4 Proven Ways to Sharpen Your Home’s Curb Appeal
Running to the store, I take a quick look in the mirror – smoothing my hair, making sure I don’t have anything in my teeth, checking for food stains on my shirt (toddlers…) because when I go out, I’m on display.
Well, our homes are on display all of the time. If you think about it, people actually see the outside of your home more often than the inside.
When there are twigs all over the yard days after a storm or a rusting mailbox, that’s like having a big chunk of spinach in your teeth when you smile at the store clerk.
Not only is maintaining and updating your home’s exterior aesthetically pleasing, but outdoor projects can tremendously escalate the value of your home.
The following projects are simple DIYs and will undoubtedly increase your home’s curb appeal.
1. Add Porch Railings
Porch railings provide a myriad of benefits. They increase the value of your home, provide a safe place for kids and pets to play, and bring a certain charm to your home.
When selling our first home, Ash and I looked for ways to make our townhouse stand out amidst a large neighborhood of very similar-looking houses.
Ash installed white porch railings – and we loved the value they brought.
With the new porch railings, we found ourselves spending more time on the porch. Our dog had a safe place to run back and forth without darting into the road, we loved the porch railings upgraded the look of our home, and our realtor was most pleased to see such a worthwhile update.
For only a weekend of work, we sure reaped the benefits of that project.
If you don’t have a porch area on your home, you can add railings to your steps and entry area. I’ve seen this work wonders on a home’s curb appeal.
Check out how Ash built these porch railings.
2. Paint the Front Door
Doors can get pretty banged up over the years – and a fresh on the front door gives your entry look fresh and inviting.
It’s very trendy nowadays to see brightly colored doors – such as yellow or bright green. Red can be really common. It’s awesome if you can make a blast of colorwork. Yet, you don’t have to go that way if you aren’t sure that it will work for you and your home.
Even just a fresh coat of paint also goes a long way. Before we moved out of our previous home, I painted a fresh coat of white paint on our front and back doors. It made a huge difference. It got rid of any marks that accumulated over the years and gave the door a brighter, fresh appearance.
Painting your front door is a quick, inexpensive, and easy way to make your home more attractive. It’s another simple project that yields great benefits.
3. Install a Walkway
Another way to pump up your curb appeal is by having a direct and well-maintained pathway to your home. A clear front walk not only leads one in, but it shows that your home is inviting, bringing warmth, character, and direction to your home.
Ash and I put a walkway in our first home, digging up the ground and laying down the rocks to make this stony pathway. We actually built this in our backyard – to connect our back patio to our floating deck; however, this would work as a great front walk too.
It was an easy project – lots of digging and carrying stones. Yet, in just two weekends, we had a fabulous stone walkway. The hardest part of the project wasn’t the labor involved in making the path but carrying all those stones.
Additionally, other ways to dress up these walkways is with bright lighting and pretty landscaping. You want your home to be well-lit at night, and beautifully spaced plants highlight the pathway.
If your home is missing a direct path to your front door, or if you are looking for a pathway that’s simple to maintain, check out our stone walkway tutorial for step-by-step instructions.
4. Fix Up Your Mailbox
Last, and my personal favorite – the mailbox. Sprucing up your mailbox is an easy project that really escalates your curb appeal. Fixing up your box with either a new post or even a fresh coat of paint goes a long way. Plant a few flowers around it, and you’ll have the prettiest box on the street.
When we moved into our new home, our mailbox was an eyesore. For one, it was rotting. Not to mention its terrible slant. It leaned so far toward the road that when getting the mail, it would practically fall out.
In looking around the neighborhood, the neighbors’ boxes weren’t much better. Many boxes were slanted – some had splints to hold the post up. One neighbor even had duct tape wrapped around his mailbox to keep in on its post.
In fixing ours, we realized just how straightforward it was – and what a huge impact it had on our curb appeal. A little fresh paint and a brand new post made our beautiful orange tulips finally feel at home. A mailbox makeover is a simple project that you can do in a weekend, and it will definitely impress the neighborhood.
And, if your mailbox looked anything like ours did, I’m sure your mailman will be a happy camper.
Check out our mailbox makeover tutorial.
Just as you want to look your best before a party or before leaving for work, your home’s appearance is important too. Your house’s façade is always on display for everyone to see.
This spring, it might be time to take care of that leaning mailbox or give your front door a fresh coat of paint.
If you aren’t sure where to start, choose one project and set aside one weekend. With our step-by-step tutorials, we guide you through these DIY outdoor projects, sharing tips, tricks, and what worked for us.
You may even be surprised at the massive impact it has on your home’s curb appeal.
I agree with all your suggestions. I would probably add cleaning up landscaping or adding landscaping to further help! Visiting from Sundays at Home party.
