The Simplest, Easiest, Least-Expensive Ways to Add A Bit of Curb Appeal to Your Home

curb appeal

We’ve been in our dream home for a little over a year and-a-half now, and our yard is still uninspiring. We have zero curb appeal, four black thumbs and we keep putting off worrying about it until “Spring when we can plant gorgeous flowers with the girls and really have some fun,” “Summer, when it’s rainy and we can really get things to grow,” “Fall, when it finally cools off and we don’t feel like we are going to die every single time we go outside,” and trust me when I tell you we have a list much longer of very, very valid excuses as to why we cannot go outside and do something about our lawn.

We’ve considered hiring someone, but it’s a huge undertaking and my husband really enjoys yard work. Our kids love to plant flowers, and we really do want to put our stamp on this house in some way, shape or form since we have hired out for every other thing we’ve done. At the end of the day, we just want to relax when we finally have a free day (those don’t come often around here). Now, in our defense, we have done some work in our yard.

Our house is a beautiful country-style home with a big wraparound front porch, a lovely – and massive – deck out back, dormers and a picture-perfect red front door. We have a corner lot and our house is built in the far back corner of our almost acre and-a-half, and it sort of faces the corner of the two streets. We have very little back yard and a LOT of front yard. The people who built the house really enjoyed their privacy, so they only cleared enough space for the house and the driveway. When we first bought this place, you wouldn’t even know there was a house on the property unless you were here to see it – that’s how dense it was in our yard. We’ve had it cleared entirely, we’ve grown a yard full of gorgeous green grass and…yeah; that’s it.

No, I bought four red rocking chairs and two half wine barrels and arranged them in front of the two big picture windows on the front porch. That is our curb appeal. It’s bland. It’s boring. It’s not even remotely in tune with the rest of the house, which is just stately and impressive and so beautiful (am I allowed to say that or does it sound like bragging? On second thought; I don’t care. I love this house; it’s my dream house and I’m proud of it!).

I do make the effort every morning over coffee to peruse Pinterest and pin items I think would be super fantastic for our yard – hey, it counts. It recently occurred to me that since we really do not have any free time until, oh….January, we might use free hours here and there to add some curb appeal to our house, and I have compiled a list of the most amazing, fast, and inexpensive ways to make our house look more impressive from the street. We’ve handled a few of them, and I’m really impressed; so I thought I’d share with you my secrets and give you the same impressive curb appeal for nothing.

One of the first things to look into is your residential roofing. It is a big part of your home’s exterior so keeping it in great condition is a must. Call on a roof repair contractor if there are any visible damages on your roof. They have the best flat roofing installers, which gives satisfaction to every customer they serve.

Go Bold with the Door

Now, I didn’t do this since we already have a bold red door. It stands out like nothing else against the creamy color of our home, the green shingles and the green shutters – so very country style. I love it so much and I recommend it to anyone for instant curb appeal.

Your garage door may also need attention. Having a fully-functioning garage door is essential to home security and curb appeal. So if you have a broken garage door spring, contact a garage door repair company immediately.

Upgrade the Light Fixtures

Our house is a custom-built home by one of the most amazing builders in our area, and it’s in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in our area. When this home was first built, it was more than a little impressive. Unfortunately, the people who built it also lost it and it sat vacant for five years. The bank came in and “redid” the house with their own “upgrades,” that are nothing short of awful. We had gold plated light fixtures, a gold standing light and everything gold outside. It was awful. You wouldn’t believe what a difference it made when we replaced all the fixtures outside with a gorgeous dark color in a more country style. Searching for High Point roofing companies? Contact Roofing Exteriors Pro for professional assistance in repairing your roof.

Add Plants

We kill plants, but we do all right with the kind that are meant to stay in a container. I’m not going to lie. We decided that since we have five beautiful columns along the front of our porch, we’d add some fancy hangers and some pretty plants to them. It’s the simplest thing we’ve ever done, and it really has made a huge difference in the way our house looks.

Update the Mulch

We had pretty flowers, plants and bushes along the main area of our home, but they were overgrown and they were filled with old wood chips. We decided a dark chocolate brown mulch in the plant beds surrounding the house would be better, and it’s made a huge difference.

Pressure Wash

The biggest difference in our curb appeal is the pressure washing we had done. Our house sat vacant for five years under millions of trees and it was filthy. We had it pressure washed, and it looks like a brand new house.

All we have to do now is add some appeal to the rest of the yard – perhaps a circular drive in front of our house since our driveway is along the side off the side street and we cannot see people drive up – and we’ll be good to go. But, these fast, simple and inexpensive fixes have made a huge difference. Good luck to you in your curb appeal endeavors.

Photo by Getty Images

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