Curb Appeal Can Improve Your Home
While some may agree and some may not, the way your house looks from the outside somehow affects the way you feel when you go inside. It simply feels better to come home to a nice-looking house, right? When it comes to real estate, an attractive exterior matters even more as a house that looks attractive from the outside will definitely sell faster and at a higher price. This is where curb appeal comes into play.
Whether you are preparing to sell your house, or you simply want to make it look great for yourself or for a barbeque with friends, it is never a bad idea to think of how you can enhance the look of your home. Aside from repainting, here are other ways to improve your curb appeal and make your house a head-turner that passers-by just can’t help but wonder how it looks and feels like when you’re inside.
Clean up
Whatever brilliant plans you have to beautify your home, we guarantee it will all go to waste if your house looks dirty. So before anything else, give your house exterior a good washing: your roof and gutters, your sidings, all your doors and windows, your front porch, your walkways, and your entire lawn or yard area. Remember too that cleaning doesn’t just mean washing; there’s tidying up involved too. So if there’s any clutter (like flowers that have bloomed and are dying back), remove those as well and make sure that nothing is out of place.
Repair and replace
Hand in hand with cleaning your house, take note of anything that is damaged or broken in any way, then repair and replace as needed. If your roof has broken shingles, have these replaced. Better yet, if your roof seems like it has seen its best years and you have the budget for it, consider having it replaced with a metal roof which will instantly add curb appeal and value to your home. If you have old gutter systems that no longer protect your home as it should, have it replaced with new gutter systems like seamless gutters which work much better than traditional sectional ones.
Little repairs can go a long way too. Straighten shutters, replace house numbers, and fixing the mailbox will cost next to nothing, but instantly give your place a facelift.
Remove eyesores
Get rid of everything that looks ugly and makes your home appear unkempt or outdated. Seek the opinion of your friends and neighbors. Ask them to take a good look at your house and point out which elements make it look worse rather than better, and consider removing or replacing those items.
This may include ripping out bushes and hedges that have overgrown, putting down new landscaping ground cover (rocks or bark chips), and getting rid of that tacky garden gnome that you absolutely love but is, in reality, quite hideous.
Beautify with nature
A well-manicured lawn can easily boost the curb appeal of any home. So trim those trees, cut those overgrown shrubs, and straying vines, pull out those weeds, and remove all those dead leaves and flowers. Surround your shrubs and bushes with bark mulch to provide a rich feel to your entire yard. Add color by surrounding your trees with flower pots, planting flowers along the sidewalk, and putting flowers on hanging baskets.
A pop of color goes a long way.
Improve welcoming feel
Start with your driveway by installing borders along its edges. A plain driveway will look wider and much more inviting when it’s edged with colorful and decorative materials like bricks or stones. Aside from borders, add more edge to your driveway by illuminating it with outdoor lights or solar light fixtures.
Next is your doorstep. Instead of a welcoming mat, consider putting in tiles, or painting your own design on it. Having a unique doorstep can be more than just welcoming, it will be kind of hard to forget too.
Finally, give your front door a makeover by painting it in an eye-catching color, detailing it with a creative design, and adding a new shiny door knocker.
Add new fixtures
Make your house stand out by investing in additional fixtures like a water fountain, a porch swing, or window shutters. A water fountain never fails to impress. A porch swing invites you to sit down, relax, and pleasantly pass the time away. Well-chosen shutters make windows look nicer, and provide extra protection from strong winds and storms. Or, if you don’t have one yet, why not enclose your property within a white picket fence which can add to the feeling of privacy and security without being alienating.
Out with the old, in with the new
Your mailbox is probably one of those things that you take for granted because it has always been there. And that is exactly why you should make the move to dress it up because it is actually one of the first to get noticed when someone sees your house for the first time. Choose a mailbox that reflects your personality, place it on a new post that is painted and designed in a way that matches the look of your home, and then highlight it with a new decorative house number. You can upgrade to a pink mailbox to support the Ramsey Keller Memorial too, check out their Facebook page.
Aside from your mailbox, maybe it’s time to install a new garage door too? Yes, it might be expensive, but upgrading to a brightly colored and beautifully designed garage door can instantly improve the appearance of your home. Plus, modern garage doors are stronger and have better insulation, which means better protection for you, and better energy efficiency too.
Upgrade Your Home
If you’re looking at your housing situation, and thinking that you want a clean slate to start over with, we have you covered. We can get you into a brand new home, one that needs no repairs, for far less than you thought possible. Affordable housing solutions for Billings!
Come see what we have on the lot at 750 Parkway Lane in Billings. Or give us a call at 406-256-0240.