Guest Blogger: Simple Ways to Improve your Curb Appeal

Guest Blogger +1K, Entry #2662, July 18, 2013

There are several reasons for wanting to improve the exterior of your home, ranging from putting it on the market, and therefore wanting potential buyers to see the house at its best to just carrying out necessary improvements to prevent damp and rot racking up a huge bill for repairs. Although it may at first appear costly to carry out these improvements, the cost of this planned prevention work will be much lower than it would be to repair the damage if left unattended to.

How can you improve your exterior home curb appeal?

Image via: Pinterest

Painting Your House

The first, and biggest, consideration is painting the exterior- you need to use high quality paint to do this, in order to combat weathering which could lead to the colour of the paint fading or mildew growing, resulting in paint work needing to be carried out only a few years later at yet further cost! Restoration of brick and wood work should also be carried out at the same time as, or even before, painting is done as this is necessary to counteract any effects weathering may have had, or will have, on the exterior of your home. Repainting of window and door frames, and perhaps in the worst cases even replacement of windows and doors entirely.

Safety & Security

The pathway and steps leading to your door should be kept clean and tidy; any loose bricks should be secured or replaced. Consider a well-made personalised house sign too; having this instead of just generic numbers is sure to create the impression of a well-designed house before your visitors have even set foot in the door. Exterior lighting is also an important consideration- it can continue to make your house look impressive at night, as well as the added security benefits if you have movement activated lights installed. Having a prominent alarm system is also advantageous for security purposes, but try not to have one so imposing that it contrasts harshly with your exterior decor.

Ensure stairs and walkway areas are safe

Image via: Houzz

The Front Garden

Your driveway should be impeccable, with no cracks or oil stains- if you are unable to mask these then consider getting it resurfaced. Your front garden is the first thing people see, before they even look at the house, it should be well maintained with regularly cut grass (or replace the turf if it’s starting to look bare), and decorated with lots of colourful flowers or topiary- being sure to handle any weed problems swiftly before they spread throughout the whole garden. In the autumn and winter months, be sure to clear any dead leaves before they turn to mulch and ruin the design of your garden. Planters are an easy and flexible way to decorate your garden, allowing you to move them around at your discretion. Planters or a creeping plant such as ivy would also make a great addition standing guard at either side of your front door.

Hopefully these pointers have given you a good idea of how to improve the exterior of your home, after all it is the first thing visitors see and you want to immediately create a long lasting impression, but for all the right reasons.

Tom Moss is a DIY enthusiast and a contributing writer for Design a House Sign, a leading online supplier of personalised house signs.

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