By Evette Champion
Homeowners focus so much on the interior of their homes that they may often neglect the outside—or at the very least do the bare minimum like keeping the lawn mowed. However, if you're thinking about selling your home or want to one-up the neighbors, here are a few ideas that'll put other yards to shame:
Update Your Walkway
When folks come to your house, you want to roll out the proverbial red carpet. A beautifully done walkway can give off the impression that you're welcoming guests to your house.
If you have a plain concrete walkway, you can tear it up and install pavers, brick or slate. However, if you don't want to do all of that, you can powerwash the walkway and stain it with a special concrete stain. Again, you can go as bold or as subtle as you'd like with the stain color, but be sure to choose a complimentary color!
Add or Update Lighting
Yes, houses often have a generic porch light, but they don't really add any pizzaz to the exterior of the home. Upgraded light fixtures add a bit of class and appeal to your home without a lot of fuss. Dark fixtures with clean lines on lighter houses just look a little more modern if that's your desired aesthetic. If you want a farmhouse look, white or gray lantern fixtures are great options.
Other than porch lights, you can add walkway lights or light posts to the front of your driveway too. With that said, flood lights that stay on aren't necessarily great for curb appeal. We recommend motion sensor lights so that you'll be alerted of anyone (or anything) coming onto your property, but the overall look of your home won't be overshadowed by the bright lights.
Create Flower Beds Suitable for Your Climate
You'd be surprised by how well-maintained flower beds can improve the look of your house. The bright colors, deep rich mulch and even trimming around the flower beds go a long way to helping your house look put together.
When you're choosing flowers, you want to be mindful of what type of flowers grow best in your particular neck of the woods. Flowers like pansies and hostas are great for colder climates, but hibiscus or peonies do better during the summer or warmer climates.
If you're unsure about what flowers or plants to use, or need more information about gardening in general, the Farmer's Almanac is an excellent source.
Use Color to Make Your House Pop
Naturally, flowers are a great way to add some color to your house, but there are other ways you can add color! You can give your house a new coat of paint, which will freshen up the look of your house. Some popular exterior colors include shades of gray and blue, off white, and light neutrals like taupe and brown.
Another great way to add color is by having a bold door and/or shutters. Red doors are typical, but have you ever considered robins egg or even a bright color like orange, fuchsia or green? Just remember to choose a color that compliments the rest of the house, rather than clashes!
As with the interior of your home, you should strive to have lovely curb appeal! Of course, meticulous landscaping improves curb appeal, but it also helps make your house feel like home.
For the past year, Evette Champion has been writing informative articles for HomeLight.com and enjoys educating new homebuyers about the world of real estate. She's an avid fan of the home improvement shows on HGTV and the DIY network and is always looking for affordable ways to improve her home—especially when it comes to boosting curb appeal without breaking the bank!
Great tips here! The theme is important: pay particular attention to the first and last things that buyers see and remember. I would also encourage home sellers to identify and focus on their home’s primary selling feature, i.e., if your home’s best attribute is the view, it might pay off to make sure the windows are shiny and clean!