Curb Appeal: First Impressions Count

By Marty Ross

Whether a home is on the market, or you’ve lived in it for years and never plan on leaving, you only have a few seconds to make a good impression. To set a home apart from others on the street, it must have good curb appeal. A tidy landscape and well-finished home shows prospective buyers, and neighbors, that a property and community are cared for. Here are some ideas and tools to help build up that curb appeal:

• What is Curb Appeal and Why is it Important?
• Curbside Appeal Ideas

What is Curb Appeal and Why is it Important?

Curb appeal is the impression a home and landscaping make to those passing by or looking at a house from the outside. It is all of the visual components that show pride (or a lack thereof) homeowners have in a home. Neatly trimmed bushes and plants, sharp edging, full and moist mulch and tidy, well-watered lawns all help make a home look loved and well-manicured. Houses themselves should be clean and crisp, with siding and paint that is fresh, windows that are clean, porches that are inviting and organized and doors that are nicely painted or varnished. Don’t forget about lighting fixtures and additions like wreaths, porch furniture, potted plants or painted signs, which can all add even more to a home’s curb appeal.

Curbside Appeal Ideas

Here are some ways to increase curb appeal. Maintaining a well-manicured lawn and a beautiful front walkway are easy ways to improve a home’s appearance. Need a few more curb appeal ideas to spruce up your home?

Fresh Coat of Paint

To instantly improve curb appeal, painting is one effective option. A fresh coat of paint can drastically change the look and feel of any home’s outside appearance. And while painting the exterior of a house may seem like an overwhelming project to take on, with our tips for how to make your house look nicer by painting, a repainted home can take on an entirely new feel in just a matter of weeks. Quick tips to help prepare for a paint project include:

• Power wash the entire exterior of a home
• Scrape away any loose bits of paint
• Dig out old, dried up or cracked caulking
• Repair holes or cracks with an exterior surface repair compound – apply, let dry and sand
• Tape areas around windows and doors
• Cover flower beds, bushes, walkways and lawns with large drop cloths

Mailbox Landscaping Tips

Mailboxes are a perfect canvas to add some personality to homes, and the result can be a great “wow-factor.” It is easy to create a unique pop of color or an unexpected design that stands out. Paint posts or boxes and plant tall flowers or bushes around the base to give mailboxes a finished look that adds to a home’s overall curb appeal.

Front Walkway Landscaping Advice

The front walk is a pathway into a home, and it should be neat and appealing. Clean and spruce up walkways with Gilmour’s Thumb Control Cleaning Nozzle. The hose nozzle shoots a strong jet of water on tough stains, so the need for scrubbing can be greatly reduced or even eliminated. It is easy to adjust spray with a quick twist and controlling water flow is a snap by just moving the lever at the top of the nozzle with your thumb. The nozzle is great for all kinds of cleaning jobs – freshen up garden furniture, wash down the deck or clean smudges off the siding in no time.

Front Yard Landscaping Tips

Giving some love to the front yard is a quick way to add pizzazz to any home’s curb appeal. As an additional bonus, whereas some outside projects can be time consuming and costly, front yard care can be a relatively inexpensive task that can be done on a budget if needed. And with regular maintenance, it does not need to be an overwhelming job. Keeping up with yard care on a consistent basis means a house will always look inviting and warm, easily enhancing overall curb appeal.

Lawn Care

Give lawn the water it needs to look its best. Gilmour makes it simple to water lawns evenly and where they needs it most is a snap. The sprinkler’s design also helps reduce wind drift and evaporation, which means more water goes into the soil instead of the atmosphere.

Keep in mind: watering lawn deeply once a week is better than watering it for a few minutes every day.

Watering tools are even easier to use with a Quick Connector adapter on the end of them. Instead of screwing nozzles and sprinklers on and off, quick connectors allow tools to be snapped onto hoses quickly. Gilmour’s sturdy metal connectors are easy to attach, and they can take the wear and tear they’ll get. When all your watering tools have connectors, it is no trouble to switch from a nozzle to a sprinkler when watering the pots is done and you are ready to move on to the lawn. Get a tight fit every time, too, so no water is wasted.

Dress Up Flower Pots

A couple of great-looking pots near the front door make a house look attractive and inviting. When considering potted planter ideas, keep in mind that small shrubs or handsome foliage plants will look full and lush both from the street and up close. Make room for seasonal flowers around the edges. Pansies in spring, petunias in summer or chrysanthemums in fall are all great choices.

After planting pots, don’t forget to water them well so new plants can get settled in and off to a good start. Gilmour’s Front Control Watering Nozzle is a versatile watering tool with eight spray patterns. It includes a soft wash pattern to rinse soil off flower pots or rinse porch stairs. The control is in front too, so it’s easier on the hands than some rear-control hose nozzles. Spray flowers with a light mist or set the nozzle to a medium-fine spray to water shrubs. Remember that pruning plants regularly is important for a great looking entryway, too.

Grow a Flower Bed

Nothing brightens up a home like a well-cared for flower bed. Plant seasonal blooms and shrubs that will create a welcoming, eye-catching visual component to finish the outside look of any home. Mix and match colors, sizes and plant-heights for a professional look and feel. Add a fresh layer of mulch to preserve moisture, prevent weeds and help create a beautiful tidy appearance that will delight anyone looking at a home from the outside.

There are many curb appeal ideas out there that can spur inspiration and change the look of a home. The best part is many of the changes are not terribly expensive, do not require a ton of work and can be completed on your own, without the need for costly contractors and professionals. Taking pride in home ownership and updating the curb appeal of a house really proves…there’s no place like home.