Top Tips to increase Kerb Appeal
How many times have you driven past a row of houses and admired an individual property? Something usually catchers your eye be it architecture, colours, plants, flowers, iron work and more. We can all obviously stand out with bright colours and loud design work, though this can be sometimes an eye sore instead and can cause a touch of frictions within the immediate community let alone raising interest from the local planning department!
To improve kerb (or curb in the US) appeal we are looking at positive eye catching elements over eye brow raising or puzzling features. We want to display something that we find attractive knowing that others will admire in the same way. Many streets and roads will have a line up of property from terraced to detached and quite often you drive past without so much as a flicker of attention. Take a walk down your own street and see for yourself – Which property(s) actually stand out positively?
It is totally understandable, for many urban areas with large housing estates, to be made up of busy working families and who has the time these days to concentrate on kerb appeal let alone basic property and garden maintenance?!
A property can have a very different frontage from simply a front door stepping on to the pavement (or road) to those property hidden behind acres of forestry. If we look at an average property then we are going to have a small front garden area likely to hold one / two cars with a pathway to the front door. So what can we really do to make all this eye catching and hold some kerb appeal?
- Clever Colour: You should be looking at not the norm yet not too loud neither, so you will likely need to research the latest trends or simply take a tour round your area and see which colours look the best on other property. We should be looking here at both the front door (this is one of the most important attraction points) as well as any exterior walls with rendering. When you are thinking about these colours you should also consider colour coding the rest of any features you add to your kerb appeal.
- Front Door: As we just spoke of, the front door is a great eye catching point of focus when people glance at your property – Make sure you replace any tired looking doors or those looking cheap / out of fashion. If it is not PVC then think about a fresh coat of paint and definitely look at adding quality door furniture such as a knocker.
- Declutter: If you have simply too many items in your front garden then think about thinning them out – Clutter can give a smaller impression of an area. Have you multiple plant pots, water features, storage, retired old vehicle?
- Hide the bins: It’s a difficult one for many especially those without easy access to back gardens / yards, but unsightly bins are a real eye sore, at least invest in a small storage unit that can hide them away.
- Weeding: We all hate those weeds don’t we? If we hate them then for sure those looking at our property will likewise dislike them! If you can clean up your front garden of weeds then it really can make a difference.
- Pressure Washer Time: Is your patio / stones / concreate looking a bit dirty? Has it lost its original colour? A small pressure washer can really liven up your patio area improve its appeal.
- Fences and Walls: Are this still erect and clearly defining boundaries? Is there a missing brick or two, maybe peeling paint, a missing old iron gate? If you can neatly set the boundaries with clean and tidy fences / walls then it makes for better presentation of your property.
- Quality Plants / Pots / Features: Try and keep these to a minimum if possible, but place out quality pots with attractive plants (ideally evergreen / winter hardy). Give your garden some love with regular lawn cutting, strimming, weeding and planting!
- Cars: Totally understand that we need to park our car outside, but especially during selling you might be advised to leave the front clear giving potential buyers a clearer view of your property and a spacious feel.
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