The outside of your home is the first impression people will have, and whether they are prospective purchasers or visitors calling for the first time, you want that first impression to be good. How your home looks from the road will reflect on you as a family and will determine whether people want to enter or not. However, it is very easy to concentrate on keeping the inside of your home looking good and to miss the signs that the outside needs some tender loving care too. Here are some ideas of how to improve your home’s curb appeal.
Front Door Appeal
Even if people are not going to enter your home, they may have to approach the front door. It does not look good if the paint is peeling and the fixtures are faded or dirty. You should take the handles and any other fixing from the door and clean and polish them to see if they will come up like new. If not, it is best to replace them, which is usually quite cheap to do.
The door itself needs to be checked for peeling or flaky paint. If it is showing any signs of these, you should sand it down, prime it and give it a new coat of paint, not forgetting the door frame around it. Then when you put the door furniture back on, you may be surprised what an improvement refreshing your front door makes to the look of your whole home.
If the door is old and beyond repair, you should consider replacing it, perhaps with a UPVC one that will not need painting in the future. They are also very durable, waterproof, and the locks on them are more secure than the standard locks that wooden doors have on them.
Windows
If your windows are looking old and dated, they will make your home look that way too. If the time has come to replace them, and you need to find window companies in Arizona, now is the time to start looking. American Vision Windows will be able to help you decide which new windows would be best for your home, as whatever type you have fitted, they should suit the look of it. They will give you a free, no-obligation quote for replacement windows, and as well as only using professional fitters, they will clear away all the debris of the old windows.
As well as vastly improving the curb appeal of your home, new windows can have other advantages too. They can help to keep your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, reducing your energy costs. They will also look great from the inside of your home, often allowing a lot more natural daylight in than older styled windows.
Roof and Gutters
If your roof has a few loose slates, or your gutters are blocked, you should get these seen to now while improving the curb appeal of your home. These types of jobs are vital, and not just because your home will look better. You do not want water seeping through some displaced tiles or running down the walls because of a blocked gutter. Water can do a lot of damage to your walls and ceilings, as well as causing problems with the outside walls of your home.
It may well be that your roof needs totally replacing and if this is the case, it is money well spent. Older style roofs will let out much more heat than new ones, although of course, it is best to have your loft insulated too. With as much as 35% of heat lost through an uninsulated roof, this could reduce your energy bills greatly.
External Walls
This depends on the finish of your external walls as to how much work might be needed. If they have a coating of some sort, it could be that it needs a new cover of paint to freshen it up. If it is plain brickwork, you need to check that there are no loose ones and that the mortar between them all is good. Pointing, or replacing the mortar to your external walls is not an expensive job, but it can make a huge difference to how good or bad your home looks.
Garage
If you have a garage on the front of your home, you need to make sure its appearance is in good order too. As with the front door, you need to check there is no pealing or flaky paint and refresh it if there is. Most people opt to paint their garage doors in the same color as their front door as this tends to look better than having two different colors.
If you are concerned about curb appeal because you are intending to sell your home, you should also make sure that the garage doors are in full working order.
Paths and Driveways
The last thing you need is someone slipping or tripping on one of your paths or driveways. You should make sure they are in good order, and then you can usually very simply make them look as good as new. A jet washing machine is the answer, as this will remove any stains and dirt, and improve the look of them at the same time. You may need to put new sand between any slabs or stones afterward, as a jet washer does tend to move it.
If you do not have a proper path leading to your front door, you should have one laid. A path from the sidewalk to your front door shows the way to get in and lets people know they are welcome. There are lots of different materials to choose from, but this can be an inexpensive job that will help improve the look of the outside of your home.
Fences and Gates
If you have fences and gates that need attention, it generally just takes a bit of hard work to put them in order. If they are made of wood, they might need staining, and if they are metal, they could need a lick of paint. Whatever they are made of, bringing them up to scratch is usually quite simple, but if they are beyond repair, you will need to replace them.
If you do not have fences or a gate, consider whether installing them would improve the curb appeal of your home, or would you rather just leave it as open plan? This is a matter of personal choice, although some people fit them to feel more secure.
Lighting
A light outside your front door is a good idea, not just because it will look good, but it will also let you see who is on your doorstep if someone rings the bell in the hours of darkness. The amount of lighting you have is a matter of choice, but if for instance, you have a porch at your front entrance, you might want more than one to light up the whole area.
You should not forget to put lighting at your garage entrance too, and if there is a pathway to be walked from the garage to the home, it makes sense to light that up too; this will save any trips or falls in the dark.
Garden
When most other jobs are done, you need to see if your garden needs any attention. Does the lawn need mowing? Do the bushes and shrubs need a trim? Have you got loads of weeds everywhere? With everything else about your home looking so much better, putting your garden in order is just one of the finishing touches it needs.
Spending a few hours gardening can be hard work, but it will be worth the effort when you see how much better your home looks from the road.
Decorations
With all these tasks done, you have almost given your home as much curb appeal as you can, but there are one or two other touches that can look really good as long as you do not overdo them. For instance, some window boxes full of color can look great and they are easy to look after. The same applies to a hanging basket or two. If you have a large front garden, you could have a water feature or maybe a rockery to enhance the look of your garden.
There are several reasons why you might want to improve the curb appeal of your home. It does not really matter what the reason is; one of the main advantages is that at the same time as making your home look better from outside, you will be making it more pleasant for you and your family to live in and enjoy. It might seem like a lot of money for some of these jobs, but when you do come to sell, they will make the house more saleable and you will get most of the outlay back in an increased price.