April 23, 2018
Ways to fix up your outdoor space and curb appeal
Whether you’re thinking of selling or simply embracing the Spring time, your home’s curb appeal can significantly impact the value of yours and your neighbors' properties. Enjoy these fun and easy tips to give your home a facelift!
1. PAINT! A little bit of paint can go a long way! Paint your front door an inviting color that contrasts and compliments the color of your house. In some cultures, a red door means “Welcome” but we’re also seeing a lot of teal and aqua colored doors lately. If you have shutters, you can also give them a fresh coat to help curb appeal. While you have all of your paint brushes and everything out, go ahead and touch up any trim around doors and windows while you’re at it!
2. Speaking of WINDOWS! Let’s get them sparkling clean! Whether you want to hire a professional window washer or do them yourself, you can find all kinds of cleaning tricks online. Some of those tricks include: vinegar, baking soda, dishwasher detergent, Dawn, paint brushes to clean the tracks, squeegees, and newspaper instead of paper towels for a steak and lint free finish. If you plan on doing inside and out, we recommend squeegeeing and drying the inside in top to bottom motions and the outside from side to side so if there are any streaks, you can tell which side they are on.
3. NUMBERS! Identify your house. Make sure your home address numbers are big enough to be seen from the street. If you’re planning to sell soon, it’s obvious as to why this is important but even if you’re planning to stay, it’s important to have house numbers that are clear and easy to read to identify your home in the event of an emergency so might as well make those numbers look pretty! You can find an endless amount of finishes, sizes, and styles online or at your local hardware store. If you love the ones you have, make sure they’re nice and clean. Sometimes for our listings we recommend to our sellers to take them down, clean, and spray paint them if they’re wanting a quick and easy fix. We also see people paint their home numbers on the curb near the end of a sidewalk or driveway or install signs or flags with numbers to help identify their homes- just remember that some deed restricted communities may not allow this so check with your association first!
4. LANDSCAPE! Lush green grass, shrubbery, and flowers. If your grass is having a hard time coming back after the tail end of winter and cold fronts, you can have your yard treated or you can take it upon yourself to DIY. We love Scotts Turf Builder Grass Seed - Sun and Shade Mix. Low shrubbery along the front of the house gives it a nice border while pretty flowers add shots of color. Mulch around the base of shrubs, plants and flowers keeps the weeds away and makes for a clean polished look. Make sure your lawn stays manicured and well maintained with grass that is neatly cut and edged.
5. CLEAN! Sweep or blow off front patios, porches, stoops, steps, sidewalks and driveways to keep your house looking well maintained and appealing. Here in florida, it’s common from our hot humid weather to see green spots starting to grow on our homes. You can buy sprays and detergents from your local hardware store but we’ve found that a pump sprayer with half water and half vinegar and a squirt of dish soap does a pretty good job. You may also have to get some elbow grease involved or call an expert. If you plan on doing any painting, remember to get this green swamp mildew off before hand and drying the surface to ensure the longevity of the paint.
There we have it folks! FIVE quick tricks to help you enhance your homes curb appeal! Have fun and don’t forget to wear your sunscreen!
