he outside of your house is always what people will see first and you want your house to make a good first impression! Curb appeal is extremely important for making your house eye catching, attractive, and welcoming for everyone looking at it from the street. Whether you’re trying to be the best looking house on your street or putting your house on the market, these easy and budget friendly home improvement projects will have your house turning heads in no time:
- Paint (Just a Little)
- Accessorize Your House
- Add Some Plants
Paint Your House: Creating a Masterpiece of Curb Appeal
This one might seem like a no brainer, but it is one of the fastest (and most affordable) ways to completely refresh your home's exterior. This can look like:
Add a Little Pop of Color
Adding a little color is a quick and budget friendly way to increase curb appeal. Repainting your entire house is a big and expensive job, but you can make your house look completely different and more attractive by painting a much smaller area.
A go to spot for some color is the front door. A bright front door is eye catching and everyone looks at it on their way into your house. The small surface area is also easy to repaint to change the color if you decide it doesn’t work.
You can bring your front color to more of your house by painting window frames, shutters, railings, or even porch furniture to match. You’ll be surprised how much painting these small surfaces will transform how your house looks from the street.
Freshen Up the Whole Thing
The front of your house may be looking a little dull because it hasn’t been refreshed in a long time. If the paint on your front door or window frames is faded or chipped you can make your house look close to new by repainting it.
It’s possible you don’t even need to repaint but instead make your house look newer with an overdue washing. Washing your door, window frames, shutters, and windows will make your house look brighter and newer. You might also be able to use a pressure washer to wash your entire house to uncover paint from underneath layers of dust and dirt.
If you need to touch up your paint you might get lucky and find the leftover can stashed somewhere in your house--using the same paint makes it easy to match. If you don’t have the same can of paint, you can still repaint to boost curb appeal using these methods to match old paint.
- Eyeball it for a “close enough” match.
- Use a paint matching app.
- Bring something else that matches, such as a piece of fabric or thread.
- Show a photo at your paint store.
- Take a paint chip from the old paint.
Accessorize Your House
When you think accessories, your front porch probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind. Thing is, not only do front yard decorations and knick knacks like garden gnomes and patio furniture make the house look nice, it also helps turn this simple building into a home.
Small Details for a Big Curb Appeal Boost
There are lots of small details on the front of your house that you might not think about but can make a big difference for curb appeal. You can clean, repaint, or replace:
- House numbers
- Porch lights
- Knocker
- Door knob
- Mail box/slot
None of these small things are expensive and are easy to find at a hardware store and they’ll make a difference in how your house looks overall. People notice these small details, especially when they’re considering buying a house.
Go look at the front of your house and see if you have some small details contributing to a dingy or outdated feel. If so, you can fix up and replace those items to help make your house look fresh and new again.
Furniture for Curb Appeal
Adding furniture to your front porch or front yard is a great way to improve how your house looks. You can choose furniture that matches your style and the look you’re going for with your house--homey, polished, welcoming, artistic, you name it.
Adding porch furniture can boost curb appeal and also be functional. Your front porch might be an underutilized space in your house that you could take advantage of with some porch furniture. Think about getting a small table and chairs, a rocking chair, or a porch swing for your porch or front yard to increase curb appeal and give you a new place to spend time.
If you have a small front porch there are still ways you can add furniture to boost curb appeal. Consider:
- Round accent tables - Using round tables in a small space takes up less room and eliminates the problem of bumping into corners.
- Chairs without arms - Chairs without arms are a lot less bulky, therefore taking up less space while still providing seating.
- Stools - Small stools can be used as seating as well as tables. Small items with more than one function are a great idea for a small porch.
- Pillows - Pillows piled on furniture add color and patterns without using more space on your small porch.
- Purposeful furniture - You want to reduce clutter on a small porch, so making sure whatever table or shelf you have out there will be useful.
Decorations for Curb Appeal
Adding decoration to the front of your house is an inexpensive and easy way to increase curb appeal.
