The exterior of your house is the first thing people will see; it doesn’t matter if you have the most beautifully decorated interior if your exterior looks less than inviting, it’s all about first impressions.
If you are thinking of selling, or even if you aren’t, it’s important to maintain this area to show your property off & make it look more appealing to welcome visitors or passers by.
These are my top tips for adding kerb appeal –
Fences – Make sure you’ve replaced or maintaned your fence panels including giving them a lick of paint.
Hedges – Cutting hedges back is something I hate doing at the front of Baylyn House but i’m always so shocked how much better it looks afterwards even if I originally thought they weren’t that bad to start with.
Weeding – Nobody wants to see weeds popping up through block paving, inbetween gravel or round the corners of tarmac. This is something we get constantly & it drives me insane with our block paving so I always keep on top of it & try to pull them up when I see them/when passing before they take over. You can buy some pretty strong weed killer too or get a driveway wire brush specifically for it which is pretty good too.
Smarten up your front door – Everyone loves a beautiful front door. If yours is looking a bit tatty then it’s relatively easy to give it a makeover; if it’s wooden start by sanding it then give it a fresh lick of paint in an inviting shade to really make it stand out. You can even paint UPVC to give it a bit of character, just google it!
Make sure you chose the right kind of paint by looking at my Paint Finishes Explained post – for my front door I went with Farrow & Ball exterior eggshell in ‘Manor House Grey‘.
Replace any hardwear if necessary & give your doorstep a lick of paint.
Planting – Everybody loves flowers & nothing is more inviting than a windowbox full of bright blooms. You can find ready made planters or hanging baskets from places like Homebase or B&Q that just need watering but will add that lovely edge.
As our house is called ‘Baylyn’ we bought some artificial bay tree’s (as i’m aware real ones are really hard to keep alive!) from Home Bargains for £15 each to place either side of the front door to add character & greenery. I’m also obsessed with lavender so planted some in our baskets.
Hide your bins – Nobody wants to see overflowing wheely bins right infront of the house. If you can, find a new home for them down the side of the house or out of eyesight. You can get some pretty gorgeous bin stores too.
Paint any rendering – Exterior paintwork does tend to start looking patchy & flaky after a couple of years so give it a fresh coat to bring it back to life. Especially if you are a semi detached as nobody wants to be the unmaintaned side!
Pressure washing is your friend – Quite possibly the most boring job in the world (why does it take SO long & even if it’s sunny you end up freezing!) but it makes such a huge impact. Just look at this before/after of our driveway….who even knew the block paving was coloured?
Love,
