8 More Ways to Add Curb Appeal

By Kate Riley April 22, 2013

I’m back home from my whirlwind trip to Salt Lake City, had a great time at the conference and got a chance to connect with a lot of blog friends too. Yesterday I did a little shopping since I’m sprucing the sit down section of our courtyard and wanted to pick up a few colorful accessories. I’m hoping to pull it together and show you later this week! 

We also spent some time in the yard doing all those necessary things like feeding and watering that come with shrubs and plants that are blooming once more – this is that time of year that gets us all thinking about ways to improve the outdoor areas. Today contributing writer Shannon from AKA Design is back to share with you eight additional ways to add curb appeal to your home.

“It’s a fact, a house with pretty curb appeal stands out in a neighborhood. Often curb appeal is a priority when a house is being listed for sale, but it needn’t be reserved solely for that occasion. Improving your home’s curb appeal adds to its value, and a home that possesses it brings a smile to both the homeowner and the neighbors that pass by, demonstrating that the home is well loved and well cared for.

Kate wrote a post called Curb Appeal: 8 Weekend DIY Projects back in 2012. Her ideas are still applicable and included painting or replacing the front door, creating a container garden, adding window boxes, creating a porch seating area, adding architectural accents, updating garage doors, investing in good landscaping and lighting a pathway to the front door. To build on those ideas, here are eight more ways to add that extra something special that will improve the impression of your home’s exterior.

1. Spruce Up the Side Yard.  Whether it’s the space adjacent to the garage or the area of yard that includes the gates, the side yard shouldn’t be overlooked when improving a home’s curb appeal. Extend the front yard landscaping around to the side and consider including an arbor, gate, or attractive pathway. 

side arbor with lantern sconces bhg

Better Homes and Gardens

side yard walkway

Amelia B Lima & Associates    

2. Add a Fence. There’s a reason we all cite the “white picket fence” as the ideal, it adds depth and encloses the yard but also draws the attention of a passersby with its clean lines and classic style. Other styles of fencing are equally attractive depending on the style of the home. Front yard fencing in the form of stone, wrought iron, or a wooden all accomplish the same delineation of property lines and offer a a place to anchor shrubs or grow trellising vines.

blue house white picket fence

Sarah Dorio for HGTV

black fence stockandhill

Stock and Hill

white home black shutters tom plant

Tom Plant, Realtor 

3. Repair Driveways and Improve Walkways.  Our last house had a horrible driveway and no matter how we improved exterior of the house and yard, the driveway problems were still an eyesore. Take the time to fix cracks or pot holes and then reseal your driveway yourself, hire a professional if you’re unwilling to tackle the DIY aspects or if the problem is beyond your abilities. Also, eliminate any weeds from walkways or paths to your front door. 

curved walkway landscape plus

Landscape Plus, LLC

curb appeal red door

HGTV

4. Upgrade Your Address Numbers.  Besides being that necessary beacon for fire and emergency departments, house numbers also charm and personality to a home and it’s a detail that sets a home apart from its neighbors.

address numbers pottery barn

Pottery Barn

address numbers brick home

House Proud Signs

5. Put your Patriotism on Display. No matter if you live in the U.S. or Canada or somewhere else in the world, your home country’s flag can be a decorative accent when hung with pride.

aqua door american flag

House of Turquoise

georgian revival hgtv

HGTV Front Door

6. Arrange an Outdoor Room.  If you are lucky enough to have a front porch, veranda, or covered deck you can create a welcoming entry by setting up an outdoor room. Include seating, side tables, and decorative accessories to encourage visitors to sit and stay awhile.

front porch bhg

Better Homes & Gardens

southern living porch

Southern Living

7. Spell Out Your Welcome.  Make visitors welcome in a literal way with a mat, sign, or vinyl application. Mailboxes and doors have the potential to become stylish billboards for cheeky sayings or simple greetings.

welcome sign ask anna

Ask Anna

clip_image030

The Sticker Hut

8. Be Consistent with Visible Window Treatments.  What you see inside the windows from the street matters as much as what is outside. Try to keep all the window treatments visible from your front yard cohesive – include a liner on the backside of panels and shades or using a consistent style of treatment to ensure uniformity.

white blind in windows

Shutter South

Armed with these eight ideas (as well as Kate’s original eight), you’ll be able to perk up your home’s exterior and amplify its curb appeal in no time flat!”

Thank you Shannon for your insight today, I love all of these thoughtful tips! How many of you are thinking about sprucing up your exteriors?  What steps will you be taking this spring and summer to add more curb appeal to your home?

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23 comments

  1. Can’t wait for the weather to warm up so I can finally get outside and get my hands dirty! I think we’re all going to want our outdoor spaces to look great after the long winter we’ve had, and these photos are definitely a great source of inspiration!

  2. Great ideas! This year, my goal is to improve our curb appeal. Our house isn’t a natural beauty, but I’m sure that this year we can spruce her up a bit and make her more of a “looker from the curb”. :)

  3. i love those bluestone slabs set into the gravel.. that helps me an side path i’ve been trying to decide how to fix up!

  4. I love the sayings on the door. I’m tempted to try that! I also need to give a little more attention to the front porch and think of it as a room with furniture that fits the space and looks welcoming. Especially since I intend to sit on it this summer, drinking margaritas!

  5. Great post! We’re completely re-doing our home’s frontage in the next couple of weeks (post below) and these photos were great inspiration. Thanks!!

  6. As I scrolled through each one, I kept thinking, “Ooh yeah, good one!” But I never could have thought of them on my own! I know when a house looks good, but I can never quite pinpoint what makes it look that way, ya know? So this is helpful. And hopefully we’ll get our own place before I forget all these great tips :).

  7. Given that our driveway is 150 metres long and our house is so surrounded by trees that you can’t even see it, curb appeal doesn’t exactly apply, but I’m definitely looking at sprucing up our exterior this year. First on the list: weeding and edging all of the flower beds. Some day we’d like to add a front porch, which will make a huge difference on the front of our house. Planting a few more trees along our long driveway will set the tone right from the edge of the road–and I mean the gravel shoulder, not the curb :).

  8. Great post! My house has a non-existent back yard so I’ve been looking for ways to make the front yard a great hang out space in summer, but with privacy since we’re on a corner lot. There is a small covered deck (that is covered in that awful putting green material!). I am trying to figure out how to plan a new deck, and/or possibly a patio adjacent to the covered deck, and landscaping to create privacy. It’s a tough one!

  9. Just chiming in to say how much I enjoyed this article! Not only was it very educational, but it was also perfectly timed for spring!

  10. I love some of these ideas. I have plans for outside using some free wood pallets. I want to make a wood flag to go with all my Patriotic decorations.

  11. I love waking up to your blog every morning, it goes well with my coffee and the early morning quiet. I plan on sprucing up the front porch with flowers and I especially like the idea of writing “welcome” on the front door. My back deck is quite large, and in the past, we didn’t have extra $$$ to decorate. This spring, I’m hoping to use tourquoise and bright red, with splashes of yellow. I also like large exotic prints, birds and flowers, and the chevron stripes. Mixing these all together should make for a fun, playful place to hang out.
    Thanks again for a great blog.

    • Thanks Pamela, how kind! And thanks so much to Shannon for her thoughtful inspiration!
      Kate

  12. I love the sayings on the door! It would really make me feel welcome if I approached a door with this! I have a cute new metal bistro set that I plan on putting on my porch and perhaps a painted rug. I can’t wait till spring is finally here.

  13. Wonderful inspirations! Can’t wait to start decorating the porch, love all the scrumptious colors! Working with blues and greens this year. Love the door messages, those are so fun!

  14. Some great ideas here. Thanks. I especially love those doors. When the weather improves, that’s probably the first on my list

  15. Yes to house numbers! Stop and think, if you have to call 911 in the middle of the night, can they find you quickly? It doesn’t have to make your house ugly. The house at 649 … has attractive and easy to see numbers.

    And my side yard is getting fixed up by this fall, no matter what! Thanks for the inspiration!

  16. This is a great post, full of awesome inspiration – plus those images? To die for…
    I think curb appeal is important for one really vital reason – if you have a gorgeous front garden/porch/door/whatever you’ll feel elated as soon as you see it. If your garden is kind of a mess, every time you come home from work or running errands, you’ll get the dreaded guilt and that jolt in your stomach when you think about your achingly long to-do list. Coming home should be a joy not a chore.

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