Quadruple Your Home’s Curb Appeal with These 10 Tips
When looking at landscape ideas in Tennessee, raising your curb appeal increases your home’s value.
You can renovate every nook and cranny of your home, but if you ignore its curbside appeal, you may never fully actualize its value. The curb appeal of your home is the first impression that onlookers get when looking from the street.
As they say about first impressions, they are lasting, and that’s why you should do all you can to improve your home’s curb appeal. This post will look at the value of enhancing your home with some curbside appeal ideas and offer ten tips to help you do so.
What Curbside Appeal Includes & Why it Matters
Curb appeal is the first impression your house gives homebuyers before they even set foot on your property. The design, the landscape, the overall visual appearance all contribute to your home’s curb appeal.
It allows your neighbors to see into just how much care and attention you give your property.
It also creates an expectation of what your home might be like on the inside and helps potential home buyers form an opinion on how much they’re willing to invest.
That last point is why curb appeal matters so much.
Remember, the first impression is often the last – regardless of whether it’s accurate or not. So, if your home has little curb appeal, such as an outdated look or signs of poor maintenance, the home’s value will immediately drop. Homebuyers may not want to pay for a house that looks dull or dreary. Worst of all, they might just say “pass” on the sale altogether.
So, improving curbside appeal is a big deal. You need to add personality and panache when you can. But how can you do it without blowing your budget or making the wrong choices?
There are many ways to raise your home’s curb appeal, some being simple, others extravagant. But here are some of my favorites.
1. Improve Curb Appeal by Planting Colorful Flowers
Before you even head over to the paint shop, think about adding a colorful variety of flowers to brighten your landscape. Flowering plants (and flowerbeds) are cost-effective, and many native species bloom with little care. My recommendation is to plant a few species to create vibrant and inviting color schemes and to choose species that are native here in Tennessee.
2. Improve Curb Appeal by Making it Visible
Lighting is an undervalued method to improve your curb appeal. You can improve your home lighting design in two ways:
1) Fix and replace existing lighting fixtures/units
2) Install new lighting fixtures for safety, security and aesthetics.
Remember, homebuyers also look at houses during twilight hours, so having the correct light setup can draw them in more than you can imagine.
3. Improve Curb Appeal by Improving the Entry
What’s your driveway looking like these days? Is it still shiny and sleek like before, or has wear-and-tear taken its toll in the form of cracks and fissures?
If it’s the latter, then repaving the driveway can improve your home’s curb appeal. Also, think of the flower beds and plant life surrounding the drive. They can be the perfect accoutrement to just bare pavement or stone. If your drive is made of pea gravel like mine, consider adding a fresh layer.
4. Improve Curb Appeal by Adding a Fence
A fence is more than just a security and privacy measure – it’s a design element as well. The right fence boosts curb appeal and elevates landscaping design, especially when the fence’s color and texture blend with your house and other landscape features.
Best of all, you can make a fence with almost any material – stone, wood, or metal. Also, keep in mind the allure of a rustic fence design.
5. Improve Curb Appeal by Upgrading the Facade
A prospective homebuyer will use the entranceway more than any other part of your house (at least initially).
Naturally, that means they’ll notice things about it, and you want those details to look good. So, if you have issues like peeling of paint or rusting of railings, then address them and other potential eyesores.
These subtle fixes can make a big difference in your home’s curbside appeal.
6. Improve Curb Appeal by Upgrading Your Roof
Fixing a roof is no small feat, and it can turn into a significant renovation project.
However, ignoring your roof to save money now will cost you a lucrative sale in the long run. Set aside time and money to repair damaged shingles or to seal fissures.
If your roof is overdue for a total replacement, do it before you plan to sell. The curb appeal of your house will only increase. If replacing the roof, consider going with an entirely new color scheme. Just make sure that this is in keeping with adjacent colors and materials so as not to clash.
7. Improve Curb Appeal by Filling Dead Patches of Grass
No lawn is immune to the presence of dead grass patches – everyone gets them at some point.
Dead spots in the grass give the impression of soil quality issues, and frankly, they look unsightly.
Relatively simple measures such as topdressing your lawn and reseeding can help to cover these spots or trigger growth. Also, there are sustainable landscape approaches you can keep in mind, such as an alternative to grass.
8. Improve Curb Appeal by Decluttering the Yard
The easiest way to raise your home’s curb appeal is to keep the front lawn and surroundings clean and clear.
The sight of lawn care tools and old furnishings is off-putting to homebuyers, yet so easy to dispose of or store away. Your curb appeal will get a significant boost if these items stay out of sight. However, lawn ornaments can be whimsical and provide character. Just don’t go overboard like me.
9. Improve Curb Appeal by Adding a Splash of Color
The combination of colors can draw homebuyers to your property almost immediately, making this an essential element of your home’s curb appeal.
You can add good color schemes and palettes to your home in various ways. We mentioned above that you could also add colorful plant species as a natural source of color.
Of course, an excellent old-fashioned repainting of certain features such as fences will also do the trick.
10. Improve Curb Appeal with Site Furnishings
This final tip is optional, but I strongly recommend you giving it a go.
Site furniture such as porch swings, benches or even run-of-the-mill table and chair sets can give your home a welcoming appearance that homebuyers will appreciate.
Prospects will likely picture themselves using these furnishings and may increase their desire to buy, especially if the furnishings are more “permanent” (i.e. swings).
Positive associations with these features can make homebuyers more receptive to offers, which will increase your home’s curb appeal.
Curbside Appeal and Landscape Services: Trust a Landscape Architect
When your home has a high curb appeal, you don’t need to work to sell it.
A clean, well-maintained house, refreshingly designed and inviting, will sell itself simply because of its appearance. The beauty of curb appeal is that you can do A LOT to increase it.
If you’re looking for ways to incorporate the following techniques to increase your curb appeal, reach out to me for a consultation. I will point out specific areas for improvement that will suit your home and budget.