A welcome mat or other outdoor rug changes the feel of your porch without taking up any space. You can match your rug to the colors of your house or of other furnishings on your porch such as pillows. An outdoor rug can also be used to cover a less than ideal porch floor--a rug can hide scratched, worn, or splintered floor while increasing curb appeal.
While a wreath on a front door is often associated with winter there are wreaths for all seasons. A simple green wreath looks great all year long. You can also make your own grapevine wreath and then add flowers, leaves, greenery, or whatever else you want to it to match the seasons.
Another inexpensive but lovely decoration is a wind chime. Wind chimes range from very small to very large and come in many different styles, so you can pick one that works best for your house. You can choose based on appearance as well as sound, so your wind chime will increase curb appeal by looking nice and bringing pleasant music to the front of your house.
Upgrade Your Boundary for With Chic Fence Styles
Fences are often a point of contention between neighbors... and this idea *may* just sow a little discord. Not a serious way, just in a they'll be kind of miffed they didn't think of it first kind of way. Just make sure you iron out where exactly the propertly line is before slapping down some bricks or other types of fencing.
Chicken Fencing
Consider upgrading your boundary with stylish fence designs like chicken fencing to truly stand out. Chicken fencing offers a charming and rustic aesthetic while providing security and privacy to your property. Whether you choose classic picket fences or opt for the unique look of chicken fencing, selecting the right fence style can significantly enhance your curb appeal and make your neighbors take notice.
Privacy Panels
Keep the neighbors from knowing every single thing trhat goes on in your yard. Privacy panels can be a stylish way to prevent unwanted onlookers from bothering you in the solitude of your own patio or garden. They can extend the wood from your deck or reincorporate the color of your house trim. There are fancy metal privacy screens styled after tree branches and (surprisingly stylish) solid concrete.
White Picket Fence
Some fences are designed to keep people out, but this one is designed to invite people in. Picture the quintessential suburb, and sure to include neighbors chatting over the iconic white picket fence -- maybe sharing the crop from their herb gardens or just shooting the breeze. Chicken fencing is a practical, rustic choice and privacy screens can be ultra modern -- but if old school Americana is more your vibe, you can't go wrong with this classic fence design.
Add Some Plants
Trees and Shrubs
Large trees and shrubs are perfect for boosting curb appeal while also providing you with some privacy. This is great if you want passersby admiring your house but don’t want to feel like you’re being stared at all the time.
A row of flowering hedges along the front of your property is beautiful to look at and forms a wall between you and the rest of the world. You can also take advantage of trees in your front yard for an appealing look as well as privacy. If you plant trees you’ll have to be patient waiting for them to get tall and leafy, but they’ll be a boost to curb appeal while they grow as well.
If you already have a tree in your yard, consider adding a birdhouse or a swing to make the tree more of a focal point in your yard.
Garden
Starting a garden is more of a time commitment than some of the other projects you can do to boost curb appeal, but it’s worth it. If your yard isn’t garden friendly, build a raised bed and put a small garden inside it.
Raised beds full of flowers and vegetables look great and can be a new source of food for you. You can also add a nice fence to keep deer, rabbits, and other critters out of your garden. Think about what kind of light your yard gets and then research what kinds of flowers, vegetables, and greens you can plant to boost curb appeal.
Potted Plants
Potted plants are great additions to your porch, front steps, or the sidewalk leading up to your house. Large stylish pots can add to your porch decoration as much as the plants themselves.
Matching plants on your porch to those in other places in front of your house, such as steps or a driveway, creates a sense of cohesion and can make a small porch seem larger. You can also do a scattered look with many mismatched plants--the way you use plants to boost curb appeal totally depends on your personal style.
Whether your porch is perpetually shaded or facing scorching sun, there are options for front porch plants that will increase curb appeal. Figure out what kind of environment the front of your house will be for a plant and then explore your options from full sun to full shade and everything in between.
Boosting curb appeal is easy with these budget friendly home improvement projects. Refresh what your house already has or make some small additions to make your house look amazing to everyone who passes by.
Originally posted 8/17/2020
