When you are riding through a neighborhood, there are certain homes that stand out and catch your eye. This is because those homeowners took the time to up their curb appeal, making the outside of their home more attractive.
You can boost your own curb appeal without a whole lot of effort if you try out a few of these do it yourself (DIY) tips.
Add a Birdhouse
Not just for decoration, when you place a few birdhouses around your yard, it will add more life to your yard. If you are not able to have birdhouses or feeders hanging due to lack of space, you can opt for a smaller hummingbird feeder.
Hummingbirds can be more of a safer branch into inviting birds around your homes, especially for smaller dwellings. This is because they are not as large and tend to come and go at high speeds.
DIY Birdhouse
You can shop around for cute and quirky birdhouses that fit your taste or take this project into your own hands. Building a birdhouse is a great beginner and intermediate DIY project because there isn’t just one way to make them.
If you have wood, nails, a hammer, a saw and know how to use them, then you can build a birdhouse. Birdhouses are a great DIY home project for kids to get involved with. If the building part is too much for little ones that is fine because they can help with painting.
Placing your Birdhouse
If you are unsure about where you can hang a birdhouse to boost your curb appeal, then there are a few options that you can choose from. If you are lacking a strong branch then you can purchase a birdhouse or feeder pole. These tall, metal poles are balanced to hold wire hanging birdhouses and feeders.
You can also nail simple wooden birdhouses to tree bases, fences, or create your own wooden tall stake that you hammer into the ground for stability. While having a few birdhouses will boost your curb appeal charm, you can overdo it so start off simple with one or two.
Upgrade Your Mailbox Area
There are a few great ways that you can upgrade your mailbox area and take it to a more sophisticated level without spending lots of money or time on a new mailbox.
Paint your Mailbox
If you have an older metal mailbox, you don’t have to automatically replace it with a newer version. A few hours of DIY makeover can give you a fresh looking and even custom mailbox that you can be proud of. Just make sure that you sand and clear off any rust before you paint.
Plant Flowers Around it
Planting flowers around your mailbox is an attractive way to boost your curb appeal. It is also a great project for individuals that are new to gardening. Since it is a smaller area, you will only want to pick a few plants to set in around or behind it.
This will allow you to try out different smaller flowers and shrubs to see what fits and grows well in that area.
Landscape the Area
If you like the idea of a making a more dedicated mailbox area but you aren’t interested in flowers then you can still add your own landscaping touch. Find a stone, brick, block or rubber siding base to outline the area and then add in your preferred mulch to simple set the area apart from the yard.
To up your standard look, add a medium to large rock in the sectioned off mulch or pick a fun statue that will show off your personality to neighbors.
Utilize Planter Boxes
If your front yard has a fence or open space against your home that is too bare then a vertical planter may be just the boost your home needs.
For fences, if they belong to you then you can build your own planter boxes along the fences in a uniform or alternating pattern.
To fill a bare space that needs something you can use a wood pallet to create a vertical garden for crawling plants, herbs or flowers. This super easy DIY project can even be propped against a shed or a large tree.
While not all homes can sustain vertical planters due to the layout or vertical space available, these eye catching planters are a great way to add in greenery in unexpected spaces.
Depending on how old the house is, your outdoor light fixtures can be an eyesore and you may not even realize it. At nighttime when they are lit, it can be difficult to see much of the outdoor light fixture. However, during the day the sun can show off any fading, rust or just overall lack of appeal as it hangs by your front door.
Unless you really dislike the style of your light fixtures, you don’t have to replace them. Instead breathe new life into them by cleaning, sanding and repainting them. This afternoon project can boost your curb appeal by introducing more coordinating colors to your front porch.
Repaint your Front Door
There is no better way to give your home a new pop of color than to repaint your front door. When it comes to your door, not as many rules will apply to your home’s overall color scheme.
Your entryway door can be as bright or as dark as you want it to be. If you are thinking of going really bold in your color choice, then try it out before you fully commit, have a sheet of paper that matches the color taped to the door and stand back to make sure before you start painting.
Just make sure that you are not within a homeowners contract to keep your door a neutral color. This rule mainly applies to condos and townhouse complexes.
Add Mulch
If you already have a few flower beds around your front yard then sometimes one of the easiest curb appeal boosting you can do is to add in some mulch. Using mulch in your flower beds and around your yard is also a great way to nurture your front yard.
When you use mulch it:
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- Retains the moisture in the soil
- Prevents weeds from growing
- Maintains a cool soil temperature, even during hot summer days
- Adds an attractive element to garden and flower beds
There are many different mulch materials that you can pick and choose from. Some you can even do yourself such as cut grass and newspaper.
The most common and affordable much type is a bark mulch. It comes in a few different colors like black, red and brown mulch so that you can pick a color that complements your home.
Add Stylish Address Numbers
House numbers can sometimes be a forgotten or understated outdoor accessory. However, if you plan on having houseguests it is important to display your house number so that it is easier to find your house when you have get together.
Instead of simply nailing the numbers on the side of your house, get a little creative and post your house number out towards the front of your yard on a short sign or lattice cutout.
If you have already upgraded your mailbox area and have room, you can add in your house number sign in that landscaped area. If you would rather have your house number on the side of your house or posted close to the front door then you can make your own hanging plaque.
Step up this DIY project by creating a wooden plaque for your house number and then adding a small planting box to the design. This will add some greenery on your front porch area without extra effort involved.
Introduce Potted Plants
It is hard to go wrong with adding plants to your front porch and yard. When properly sectioned and landscaped you can have an attractive yard that houses only a few or a whole lot of plants.
Whether you have a large front yard or only a small section, you can add to your greenery by adding in potted plants on your porch and around the front door.
When bringing potted plants up onto a porch, sometimes less is more, especially if you are working with limited space. Opt for statement plants such as a single hanging plant on the side of a covered porch or two similar shrubs on each side of your front door.
Make sure that you choose planters that are large enough to hold your flowers and shrubs without you needing to replace them every year with something larger to keep the plant alive.
You can talk to your local gardening store specialist to understand more about what size pots certain plants will thrive in.
You don’t want to overcrowd your porch with potted plants since they can take up a lot of room. Also you will want to leave some extra wiggle room for various plants and decor for the season, such as pumpkins and potted mums in the fall.
Conclusion
There are many different ways that you can add to your home’s curb appeal. By working more around your yard you will come up with idea’s and fun projects that you can do to make your home more of a statement.