Thanks Victoria 🙂 Hope you had a nice weekend!
Great ideas – I love the pathway – Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party!
Thanks Helen 🙂
Love these ideas. We have a red door at the moment and we’re thinking about changing it but not sure to what.
Thanks Nicole. I know, it’s so hard to figure out door colors – I always want something vibrant but then I’m afraid it will clash or be too much. I love a red door!
What a pretty mailbox area, accessorized with cheery tulips and a shiny, green lawn! Ours curb appeal comes from the surrounding vineyards, olive groves, and views to the sea. Flowers are always welcoming, too!
Visiting via Make it Pretty Monday,
Poppy:)
Thank you so much Poppy! We love those tulips – wish they had a longer season:)
Visiting from Make it Pretty Monday. Great ideas. Thanks
Thanks Kristina:)
This was a fun post but with some valuable suggestions. We are probably going to be putting our home on the market soon and I really agree with painting the front door. I like an out-of-the-box or unexpected color so I went with yellow and I have loved it but that was about four years ago and now it is definitely ready for a refresh. These are all easy things to overlook in our busy lives but definitely things that leave an impression and add value to our homes.
Thanks Pamela:) Yes, I know what you mean about overlooking all the small things and then it’s crunch time when house goes on the market! Good luck with your updates:)
These simple common sense things are so true. Curb appeal also helps remind other neighbours to keep their homes nice. I know I appreciate it when they do.
Thanks Leanna! Me too:)
Good ideas!
Thank you 🙂
I love the pathway! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Cherryl! It was so easy too – just a little bit of labor 🙂
I have been wanting to paint our front door but couldn’t decide on a color. Thanks for the recommendations.
You’re welcome Lindsay:) Glad you found it helpful!
Fantastic projects! Now that I think about it…our front door needs a fresh coat of paint, and we’re seriously delinquent on the weeding. Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!
Hahaha I love the phrase delinquent weeding! Our backyard needs some TLC too:) have a great week!
Your pathway looks great! It is amazing how much curb appeal you can get for a relatively small amount of effort. We have done all of these except the railings (wish I had a porch!), and you are right, they each made a huge difference. It may be time for a few new coats of paint, though. 😉
Thanks Wendy!! Haha I’m always painting something around here:) maybe you could add on a porch – my dream is to turn ours into a wraparound porch one day!
A few years back we were so intent on adding a railing to our front porch. More pressing projects came first but we still haven’t given up on the idea.
We have a bunch of those project lingering around too – if only there were more hours in the day! We loved the porch railings – we found ourselves spending so much more time out front:)
Great tips! I love your mailbox!
Thanks Cathy! I wish the orange tulips had a longer season:)
Very good ideas for curb appeal. your path makes a huge difference. Planning flower bloomings helps as well.
Kathleen
Blogger’s Pit Stp
Thanks Kathleen! We loved how it looked – and it’s functionality too:)
Excellent ideas!!! I loved how you created your pathway 🙂
Thanks Christina!
Your mailbox is so cute! I am jealous, because we just have the big community box and I miss having my own 🙁
Great tips! #happynowlinkup
Thanks Jen! We didn’t used to have a proper one either – we shared with a neighbor and the mailbox was in our shared driveway. So nowhere to plant flowers:( loving that we have one now:)
Everything looks great! I especially like your porch railings and walkway. All of your projects contribute to a nicely finished overall look.
Thanks Carol! We loved the porch railings:)
Great suggestions! We did the mailbox refresh this year and let me say, it was long over due! Thanks for sharing with us at Snickerdoodle!
Thanks Laurie! Yes it’s easy to overlook the smaller projects but they make such a difference:)
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Roseann!
Painting the door is so smart. We really need to do this since our front door now pretty much matches the siding for some odd reason. I want it to pop! As always, thank you for sharing with us at Funtastic Friday 😉 Pinned & sharing
Haha yes a pop of color is so fun! I have to paint our shutters – I would like them to pop:)
Cool ideas to change the look of your house. Some won’t cost too much either.
Thanks Gail:)
Great ideas, guys! Thanks so much for sharing them with us at Vintage Charm 🙂
Thanks Diana:) have a great week!
thank you for sharing at TFT pinned xo
Thanks Katherine:)
All fantastic ideas for curb appeal. Thank you for sharing at the Snickerdoodle Create~Bake~Make link party!
Thanks Sharon 🙂
Wonderful tips! Thanks for sharing. You are one of the fan favorites at The Sunday Showcase from the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Here is the link so you can check out your feature. http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2017/06/sunday-showcase-make-pretty-monday-4.html Hope to see you at the bash tonight! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse