When you pull up to your home after a long day of outdoor fun, what sort of thoughts run through your mind when you look at your house? Does the way it looks on the outside fill you with pride, or is it a little worse for the wear? If you want to make your home look a little nicer, there are plenty of home improvement projects that can be done to improve its curb appeal.
Paint Your Home
Few things will give your house a total makeover in one move quite the way that painting your home can. This is especially beneficial if the paint that is currently on your home is looking worse for wear. If you’re looking for a less all-inclusive painting project, redoing the paint on your home’s trim can be a subtle, yet impactful change. Of course, there’s also always the option to go all out and repaint the whole exterior.
Pressure Wash
Sometimes giving your home a makeover is a little more than is strictly necessary to make it look beautiful. Sometimes all you need to do to give it a facelift is to wash it really well. Washing the exterior of a house can be a little tricky with how high you have to reach and all the nooks and crannies that houses tend to have. Using a pressure washer can make all of that a lot easier. Don’t just get a pressure washer and start hosing your home down though. Make sure you know how to use it correctly for the surfaces you’re washing. That will help you avoid inadvertently damaging your home instead of cleaning it.
Hardscaping
A well maintained and thoughtfully cultivated front yard can be a thing of beauty. Part of what makes it so beautiful is the order that hardscaping offers to the otherwise wildness that plants tend to gravitate towards. Hardscaping refers to the parts of your landscaping that aren’t horticultural in nature. Walkways, stairs, your driveway, and retaining walls are just a few examples of hardscaping that could interact with your yard. The plant life combined with the hardscaping elements create a space that blends nature with the human capacity to shape our environment to better suit ourselves. It’s especially important to have walkways and driveways that are in good repair. Not only do they make your home look nicer, they also reduce the risk that someone might trip and fall on an uneven or cracked surface. In addition to the different iterations of hardscaping, there are multiple materials you can use to customize its appearance. Concrete, stone, and wood are all materials that are commonly used in landscaping.
Replace Your Doors
Quality doors can last for ages, but do you really want to have the same old front door that you’ve had for ages? Replacing your front door is another way to create a subtle, yet effective change in the appearance of your home. Replacing your entry door can even save you money by reducing your energy bills. Again, you can go very simple with this or you can make it a more involved project. If you want a less complicated project, repainting your door and swapping out the hardware can be enough to change the look of your home. You could also replace the door altogether. Depending on what replacement door you choose, this can be a simple matter of taking one door off and putting another one on. On the other hand, if you were to go from, say, a simple single front door to one that had sidelights or transom windows in the doorframe in addition to the door itself, you’re looking at a much more complicated project. That said, the visual effect that the extra glass can have can be stunningly beautiful in addition to allowing more light into the home.
Your front door isn’t the only door to think about replacing either. Just how old is your garage door? If it’s looking worse for wear, you might want to consider replacing it. Replacing an old, worn garage door can make your home look a lot nicer, but that’s not the only benefit. Newer doors can be more secure, are less likely to suffer mechanical failure as quickly, and are one of the home improvement projects that offer a decent ROI.
Redo Your Lighting
How does your home look at night? Having a porch light is pretty standard, but is it enough to illuminate your walkways? How effective are the lights on your driveway? Lighting can greatly enhance the beauty of your home during the night and darker hours of the day. There are a ton of different outdoor lighting options and styles to choose from, which means you can find something that will suit the aesthetic of just about any house.
Revitalize Your Lawn
Hardscaping isn’t the only part of your yard that contributes to its beauty. The appearance of your lawn does as well. Some areas have struggled significantly with this lately due to extreme drought conditions. Lawns may look less green and lush due to watering restrictions. Even those lawns that are a beautiful emerald green aren’t necessarily without room for improvement. Weeds can crop up anywhere unless you take steps to prevent them from growing. Learn about what type of grass you have and what it needs in order to grow well. Of course, you can also always consider the alternative of having artificial turf installed. Today’s artificial turf looks a lot more like grass, especially when it’s high quality. As an added bonus, this can significantly cut down on the amount of water you need to use and the time you need to spend caring for your lawn.
Boosting the curb appeal of your home offers plenty of benefits. For one, it improves the value of your home. For another, it can increase the overall satisfaction you feel towards your home. You’ll also enjoy the benefits that come from living in a home that looks beautiful on the outside. The results of having a beautifully kept home are well worth having.
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