5 DIY Curb Appeal Tips and Tricks

Part of the appeal of owning your own home is that you can make whatever changes and updates you want. If you want to remodel the kitchen, you can. Want to paint the exterior of your home? Go for it. If you plan to sell or rent the home in a few years, making smart improvements will increase your home’s value. Some of these improvements include new paint, remodels and renovations, home additions, and energy efficient additions, just to name a few. A huge draw to a property (and selling point, when you’re ready) is the curb appeal of the home. Curb appeal is the attractiveness of your home and the surrounding area when viewed from the outside. From cheap, one-day projects to some that are a little more involved, we’re sharing our favorite DIY curb appeal tricks.

Refresh your front door

Your front door is often your home’s focal point, so it needs to look nice. Adding a fresh coat of paint in a bright, inviting color can add to the value of your home. You should also make sure the front door is clean and the knob turns, closes, and locks correctly. Installing a storm door can also add to your home’s value. This helps make your entrance welcoming to visitors and potential buyers when you’re ready to sell, as well as personal touches, like wreathes, a chair or bench, and decorations.

Spruce up the landscaping

If your grass is patchy and dying, your weeds are as tall as the bushes, and the flowers have been dead longer than you can remember, it may be time to give your yard a little attention. Clean up your flower beds, mow the lawn, and even get a little professional help, if necessary. You don’t have to break your budget, but landscaping is important. If you’re dreading the maintenance of landscaping, keep it simple. Plant low-maintenance plants and bushes that don’t need much attention. Chances are, a potential buyer will appreciate a low maintenance yard, too.

Install outdoor lighting and upgrade fixtures

Landscape lighting can make a huge difference to your curb appeal. If you’re going to put the work and cash into your yard, you may as well show it off with a few lights or lanterns. Plus, adding lights provides security and may help deter crime. Same thing goes for any outdoor light fixtures or fans. If you’re going to put work into the rest of the house, the rusty, squeaky ceiling fan needs an upgrade, too. You can increase your curb appeal with new sconces and flood lights without breaking the bank.

Clean, clean, clean

Sometimes, a deep clean will do the trick in enhancing your curb appeal. Power wash the siding and driveway, clean out the gutters and clean all the windows. You’ll be amazed at how big of a difference a good deep clean can make to your home. After you clean, you’ll be able to see what spots may need maintenance, paint, etc.

Why is your curb appeal important?

Your home’s curb appeal is something that an appraiser considers when they look at your home. This is what the potential buyer will see first when they come to the home, and if it’s unkept or rundown, it may turn them off from seeing the rest of the house. While you want your home to look nice and be appealing to buyers, you also don’t want to go overboard. You don’t want to put more money into the curb appeal than you’ll get in return for the sale. On that same note, too much landscaping could turn a buyer off from the house, as well. Landscaping means yard work, and no one wants to buy a house where they’ll have to do yard work every weekend. Being a homeowner is exciting. You can turn the property into a home by completing projects that make it yours, while increasing its value for a potential sale down the road.