10 inexpensive ways to boost your home’s curb appeal
There are steps that every homeowner can take to ratchet up their property’s curb appeal and make the rest of the block step up its game.
“Curb appeal” is a delightfully vague term, but every homeowner seeks it. It is essentially the elements that make a property attractive when viewed from the street, and while it typically refers to a property on the market, any home can have curb appeal. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there are steps that every homeowner can take to ratchet up his or her property’s curb appeal and make the rest of the block step up its game.
Obviously, major costs like painting a house, replacing the siding, and redoing the roof will do the trick, but there are plenty of non-bank-breaking measures that can go a long way toward creating an eye-catching property — from DIY crafts to a good scrubbing:
1. Recycle
Repurposing old items can give the front of your house some great character. For a nautical feel, lobster traps, oyster baskets, and buoys add color and complexity. Old tools and watering cans can be mounted on the home or hung from a porch for that perfect farmhouse look. Even retro bicycles can be hung on a house as a quirky attention grabber. Antique shops are bursting with items looking for their second life as decorative pieces, and it’s just a matter of finding the right piece to complement your home’s color, style, location, and motif.
2. Flower boxes
Instead of relying on the expected store-bought planter boxes for your porch, surprise by making your own from recycled wood. Shipping pallets, old wooden crates, and even driftwood are great materials for this project. The wood looks great on its own, but you can paint it complement your house or give it a bright splash of paint to liven up that plain white railing or step. When working with recycled wood, expect imperfections. After all, you’re using it in ways other than what was intended.
3. Planters
In addition to making your own flower boxes from scratch, you can creatively repurpose hundreds of items to make a special home for flowers. Old watering cans, tool boxes, wine barrels, and trunks make great planters, and converting them is as easy as drilling the bottom for drainage and lining it with small stones. Smaller items can be converted into hanging baskets by drilling holes into the side and adding a chain or rope.
4. Lighting
There are many creative uses for exterior string lights that can make your house the envy of the neighborhood. From simply wrapping them around your porch columns to using them to highlight hanging plants, these inexpensive lights are versatile and last for years. Hollie’s Place, a furniture store in Norwood, weaves the lights into a repurposed box spring, which hangs like a chandelier from the porch. String lights vary in color, length, brightness, and bulb size, so you have a lot to choose from. Certain lights also have different settings in terms of flickering, which makes for a great effect on romantic summer nights.
5. House number
Something as simple as your house number can become an attention grabber, according to a recent post by House Logic. Consider building an interesting shape out of wood or metal and painting the house number on it with a vibrant accent color. Keep in mind that this feature serves a practical purpose, so make sure people can see it from the street.
6. Front door
The front entrance is usually the focal point of a property, and oftentimes a change can affect how a home is perceived. Consider painting your door with a bold color that complements your exterior. “Adding a statement color to the front door is comparable to what a silk scarf or tie does for an outfit — a small dose of color can do wonders to uplift the façade of a home while complementing the architecture and surrounding landscape,’’ paint manufacturer Benjamin Moore recommends on its website.
To pick a color that works with your home, you can upload a photo of your door to the Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer tool and preview thousands of colors. Benjamin Moore suggests taking color cues from inside your house to find a hue you love. For a more ambitious project, consider painting the trim and shutters on your exterior as well to give your home an entirely fresh appearance.
7. Mailbox
Most people view a mailbox as a mundane item that serves a simple purpose, but minor upgrades can go a long way toward making it a curb appeal booster. For a model attached to your home, Better Homes and Gardens suggests picking a mailbox that matches the hardware on your door. Alternatively, consider a colorful model, which you can even paint yourself if you have the artistic vision. For mailboxes at the end of your driveway, consider a model that matches the color of your shutters or even a build that complements the style of your home.
“Applying architectural detail to your mailbox can set your home apart and really show an attention to detail and thoughtful expression,’’ said Zach Duesler, owner of Wisconsin-based Modernist Mailbox.
8. Cleanup
This winter produced some especially messy storms that may have left their mark on your home. A quick pressure wash will have your siding, deck, and walkway looking as good as new. Pressure washers are easy to use and can be rented from hardware stores for about $50 a day. The Globe’s Ask the Carpenter writer, Rob Robillard, recommends, however, that you hire a professional. Do it wrong, and water could end up under your siding. Home Advisor pegs the national average cost for pressure-washing services at $280. Robillard? He prefers scrubbing the siding by hand.
9. Front porch
If possible, try to create a symmetrical layout on your front porch.
“When people are at your home and doing any kind of looking and pacing around, it’s already a busy process,’’ said Kara Woods, author of the Globe’s Ask the Stager column and owner of the staging firm Stage to Move. “You want your eye to have as much time as possible to relax, and when there is symmetry, it eases the eye.’’
For example, consider placing rocking chairs on either side of your front door an equal distance apart from one another. Make sure you have the same number of hanging baskets on either side of a piece of furniture. Symmetrical designs make your house appear well-kept and beautiful from a distance.
10. The yard
Enclosing your front yard with a low fence has a number of positive effects. A fence can add to the home’s charm and can be painted or stained to complement the exterior (consider trying to build your own fence from recycled shipping pallets). Of course, fences do serve practical purposes as well, such as enclosing your yard for your pets. Consider a relatively short fence as well, or else all of that curb appeal work you’ve done won’t be visible anymore.
As the weather warms up, consider these simple steps to upgrade your home’s attractiveness. Nothing says spring like a fresh look for your home, and with a bit of effort and a small investment, you can have curb appeal that’ll be the talk of the neighborhood.
Jon Mael can be reached at [email protected]. Subscribe to our free real estate newsletter — our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design — at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp.
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