You know that feeling when you see a house and it just oozes charm? That’s a house with street appeal. It’s a house that’s nicer to come home to, more welcoming to visitors and more valuable on the market.
The good news is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money (or time) to add street appeal to your home. In this article we look at 5 ways to add street appeal – most of which require little more than a couple of hours and a few bucks.
1) Add bold colour to your front door
A front door painted in a bold, contrasting colour makes a dramatic difference to the appearance of your home. It provides a focal point for the home and can emphasise other elements too, such as the green in the lawn of the house above.
Updating your door hardware at the same time can be a good idea too – a shiny brass knocker for example, or new door handles – both of these are part of the all-important first impressions so it’s worth investing in quality fittings.
2) A spot of landscaping
You don’t have to go all-out with a front yard blitz, but some basic landscaping work can make all the difference to how your house looks. First up is the lawn. Get it looking its best with a regular mow, application of lawn feed and removal of weeds. Extra attention to the edges help to give your home a neat feel.
Shrubs and trees should have a trim, dead branches removed and new plantings put in to fill any gaps. Flowers chosen to be in bloom at the time you plan to sell your home can be a good idea too!
If you’re in a terrace or home without a front yard, consider planter boxes or pots to give your home a splash of green.
3) Spruce up paths & driveways
The right path in the right place can be very enticing. Your existing front path may benefit from a simple cleanup, edging to provide definition, resurfacing, or a replacement with something that adds real character to your home. The path above echoes the lines of the house, but contrasts with texture nicely.
The same goes for your driveway. Often the driveway takes up a lot of the available space at the front of your home so it makes sense to get it looking its best. Remove oil stains with a cleaning solution, get edges looking neat, and consider painting your garage door to add a bit of colour there too!
4) A lick of paint
You may not need to repaint your whole house to boost your street appeal. Sometimes just tidying up old and tired paintwork can make the world of difference, especially around doors and windows.
However it’s well worth considering re-doing the colour scheme at the front of your house. Well-chosen colours can totally transform how your home looks, taking it from drab to picture-perfect without a huge amount of effort.
5) Add a second storey
OK, so it’s not a quick fix, but we’re in the business of second storey additions so we had to throw this in!
A well-designed addition will enhance your home’s look and give it a more commanding presence from the street. Many of our clients take the opportunity to give the front of their home a makeover at the same time with fresh paint or other finishes for a more modern look or to restore a classic facade.
All of the above ideas can be done as part of our home additions, extensions and renovations services. so give us a call if you’d like to give your home the ultimate ‘street appeal makeover’!
