The idea of ‘curb appeal’ is an interesting one. Put simply, it’s how pleasant your house seems from the front entrance to it. It might be that you are lucky enough to have a long drive which shields it from view, or you might be very close to the street sidewalk. However, no matter what you have to work with, it can be quite amazing to see just how upgrading this can add positive value to your property.
Some might even think this is a ‘hack’ you can use when hoping to sell your home and gain the best value for it, because first impressions surely matter. Well, seeing as though this is an ethical life pro tip, then we’re going to accept it! Not only does curb appeal help your home value, but it can simply help you feel more proud of your space and what you have to work with as a result. To us, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking a little pride in that, because after all, this is how you make a house a home. Consider our advice:
Road Encroachment
It can sometimes be quite easy to neglect the front of your property, particularly at the very front where it lines with the street or edge of your property line. Sometimes, this might be a long driveway with hedges at the end, or a wall, or whatever you use to divide the property line. If on a street or road, it’s possible for your plants to encroach onto this space. It might be that trimming hedges in an aesthetic and clean way can help you remove this, because if it grows too long, the local housing authority will request you tidy it up.
But this is a great place to increase your curb appeal. You might decide to have shapes and figures cut into the hedges, or simply keep them clean. You might plan small trees which not only give you an exacting line of where your property boundaries are, but you’ll also be given privacy thanks to how the branches and leaves might interlock. Sometimes, if on a slop, raised vegetation planting can look fantastic, as well as a carefully decorated slope or staircase up to the home. You’d be surprised just how much positive impact you could have here. So don’t throw its potential out.
Clean Debris
A simple sweep of your garden path can have a large impact from time to time. Simply leaving an outside brush there for you if needed and giving the patio or exterior surface a few good sweeps can help the mulch of the spring slowly leave your premises, and then the entrance to your garden area will look fantastic, and worth preserving.
Alternatively, you might decide to powerwash grime and mold that has grown over time. Think about your driveway. It might have stood for a decade without repair, and it might still look pretty good. But you’ll only realize it’s several shades darker than it used to be due to the natural grime when you start to powerwash it off.
If you’re going to partake in home maintenance, then it’s worth enjoying yourself. Not only is power washing an effective tool in getting rid of grease and grime, but it can also feel extremely satisfying to see the dirt fly off, dirt you may have grown accustomed to. Literally washing your property in this manner will not only help your exterior look much ‘newer’ than it might have done, but it could make you reconsider the need to repair or replace certain exterior elements of your property.
Consider Your Front Garden
If you’re lucky enough to own a front garden, it’s important to make good use of it, and keep it tidy. To help us decide on what to do here, it’s important to illustrate a garden we do not respect when walking by it. A garden like this usually has old children’s play equipment everywhere, such as an old broken slide, football goals with mold on the hinges, an old bicycle starting to rust that hasn’t been stored correctly. The grass might be overgrown and the only place that sees any use is where the car is parked. As such, a white ‘tan line’ is on the ground in the midst of the driveway.
You can see driveways like this in many residential areas. Consider how yours might compare to this. It might be that you wish to once again rearrange your outside furniture and give it a deep wipe down, or potentially store a weight parasol in the middle of your table to provide some shade from the sun. Perhaps a gate needs its hinges replacing, and storing your children’s toys in the purpose-built shed around the back could be more appropriate.
Improve Your Front Door
A front door can be many things. A place of security to prevent access to your property, the heartful entrance to your home, a beautiful means of presenting the aesthetic of your property and also the end of your beautiful garden path. It might be that your current door is in need of improvement. Perhaps you wish for a color change to match the repaint of your walls, or perhaps you wish to match with the new windowsill trimmings you have presented now it’s summer time.
Front doors can come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s best to try and find what’s best for your property, and find a reliable service that can help you decide, deliver, and potentially even help with the install. If you are careful enough to secure the locks and potentially add a pet door for your small animals, you can improve the security and the utility of said door in one fell swoop. This might also be a great justification for improving your porch area, because if designed well, this can also increase your curb appeal.
With these tips, your curb appeal is sure to remain eternally impressive.
