You curb gives the first impression when it comes to the value of your home. If you plan to sell your house, curb appeal is essential, as most buyers will not take the time to look in the house if the first impression is not good. The following are some easy ways to build your curb appeal without spending a ton of time or money.
Driveway
Imagine pulling into a smooth, black and new driveway. That first impression will make the whole house looks newer. What if you have a weathered driveway? Clean it first, get rid of oil as sealer won\’t stick to it, then use a squeegee to spread the sealer over it, and let it dry. Your driveway will look awesome! Or recoat it with asphalt.
Aesthetics
Give your lawns hedges, and your sidewalks will look much better. Make a distinction between the grass and the walkways to be firm, so pull out the hedge and trim the areas up. Trim overgrown shrubs, so that your house is the focal point.
Use ground cover for those hard to maintain areas, such as slopes, or places with poor soil. They are low maintenance and will make your curb look so much more nicer without the need for you to maintain them strenuously. Create planters and flower beds with concrete blocks for some distinction between your driveway and lawn. Lay in some mulch, which holds in moisture and prevents weed growth, and they will be easier to maintain.
Maintaining the look of the siding
Nothing is sore to the eye than dirty siding. Clean away the dirt with a pressure washer. Start cleaning from bottom and work your way up, then once at the top, rinse from top to bottom. Make sure the stream from your pressure washer is wide, but effective, as a stream that is too intense can damage the siding.
Repaint and re-stain
Fix any cracking, peeling or chipping problem you encounter. Scrape off the old paint, prime and paint with a finish coat. A little touch up goes a long way. Latex paint is a good choice because of its long-term resistance to cracking. Decks or patios should be re-stained, and do some general clean-up for any furniture or out building on the outside.
Evening Curb Appeal
Sometimes potential buyers drive by houses in the evening. And this is where curb appeal in the evening will come into play. One quick way to improve evening curb appeal is with lighting. You can string low voltage lighting along driveway, sidewalks, and near important landscaping elements, add a decorative street lamp or an attractive light fixture to a front porch and make sure lighting that\’s visible through front doors and windows enhances the home\’s appearance.
Entrance
Install a more attractive front door, maybe something with leaded glass inserts. If replacing a door isn’t something you want to spend money on in terms of improvement then consider replacing plain doorknob hardware with something more attractive. If new hardware is still beyond your budget, repaint or stain the door and polish the hardware.
Building your curb appeal will really help in making the overall look of your house so much more pleasant and increase the value of your home.