Paint your front door, get rid of any eyesores, and spruce the area up with greenery to add curb appeal to your front yard without spending a fortune.
Perhaps you’ve got extra time to kill and need a new project, or are looking to sell your home. You may not know it, but curb appeal can play a huge role in determining the price of your home.
Not everyone is a professional artist, landscaper, Pinterest guru, or has oodles of cash to spare on their front yard. But, there are still plenty of simple things you can do to boost your home's curb appeal on a budget.
Here is a list of 10 easy things you can do to improve your home’s curb appeal without breaking too much of a sweat—or the bank—from home and auto insurance shopping app
Your front door is the entryway into your home, so you’ll want to make it pop! Paint is pretty inexpensive to purchase, and you’ll be surprised how much a fresh color will make your home appear more bright and inviting. (Just make sure your HOA doesn’t
If you’re not feeling bold enough for a whole new color, you can also apply a fresh coat to keep whatever color you already have to keep it from looking dingy or faded.
Pro Tip Color-coordinate your front door with your home’s other exterior colors. From a distance, it will really make your home look put together!
Pressure clean your walkway
A dirty walkway can make your home look run-down and neglected. Pressure washing is an easy—and dare we say fun—way to make your home look well-cared for.
Don’t have a pressure washer on hand? You can always ask a neighbor to borrow theirs or rent one for cheap. While you have it on hand, you might as well go ahead and pressure wash any other neglected surfaces.
Add some inviting lighting
String lights never really go out of style. There’s a reason they’re so popular: they instantly add a warm, cozy vibe to your front porch when they’re lit up at night.
The lights themselves are pretty cheap, and all you’ll need to install them are an extension cord and some hooks.
Add some greenery
Even if you’re short on yard space, you can still add some potted plants and garden decorations. Be mindful not to overcrowd them, though. It’s a front yard, not a jungle!
Not only will some plants liven up your yard, but they’ll also make your home seem well-tended—something to keep in mind if you’re looking to sell. Plus, buying potted plants is a heck of a lot easier than planting them all in-ground.
Pro Tip Use a variety of plant heights and don’t just crowd everything against the house. Feel free to move some decorations closer to the street for a more robust-looking yard.
MORE:How to make a counteroffer after a home inspection
Make an address post
The address post that came with your home may not match your exterior aesthetic. If that’s the case, don’t hesitate to swap it out for something else.
You don’t need a whole lot of materials for this, nor do you need to be an arts and crafts wizard. Just a wood stake, some paint, and numbers from your local craft store will do the trick.
Pro Tip Use the same paint you used to paint your front door. This will help save on paint cost and help with color coordination.
Add flower boxes for your windows
This one may sound a bit technical, but we promise installing flower boxes isn’t as hard as you think! It only takes an afternoon.
You can find cheap window boxes online or build them yourself if you’re feeling crafty. Just keep in mind that you’ll have to tend whatever plants you fill them with and pay for soil.
Upgrade your garage door
A street-facing garage door can dominate your home’s facade and is an often-neglected component of the home.
Swapping out any rusty hinges will go a long way in improving curb appeal. Hopefully you held onto that pressure washer we mentioned earlier—using it on your garage door is a great way to shine it up!
Add a seating area
This one is especially good for people looking to sell. Potential buyers will want to envision themselves one day living in your house. Adding a seating area will make your house look and feel more like a home.
Don’t feel like you need to take out a loan to do it, either. If you’ve got furniture in your backyard, consider moving some around to the front. If not, some
When was the last time you thought about your mailbox? Probably never, but that’s normal. Upgrading your mailbox can boost your curb appeal for around $20.
Again, color and style coordination is key. Don’t purchase one of those ornate stone-looking mailboxes if the rest of your home is clearly rustic farmhouse style.
Get rid of any eyesores
When improving your home’s front yard curb appeal, you may only be thinking of what to add. But what to remove is just as important.
Take a look at your front yard from across the street. Notice what sticks out, what looks out of place, and what needs to go. Maybe there’s a large rock or an ugly plant that you didn’t notice that brings down your curb appeal.
Your home insurance will only cover landscaping costs if your yard is damaged by a covered peril. Let’s say your home is broken into and the thieves trample all over your prized rose bushes. In that case, your home insurance policy can help with the cost to replace them.
Unfortunately, your homeowners insurance will not just write you a blank check to go to Home Depot or Lowe’s to spend on landscaping materials.
Many insurance providers do offer additional landscaping endorsements that help protect your yard from other perils.
MORE:Home insurance terms you need to know
A beautiful home is an insured home
Part of keeping your home beautiful is keeping it insured with the right home insurance policy. You’ll want to keep your house protected, but finding home insurance that works for your budget can feel like a chore.
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