4 Ways to Give Your Home a More Charming Appeal

Curb appeal is something real estate agents talk about a lot because the view from the street is your home’s first impression to buyers. That curb view is also the first impression for visitors and for you every time you return home, so why wait until you’re ready to sell to enhance your home’s curb appeal? Low-cost updates to a few key elements like your walkway, your landscaping, and your entry door can have a huge impact.

Lush Landscaping

 

Soften the space where your home meets the earth with a few easy-care plantings and some ground cover. If your entry garden looks stingy or overgrown, pruning back or increasing your garden’s square footage can make a dramatic difference. A wide entry garden filled with stones or mulch and planted with shrubs, small trees, grasses, and perennials flowers is easy to maintain and will give your front yard a modern, elegant look. Avoid planting bushes too close together or too close to the house — generous spacing is the key to a garden that looks expansive and sophisticated.

Sophisticated Surfaces

Paved surfaces that are too narrow, too straight, or have become cracked or stained can look cheap and stingy. Consider opening up your walkways, driveway, and patio areas by adding curves and shapes and introducing some of the materials and textures used in today’s upscale homes. Pavers are a great option for creating all sorts of shapes and textures, and since the stones allow moisture to drain, a paved walkway is a long-lasting solution. You can replace or simply flip over pavers if they become chipped or stained, making repairs easy.

A Fresh Front Porch

Sprucing up your entryway begins with the front door and porch area. A fresh coat of paint on the door is a quick project that can change the look of your house instantly. Colorful outdoor fabrics are a great way to add pizzazz, too. If you have a chair or swing on your front porch, add some vibrant throw pillows. An outdoor rug can help pull your porch look together, or try some porch drapes for an up-to-the-minute look. Potted flowers and a floral wreath on the front door are perfect finishing touches.

Lighting Effects
Could your home be more charming in the evening? Lighting adds evening appeal and also provides security when you’re coming home after dark. Landscape lighting can be as simple as adding some solar-powered stakes along your walkway and putting in an oversize porch light. Motion-triggered lighting is great for security and can help drive away unwanted animal pests at night, too. Take stock of your home’s best features by day, and use lighting to play them up in the evening. A welcoming pool of light around the front door with a bit of accent lighting on your garden and steps is usually the perfect mix.

Don’t wait until you’re getting ready to move out to add charm to the front of your home. A few relatively simple, reasonably priced improvements could make a huge difference in the way you feel every time you come home.