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5 Secrets to Great Curb Appeal
A Clear Path to the Front Door
Guide visitors to your home.
Great curb appeal means engaging potential visitors from the moment they first see your home until they walk through your front door. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to envision themselves entering your home.
Effective ways to do this include:
- Not blocking access (even subconsciously) with design features that create visual barriers to entry.
- Using distinct edges to accentuate lines of travel. (Trim lawn borders, and remember that dark cedar bark and mulch are "the great equalizers" when it comes to creating clean landscaping lines.)
- Adding color next to the front door, for example, with a pot of flowers.
When a home is situated in a way that doesn't leave a clearly visible path to the entry, a good solution is to guide visitors from point to point with visual anchors. These can include colorful plants and exterior path lighting.
Tip: Take a look at your home from a visitor's starting point. Does anything unnecessarily block the flow? Even sharp corners on stairway entries can be softened with decor items that give people a pleasant visual anchor point.
Depth that Creates Character
Add features that boost visual interest.
If a home looks a little too "flat" from the curb, you can incorporate design elements that make it more three-dimensional, such as:
- Large plants and decorative planters.
- A portico over a doorway.
- Fencing.
- A trellis, patio, or porch.
- Decorative window shutters.
- Window boxes with flowers or plants.
- Accent colors on trim pieces.
- Accent areas that have different surface textures.
Tip: Use an online visualizer tool such as Ply Gem to test color and surface combinations.
Uncluttered Serenity
Don't dilute your message with distractions!
When it comes to curb appeal the intended message is, "This is an inviting and appealing home." However, like any other message, it can be distorted by too much static.
Pay attention to little things, such as:
- Plants that need to be trimmed back.
- A yard hose coiled on the side of the home.
- Outdoor furniture that blocks physical or visual flow.
- An accumulation of decor items.
- Surfaces that need to be pressure washed.
Individually these may be harmless, but after a certain point you could reach critical mass and things might start to look too busy.
Tip: Take a picture of the front of your home and look at it objectively. Photos make any type of clutter especially obvious.
A Front Door that Makes a Statement
Use color to draw people to your home.
Your front door is the primary visual anchor point of your home. A relatively strong, contrasting color can set your home apart and have a very appealing effect.
It's true that not every home will benefit by becoming "the purple door house" (although some can get away with it). Strong exterior accent colors are becoming more popular, however, so it's worth at least investigating a front door color scheme that makes a statement - in a good way, of course!
Tip: See the "How to Choose a Front Door Color" article and photos on the Houzz.com website.
A Spotless Entryway
Make the most of first impressions.
People standing at your front entry have time to look around as they wait for the door to be opened. It's amazing how many small details become apparent during that time! Keep your home's great first impression going strong with:
- A clean front door and shiny kick plate.
- No dust on surrounding trim.
- Clean windows.
- Updated exterior lighting fixtures.
- Attractive door hardware that's in good condition.
Tip: Stand outside your front entry for a minute or two and make a list of anything undesirable that becomes noticeable.
Recent Housing Market Highlights
- U.S. home prices rose 12.2 percent year-to-year in May, according to a recent S&P/Case-Shiller report. This matches the 12.2 percent May increase reported by CoreLogic, a data and analytics company.  - The national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is around 4.5 percent as of early August. (Data from BankRate.com.)
- The Pending Home Sales Index dropped .4 percent in June, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). It was 10.9 percent higher than in June 2012. Note: Home price reports based on closed sales typically portray a market of two or three months ago. To find out what's going on right now in our local market, please call us directly.
Are you planning to buy or sell a home, or do you know someone who is? Please call or email us - We're never too busy to help you and the people you care about with real estate. (What the lawyers make us say: The information in this newsletter is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Please always consult a qualified expert before making decisions based on this content. Nothing in this article is meant to be taken as expert legal, financial, or medical advice.) | 
