home, and add bedding plants.
Picking a mix of plants, including some that bloom, a few that have height, and some that spill over the sides of the containers, makes an interesting arrangement.
5. Paint or Stain Your Front Door
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You never get a second chance to make a great first impression. The front door is one of the first things potential buyers will notice about your home.
A fresh coat of paint or stain in a contrasting or coordinating color will start any home tour on the right foot.
6. Replace Doorknobs and Door Knockers
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Since you’re painting your front door, go all out and buy new hardware. Chances are, fresh paint on your front door will make the old, dingy doorknob look worse.
Doorknobs and door knockers are easy to install and will make your home look newer.
7. Power Wash Driveway and Sidewalks
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Cleaning the grime off your driveway and sidewalks will dress up your home. Rent a power washer from a home supply retailer or borrow one from a friend if you want to do this job yourself.
Hiring someone to power wash your driveway isn’t expensive, either. You might even get inspired to have the exterior of your home washed, too.
8. Paint Shutters and Trim
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Having fresh paint on the trim and shutters of your home can make the exterior of your home look new and well-maintained.
This is an excellent option if you choose to repaint your front door since you could coordinate the paint colors and create a fresh look that will bring in potential buyers.
9. Create a Sitting Area on Your Porch
Add a couple of seats or rockers and a side table if you have a front porch.
You could even add a pitcher of lemonade and a Mason jar of fresh-picked flowers from your garden if you know a prospective buyer is visiting.
Creating this setting might even be free if you have outdoor furniture.
10. Replace Your Mailbox and Add Landscaping
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Your mailbox is one of the first things people see when arriving at your house. It’s also something a potential buyer would use daily.
Seeing a rusty mailbox with a broken door will create a bad first impression. Adding a flower bed or a corner of ground cover around a new mailbox will turn that mailbox into one of your home’s best features.
11. Upgrade Outdoor Lighting
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The right lighting can accentuate your home’s best features and add safety.
Add attractive sconce porch lights to illuminate the front of your home, and then a few solar-powered lights for your landscaping or to line your driveway.
12. Add a Unique Doormat
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Buying a new doormat is a simple, inexpensive addition, but it can make a big impression on open-house guests.
Don’t get too witty, though, or get one that has your monogram or last name in the design.
Visitors might not get the joke, and your last name will make prospective buyers look at your house as yours instead of potentially theirs. Choose a doormat with classic style sans words or with a “welcome” message.
13. Add a Wreath
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A seasonal touch to your front door makes your home more inviting. Think beyond evergreens at Christmas.
A wreath of forsythia at springtime or door decor featuring fall colors, leaves, and mini pumpkins for autumn will give your home curb appeal and a happy, welcoming look.
Things to Consider
If you’re thinking about improving the curb appeal of your home, whether you’re selling or not, there are a few considerations. These include:
- See your home with fresh eyes. Pretend you’re seeing your home for the first time, just as a prospective buyer would. That’ll open your eyes to ways you can improve your home’s curb appeal.
- What you already have. How can a little cleaning and trimming improve the existing features of your home?
- Budget. How much do you want to spend on upgrades?
- Easy access. Are the steps to your home easy to navigate? Is your walkway well-lit and safe from tripping hazards?
- What’s popular. Consult a few online sources or home-and-garden television shows to see the designs and looks that are on-trend. Dated styles will make your home look old.
- Your region of the country. Having a lush green lawn is a selling point in the deep south, but in the desert southwest, you’re better off having a rock garden with succulents and lantana, plants that survive in heat and drought conditions. Likewise, home buyers from different regions prefer different exterior motifs and styles.
- Your Realtor’s advice. If you’re listing your home on the market, talk with your realtor about ways you can improve your home’s curb appeal. Local real estate agents will know what works in your specific market.
Try These Curb Appeal Ideas
No matter the hardwood floors, granite countertops, and walk-in closets inside your home, without curb appeal, your house won’t attract buyers.
The good news is that a few simple touches and some elbow grease can dramatically improve the curb appeal of your home.
Whether you have a budget large enough for a fresh coat of paint for your entire home and professional landscaping or need to keep costs low, creativity, thought, and a little care will increase your home’s curb appeal.
Even if you aren’t planning to sell your home, these easy curb appeal ideas will make your house a more beautiful, welcoming place to call home.