How to Elevate Your Home Curb Appeal

According to the National Association of Realtors, houses with inviting exteriors earn sellers an average of seven percent more than similar homes with no curb appeal.

Even if you’re not planning on selling anytime soon. Putting a bit of pizzazz into your exterior is a great way to decorate your home and the neighborhood a more enjoyable place to live.

Indeed, spending some time getting your hands dirty, quite literally, is a great way to boost your home’s value and your quality of life.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the massive selection of plants, planters, statuary, and furniture at the garden center.

Before you head to the garden center, make a list of some of the most impactful garden accessories and tools you can use to continually revamp and refresh your exterior oasis.

But prioritizing what you need to buy will help you make the most out of your outdoor spruce-up without breaking the bank. Here are the things you need.

Start with a Set of Good-Quality Garden Tools

Even if you don’t consider yourself a true-blue green thumb, you can still use your basic skills and knowledge to tidy up your lawn and garden.

Planting strategically placed perennial plants and doing some much-needed weeding will instantly revamp your flower beds. These tools will help you with seasonal maintenance, such as leaf control, as well as spring time planting and year-round tidying.

Here’s all you need for simple lawn and garden maintenance:

• Small digging tools, including a trowel, weeder, scoop, and cultivator.
• Large digging tools, including a shovel, fork, and transplanting spade.
• Large lawn tools, including a lawn rake and soil rake.
• Non-slip garden gloves, preferably ones that can be washed.
• Pruning tools, such as a handheld pruning knife and shears.
• Watering essentials, including a hose, sprinkler, and watering can.

Add Attractive, Low-Maintenance Plants

Once you’ve got the tools for the job, it’s time to start thinking about the best plants to help bring your exterior to life. The first step in determining which plants are best for your lawn is to reference the USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map to determine your region’s zone and which varieties will thrive there.

If you live in a seasonal or extreme zone, consider decorating with potted plants you can bring indoors and adding some style with a variety of large and small outdoor planter options.

Regardless of if you’re selecting varieties to plant in the ground or in a pot, you also want to consider it carefully. How much water and attention plants need should be an important consideration for you as their primary caretaker.

Not all plants can handle droughts, extreme heat, snow, or extreme cold. So make sure you know the hardiness of your zone and desired plants before purchasing. The representative at your local garden center should be able to guide you to the right options.

Easily Maintain Outdoor Plants

If you’re looking for some easy-to-maintain outdoor plants, here are some that will do well in many climates:

• Perennial flowers, such as daylilies, peonies, coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, etc.
• Annual flowers, such as pansies, marigolds, zinnias, begonias, sunflowers, etc.
• Flowering shrubs, such as roses, rhododendron, hydrangea, azaleas, etc.
• Evergreen shrubs, such as boxwood, cypress, arborvitae, juniper, etc.
• Ornamental trees, such as Japanese maple, dogwood, magnolia, etc.

Note that you will likely want to create a dynamic landscape using a mix of flowers, shrubs, evergreens, and decorative trees. Perennials and annuals are ideal for adding color to small garden beds or mulched areas.

Shrubs and evergreens are generally larger and can create delineations in landscapes. For example, you can use pruned boxwood to create wall-like hedges or walkway liners.

Of course, many varieties of ornamental trees will grow large. So you’ll need to reserve them for larger, open spaces where they have room to grow.

The Best Décor for Curb Appeal

In addition to plants and greenery. You’ll also want to brighten up your space with a few decorative staples and garden accessories. Choose a décor that matches the theme and style of your architecture and landscape.

For example, if you have a modern house, choose address numbers in more contemporary font and keep the décor minimalistic. If you have a modern farmhouse, consider décor that brings a trendy but rustic vibe. 

Here are a few essential décor items, ideas and accessories that will help boost curb appeal:

• Front door décor, such as wreaths or signage.
• Potted plants on the stoop or porch, especially flanking the front door.
• Decorative welcome mats and seasonal décor surrounding the door.
• Garden statuary or water features to draw the eyes to green spaces.
• Attractive house numbers that are prominent and easy to read.
• An attractive mailbox that honors the architectural style of your home.

Revitalizing Your Exterior

The goal of any curb appeal effort is to make your home appear more inviting and desirable to your family, guests, and neighbors. It may also be to help increase the value of your home when it goes on the market.

A little bit of lawn and garden sprucing coupled with some well-chosen décor training can help bring even the most dull, uninviting homes to life with minimal effort. Follow the above tips to revitalize your exterior and get the most out of your home when you go to sell.