Create This Look: 8 Tips to Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal
Whether your up- or down-sizing or just need a change, updating your home’s curb appeal can seriously increase the value of your home. If potential buyers (or nosey neighbours) see unkempt gardens and hedges, outdated siding, or unattractive decor, your home could easily be passed over or go unnoticed.
When searching for inspiration, we had to see what Canadian Stone Industries (CSI) was up to! Their Southern Ledgestone is a popular choice with local customers, so we found this gorgeous home featuring Country Ledgestone in Black Rundle and Southern Ledgestone in Echo Ridge.
Cultured Stone® products are exclusively available through CSI in Canada, and it’s no wonder it’s such a popular product with our customers. Cultured Stone® products are
- Lightweight and easy to install either indoors or outdoors
- Maintenance free, requiring no painting, coating, or sealing
- Weather resistant… it can freeze, thaw, heat up, and cool down without cracking, chipping, or fading (ideal for Northern Ontario weather!)
- Backed by a 50-year transferable limited warranty
- Available in over 20 styles and 105 colours
Updating your home’s siding may be a job better left for the professionals (talk to our We Install team if you’d like us to help out with that!), but there are several weekend worthy projects that even beginner DIYers can easily accomplish.
So roll up your sleeves and get ready to put a little sweat equity into your home with these 8 tips to improve your home’s curb appeal.
#1 – Trim Your Trees and Shrubs
Don’t hide your home behind overgrown trees, shrubs, or hedges. Yes… privacy is nice, but not at the cost of looking unkempt or hiding your home’s exterior features. Let prospective buyers or neighbours see the full front of your home with windows, and all will go a long way toward a quick sell.
#2 – Add Some Life
On the other hand, if your home is a barren expanse of lawn, consider adding some landscaping such as a garden or beautiful planters. Using planters of different heights can help you frame doors, stairs, and windows.
#3 – Do a Deep Clean
Rent or borrow a power washer (… it’s strangely satisfying once you get started!) and give your home’s siding, walkways, porch, windows, shutters, and driveway a thorough clean.
#4 – Upgrade Exterior Light Fixtures
You might need the help of an experienced electrician for this one, but updating your home’s exterior lighting is a quick job with instant results. If your home is still sporting a lovely brass sconce or chintzy chandelier from the 90s, perhaps even a coat of spray paint might be enough for a refresh.
Check out these unique outdoor lights from Canarm for inspiration.
#5 – Knock, Knock!
Check out some of these trends in hardware design from Weiser and then replace your front door hardware to give the entryway a modern and clean look. The solid feel and fresh look of a new door handle, deadbolt or fancy new electronic system, knocker, or even a new doorbell will make buyers feel more welcome (and guests more impressed).
#6 – Light It Up… Strategically
Adding lighting to the outside of your home is easier than ever with so many LED options that run off of solar power, so you don’t need to spend time or money digging trenches or doing electrical work. Go for string lights around the top of the porch, post lights you can use to highlight walkways and garden areas, or even a security light or two to make buyers or guests feel safe.
#7 – Repair the Driveway
Remove weeds and give your driveway a thorough clean (if you still have the power washer on hand, that’ll make quick work of this job). Fill any cracks and invest a weekend in giving it a new coat of driveway sealer.
#8 – Maintain Your Lawn and Garden
Love it or hate it, keeping your lawn freshly mown is a sure way to impress driversby. Fix bare spots with a product like Scotts EZ Seed, especially if your furry family member has been busy. If you have a garden, adding a fresh layer of cedar mulch gives your yard a real finished look.
From bigger jobs like updating your siding, shingles, exterior windows or doors to simpler DIY projects, improving your home’s curb appeal is an excellent way to increase its value… something worth investing in regardless if you plan on selling or staying.
Have questions about how to tackle some of these projects? Talk to one of our Project Experts for professional advice.