It’s that time of year again and I wanted to share some ideas with you on improving curb appeal.

While showing homes to potential buyers as a REALTOR©, I often see homes that are beautiful on the inside, but don’t really reflect that from the curb. Whether you’re getting ready to sell or intending to stay in your home, curb appeal shows how passionate you feel about your investment. Here are some tips to spruce up the outside of your property and go from drab to fab fast!


Clean it up:
From the curb, scan your property and access the view from another person’s perspective.  Are the flower beds clean?  Is the mulch tidy and even? Are there weeds in the lawn? Now walk along the side walk to your home – is the concrete free of stains and properly patched where needed? What about the siding or bricks? Need power washing?  There are a lot of things you can do with little or no money to make your home look great!  It just takes a little time and elbow grease.

Accessorize:
From fences to pots, to water and ornamental features, you can take you home from so-so looking to beautiful with just a few strategically placed accessories in front. Be sure not to go overboard and consequently make it look cluttered, stay classy!


Lighting:
Your home should look as beautiful at night as it does during the day. Lighting is one way to highlight your homes best features at night and make it stand out from the rest.

There are many different techniques for lighting a property and I would suggest combining a few together to highlight it from all angles.   For example:

• Up-lighting – highlighting a particular landscape feature
• Moonlighting – lighting in trees shining down to highlight the architecture of the tree and to imitate the natural light of day
• Shadowing – lighting a sculpture, etc. to cast a shadow on the wall behind it
• Random lighting will give your home a softer feel and not a “airport run way” look.  Try to avoid the uniformed look up the walk way.

For a green alternative, think about LED lights for you landscape. They use less energy and require fewer units for the same impact, thereby needing less wiring and smaller transformers. LED lights can last many years (some sources say 17-20 years) and there are no bulbs to dispose of, so no toxins go into our landfills.

Painting:
Nothing makes your home pop more than a fresh coat of paint. With all the color coordinating paint chips at your local hardware store, you should be able to find ones that make your home look fresh and interesting. Be sure to check the front door to see if it needs painting as well. Also, try bright colors for doors and trim to make them stand out and highlight the entrance. The color should be welcoming, not gaudy so when you find a color you like, trying going a few shades deeper while keeping with the color scheme.

I hope I’ve inspired your new year and “new yard” make over!  Remember, some say that curb appeal can increase the real estate value of your home by as much as 15 to 20%.  That’s a lot of return on your investment and very little cost to you!

For more helpful tips, please don’t hesitate to contact me!