4 Ways to Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is defined as the attractiveness of a commercial establishment or residence, as viewed from the street. Why is it important to maintain your home’s curb appeal? Curb appeal impacts your home’s value. If you ever consider selling your home, 3% to 5% can be added to its price if it has good curb appeal.

Here’s how you can improve your home’s curb appeal, and therefore increase its value.

Fix and Clean up the Driveway

As potential buyers pull up to your home, the first item they’ll notice is the driveway. To make that crucial good first impression, repair any cracks, damaged parts, or areas where the concrete, asphalt, tile, or other material has buckled, cracked, or sank.

Hire a contractor or repair expert appropriate for fixing your driveway. For instance, consult a concrete repair expert if your concrete driveway has cracks from the freeze-thaw cycle or has become damaged due to water penetration or tremors. Once the required repairs are done, give your driveway a thorough cleansing or hire a service to do it for you.

Improve your Frontage

After the driveway comes the exterior and the area leading up to your front door. To ensure good curb appeal or improve on it, make all the necessary repairs to your exteriors, such as the front porch, walkway, front door, and outdoor lighting. You can also add appeal by sprucing up or replacing fixtures like your mailbox and even your home’s address number — don’t just use paint or peel-on stickers, but use house numbers made of actual metal or a plaque.

Update your doorbell or install charming metal door-knockers for a distinctly old-world feel. Replace your front door with a solid-core type that not only look good, but also provides added security and insulation. If your door is already of this type, consider giving it a fresh coat of paint if it looks worn.

Install a new mailbox if necessary, and illuminate areas leading up to your front door with new lawn and porch lights. You can install LED lights so they’re brighter and more energy and cost-efficient. Place rocking chairs on your front porch for added appeal and to make the porch more functional. Clean your welcome mat or replace it with a new one if necessary.

Clean up Clutter

Good curb appeal means having visible exteriors that aren’t only free of damage or dirt, but also free of clutter. This may not seem important, but prospective buyers could see this as a sign of a homeowner that doesn’t take storage or lawn maintenance seriously.

Stow any gardening equipment you aren’t using in the garage or tool shed. Don’t leave any rakes or mowers lying around on the driveway or lawn. Don’t let any of your kids’ toys be left out on the lawn either; bicycles, basketballs, or skateboard can also be tripping hazards. That also goes for your garden hose; when it’s not in use, spool it up and store it properly. Put away any lawn furniture you don’t use or dispose of it in a yard sale. Store the barbecue grill, but not before cleaning it up.

As for lawn decorations, these may provide a personal touch, but can only add to the clutter and may put off some buyers. Remove unnecessary lawn decorations like birdbaths, pink flamingos, garden gnomes, and the like.

Improve your Landscaping

Landscaping is one of the most cost-efficient ways of increasing your home’s curb appeal and value. It’s widely believed that if done well, the landscaping can increase home value by at least 150%. This is excellent motivation for making sure you mow the lawn and maintain a manicured look every week.

You can improve on your landscaping by trimming any overgrown trees or bushes and adding more colorful plants or flowers. If you don’t want to use up too much water or fertilizer to maintain a grass lawn, you can install astroturf, patches of gravel, and use more native plants and grasses that don’t need much watering.

Ensuring your home has good curb appeal is worth doing, whether you’re selling your house or not. When you actually decide to sell, you can recoup your investment or even make a hefty profit from improving your home’s curb appeal.