Do you know that sense of pride you feel when your home looks amazing? When the exterior is on point, everything looks tidy, and your lawn is well manicured? Feels really good, doesn’t it?
To the people who don’t live in your home, this feeling is best understood as curb appeal. It’s another way to say you’re catching the attention of passersby, impressing them, and even making them envious. Curb appeal can even be the decisive factor if you’re trying to sell your home!
What is Curb Appeal Exactly?
Real estate agents use the term to mean the first impression in potential homebuyers, but “curb appeal” is anything that highlights your home’s exterior and makes it more attractive; to put it succinctly, it’s the positive things people see in your home when standing at the curb! It could be achieved through any number of improvements: a coat of paint on the siding, a newly paved driveway, or rebuilding a crumbling deck. Anything done to improve the look of your home can enhance your curb appeal (provided it’s done correctly!).
Some common curb appeal tactics include creating a feeling of symmetry in your exterior decorations, improving outdoor lighting, and adding some sculpture art. But if you don’t have a lot of money to put into upgrading the outside of your home, you can achieve curb appeal by making improvements to your lawn, garden, and other landscaping features.
How Does Landscaping Enhance Curb Appeal?
Let’s start with the lawn, that big green rectangle that jumps out at people as they drive by your home. A dull, weedy, patchy lawn can create curb revulsion rather than appeal, and turn viewers away from even the best parts of your home. If there’s a real estate sign placed in this kind of lawn, good luck trying to sell it! It’s important to keep your grass healthy, green, and well-tended, especially if you’re trying to get your house off the market. Coming out of winter, you’ll need to do some maintenance to ensure your lawn lasts green through to next fall. Water regularly, use fertilizer, and eliminate weeds as soon as you see them. This all can enhance your curb appeal, and the majority of the heavy lifting can be done in an afternoon!
Curb appeal is both what highlights the best parts of your home and its potential. One of the most important features for both of these are outdoor plants. Shrubs and bushes placed in wood chips go with any exterior and are very easy to maintain. A new planter bed adds colour to your landscaping, and this colour can accent the existing palette of a home’s exterior. Gardens don’t have to be only at the front of your home, either; placing them in strategic locations around your yard can add an exciting dynamic to your curb appeal ambitions.
How To Get Started
Ready to begin? You might think you are, but to understand the landscape work you’ll need, you have to see your property in a new light. When you drive up to your home, keep several things in mind. First impressions are always important. If this wasn’t my home, what would I think about it? It’s difficult, but try and put yourself into the head of a stranger. Ask the hard questions: what are the best features of my home? What could use some work?
You might not hit at the answer right away. What needs work could be missed because of how familiar you are with your surroundings. If you need a second look at your property, take our advice in mind, or call us today!
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