We’re into a fresh new year and many of us are taking a look at our homes and deciding what improvements we want to make over the next twelve months. Home improvement can be a greatly enjoyable and rewarding process. Not only does it help to make your home a more comfortable and practical space to spend time in, but it helps to maintain your investment too! At the end of the day, your house is likely to be the most expensive thing you buy in your lifetime - so keeping its value up is important. Whether you stay there forever or move somewhere else later down the line, maintaining how much you can get back from it will ultimately be beneficial. Of course, when it comes to home improvement, the vast majority of people will focus on their home’s interiors. But when’s the last time you considered your home’s exterior? Sure, this might not be where you spend most of your time and it’s not what you’ll see the most of on a day-to-day basis. But it can impact the overall look, feel, and value of your living space. So, here are a few ways to improve it and boost your curb appeal!
What Is Curb Appeal?
If you haven’t heard the term curb appeal before, you probably don’t have a clue what it means. But let’s clear that up right now. Put simply, curb appeal is used to refer to how attractive your home looks from the outside. It considers what other people can see from the curb across the road. You’ll probably hear this term being used by estate agents or real estate investors who are making recommendations on how to make your home more appealing and increase its value. Curb appeal is important. If you’re not planning on moving, it admittedly isn’t as important as if you are upping and moving and looking to sell. A house that has ideal curb appeal tends to be valued higher than a home of the same approximate size, bedroom range, and location, simply because it looks better to buyers arriving from outside. It’s important to consider curb appeal even if you’re not moving though. You want your home to look the best it can and it’ll be great pulling up to a beautiful home each time you get back!
Front Door
Your front door needs a little TLC every once in a while. This is an element of your home that serves a highly practical purpose - allowing you to enter and exit the property - but that can also add a lot to the design of your home. You don’t necessarily have to settle for the front door that your property came with. Instead, you can replace it, choosing from all sorts of options, from modern doors to more heavy, traditional doors. Alternatively, if you’d like to keep to a smaller budget, you can simply repaint your front door. A fresh coat of paint can make all the difference to how it looks. Most people stick to colors such as black, red, or white for their front door. But you can also choose something a little bolder or a more subdued pastel shade.
Windows
Sure, the main purpose of windows can be to let as much natural light into your property as possible. It also helps you to feel comfortable in a room, rather than feeling boxed in. But it’s good to remember that windows can serve more than just a practical function. They can look great too! You can see your windows and window frames from inside your property and outside your property. Changing them for some windows that look better and improve the aesthetic of your home can really boost your curb appeal. Consider what will best suit the existing look and feel of your home. You can find anything from floor to ceiling windows, windows with shutters, circular windows, windows that are rounded at the top, and more.
Window Boxes
Once you’ve chosen your windows, why not add window boxes? These are simple ways to display flowers without having to spend much time on their maintenance or upkeep. Window boxes are available ready-made, or you can purchase and plant your own, choosing exactly what flowers you’d like in them.
Climbing Plants
If you’re in this for the long game, you could even try establishing some climbing plants. Climbing plants can scale the walls of your property, creating a beautiful look that ties in well with more traditional-looking properties. Popular climbing plants include Ivy and Wisteria. Of course, you should look into different types of plants to make sure that they’re suitable for your home. Some climbers can damage the walls of your property over the course of decades, so you need to make sure that you’re choosing something suitable.
Paths and Driveways
If you have a path or a driveway, you need to make sure that you maintain it well. There are all sorts of maintenance that may need to be carried out depending on the type of path or driveway you have. Newer paths and driveways may just require some cleaning and weed pulling. Older ones, where slabs or other materials may have become uneven, may need relaying. Check-in with professionals who will be able to make recommendations regarding what needs to be done to bring your path or driveway up to shape.
Gates
Do you have gates on your property? These will need to be taken care of too. Some will become squeaky, creaky, or rusty over time. Oiling them well and making sure they’re coated in a protective, weatherproof sealant can help to prevent this. Sometimes, you may find that paint chips off wood or metal gates too. Consider repainting your gate every once in a while, or as and when a fresh coat of paint is needed.
Not all of these curb appeal boosters will be relevant for every home. But hopefully, at least one or two will come in useful for you and can help to make your home the best that it can be!
