The exterior features of your home are just as crucial as its interior elements. Boosting your curb appeal not only beautifies your home but also increases its value.
Fortunately, it doesn’t take expensive fixes to add pizzazz to your home’s exterior. These subtle upgrades can help improve the outside of your home on any budget.
Install window boxes
These miniature gardens add instant color, texture, and dimension to your home. Window boxes can be made from metal, wood, vinyl, and fiberglass, and you can build a window box or buy one from your local gardening store.
When choosing flowers, always consider the weather in your area. Plant annuals, evergreens, and perennials for year-round blooms. If it rains a lot in your place, ensure your metal boxes are stainless or cover them with a protective layer.
Window boxes are ideal for slide-by, double-hung, and stationary windows. Mounting them on casement types and other swing-out window sashes may destroy the flowers. You can also display them on your patio, fence, balcony railing, and garage door.
Enhance your walkway
Transforming a dull walkway with pavers is cheaper than installing a new one. Cobblestone, clay, and concrete are all excellent materials for pavers. Clay pavers offer a timeless look while cobblestone can complement your greenery. Concrete pavers, on the other hand, are often the cheapest and require the least maintenance.
You can start by digging a trench along the walkway, adding in a bed of sand, then setting and tamping the pavers, so they’re aligned with the top of the walkway. If you lack time, you can always make use of professional residential paving services for flawless results.
Install new house numbers
House numbers can add instant shine and elegance to your entryway. Replace old and worn out numbers with ones made of aluminum, brass, or stainless steel. The colors of your house numbers must also match that of the door hardware and light fixture.
Nowadays, you can buy regular individual numbers or have them customized. Do-it-yourself address plaque kits are usually available at hardware stores and home centers.
Add a pop of color
A fresh coat of paint can breathe life back into your house. An exterior palette has three major parts: field color for walls; accent color for doors, shutters and smaller areas; and trim color for railings, roof edging, window, and door casings. Typically, the field color should contrast significantly with the trim.
Wipe and prep surfaces before you paint to achieve smooth results. Use white paint if you want a small house to look bigger. If your property has noticeable flaws and aging features, use a single color to achieve a unified look.
Selecting the right colors can be overwhelming. Several computer programs and apps allow you to try different color schemes on an image of your house. You can experiment with different combinations to help you make the right choice.
Quality exterior paint usually costs approximately $30 a gallon. It’s guaranteed to cover better and last longer than the cheap kind, so it’s well worth the investment.
When deciding on exterior upgrades, select those that will match the style of your house and not stick out like a sore thumb. With a little effort, you can make your home stand out impressively in your neighborhood.
