Creating Curb Appeal On A Budget

Everyone wants their home to make a good first impression from the moment someone lays eyes on it. This is where knowing how to maximize your curb appeal can come in handy. There are many things that you can do that are actually free, and they make a huge impact on the first impression your home makes on a visitor.

Clean Up
Cleaning your entryway and tidying up your landscape is always a great place to start improving the look of your home. Everything gets dirty, so clean windows, sills, railings, and porches. Simply cleaning off the dirt will go a long way towards making your home look more appealing. Use a power washer to clean your house, walkways, swings, shutters and driveway. You may even want to reseal your driveway to give it a brand new look, but simply cleaning everything is a great place to start.

Weeding and Pruning
Next, take a look at your garden. Of course planting new flowers makes any yard look better, but even if you are not planting anything new in your yard, you can simply clean up your plants just like your cleaned your house and walkways, and the impact will be equally large. Prune any shrubs that are overgrown and add fresh mulch to your garden to give it a manicured look. Once everything is trimmed and the lawn is cut and edged, your home will be much more appealing. If you have any bare patches in the yard, add seed to them, and hang a flower basket or two from your porch for color.

Lighting
When you add lighting to a space it always has a warming effect. Add spotlights and up lighting to accentuate your landscaping. You can also put some electric candles in the windows to add to a warm glow.

Inviting Porch
Just by cleaning your porch you have gone a long way towards making it inviting. Add some furniture like a comfortable bench or a rocking chair and a small table to make a small sitting area. Not only does your porch look inviting, but you can enjoy a morning cup of coffee on it as well. Place an inviting welcome mat at your front door, and your entryway is complete.

Fresh Paint
Then update your mailbox with some fresh paint, and freshen up your house numbers. You may even want to give your front door a fresh coat of paint. Look at your trim, shutters and porch railings and touch them up too if they look faded. You can add a seasonal wreath to your front door if you wish to have it look even move warm and inviting.

After you have everything picked up and tucked away, take a few minutes each day to keep it that way. By picking up toys, putting away hoses and keeping your porch free of clutter, you can always make sure that your house makes a great first impression.


Source : ReadBud