How attractive is your home when viewed from the street? Inasmuch as many people might ignore it, first impressions will always be important, especially when it comes to your home’s exterior appearance. In real estate, this aspect is referred to as the ‘curb appeal.’ Of course, this phrase is widely associated with buying and selling of homes, but you can take a leaf out of the book and improve your home’s aesthetics even if you aren’t planning to list it.
Everyone feels good about their property when it looks appealing, even to the passers-by. In fact, it even gives you the confidence to bargain for the best price possible when trying to sell. So, whether you’re planning to list your house in the market or just improve the beauty of your home, here are some of the tips you can consider.
1. Focus On Your Lighting
Perhaps the most important feature of your compound at night is your lighting. If you want your home to be noticed in the dark of the night, then you need to install lights at strategic points. For instance, having lights along the walkways doesn’t only enhance your movement at night but also gives your front yard a great appearance.
Accent lighting, for instance, ensures that your front yard comes to life as a showpiece when other homes are disappearing into the darkness. This form of lighting is designed to draw attention to one amazing feature on your compounds, like beautiful flowers or an amazing art design. All you need to do is find an expert in this field who will not only offer installation services but also advise you on one or two important things in that regard.
Sometimes what compromises your home’s curb appeal isn’t really lack of lighting but having broken ones around the compound. In fact, it says a lot about your maintenance skills, and some people might use it to judge the interior of your house. It might not seem like a big deal now, but it’ll definitely play a huge role if you’re trying to sell your property.
So, how do you go about dealing with this issue? You can either replace or repair your landscape lights, depending on their condition. Remember, by replacing the components, you’ll end up spending a lot more money than repairing them. Therefore, you’ll need to be certain about your decision before going ahead with it.
Here are some of the factors to consider in that regard:
Fixtures
What’re your fixtures made of? If they are products of copper and brass, then there are high chances that they can be repaired. Fixtures made of these materials are arguably the strongest and can withstand any conditions thrown to them by mother nature. However, those based on low-quality plastic or composite materials are unlikely to survive.
While at it, make sure to consider their lifespan too. If your fixtures haven’t been replaced for many years, then this might be the right time to make changes. Remember, even the strongest materials become weaker with time, especially if they’re constantly exposed to adverse conditions.
Connections
This is always the first thing that most technicians look into when they’re called to repair landscape lights. Pierce connectors and wire nuts aren’t ideal for underground connections, but many people use them anyway. With time, these sections are corroded, and the power connection to your lights is cut off.
In such cases, you can’t repair the connections because you’ll back to the same problem after a few weeks. The best option is to replace everything with underground-worthy connectors which can resist corrosion.
Transformer
This is the central power system of your entire landscape lighting. Sometimes the connection becomes loose after regular on and off switching. If the problem hasn’t escalated, then a simple tightening of the screws will do the trick.
However, as is often the case, some people realize it when it’s too late. By that time, the loose connections will have led to arching, which in turn causes intense heat in the transformer. If yours gone through all the stages to this point, then you might be left with only one option – replacing the transformer.
The three components mentioned above are very crucial when it comes to landscape lighting. Therefore, be sure to maintain them regularly to avoid spending too much on repairs and replacements. This will also make sure that your front yard is always beaming with perfect lighting.
2. Renovate Your Roof
Another aspect that plays a significant role in your home’s appearance is the roof. Do you still have the ancient roof design? Well, this is the time to make a change! It’s worth noting that you have a lot of options when it comes to selecting the roofing materials, design, and color. The world of real estate and construction is evolving every day, with new roofing trends coming up every now and then.
Therefore, it’s upon you to look for the best roofing style to install on your house, depending on the building’s size and design. It’s always advisable to start by finding a professional roofer around you. Once you have someone you trust, you can then go ahead and consult them on matters of roofing.
Keep in mind that your home may be made of shingles, slate, tiles, metal, or any other type of roofing material. Therefore, it’s imperative that you know and understands what kind of roof style fits your current structure. A good roofer will advise you on the best roof maintenance tips for your home while considering your budget.
Sometimes it’s not about a complete overhaul of the current structure but just a few tweaks here and there. So, make sure you explore all options before deciding to put in your investment. Of course, all this information can be provided by your contractor.
3. Improve The Appearance of Your Front Yard
Your home’s curb appeal is largely influenced by the appearance of your front yard. In fact, the whole idea is basically making huge improvements on your front yard because this is the first thing that your visitors see. So, how will you make sure that this area is kept as stunning as possible?
Perhaps the most obvious place to start is your flowerbed. Don’t have one? Well, you’re missing out on the easiest way to decorate your front yard. One of the ways to make your front yard look nice is by decorating the flowerbed.
An excellent way to do that is to keep your flowerbeds, shrubs, and other plants looking fresh and vibrant. Adding plants like pachysandra and ficus to your flowerbeds, along with other attractive shrubs, flowers, and trees like azaleas, grapes, and honeysuckle, can give your front yard a wonderful decorative look. Add enough lighting to the front yard to keep it from getting obscure, and incorporate rock features like rock art and stone birdbath to compliment the natural accent.
In addition to adding plants to improve the looks of your front yard landscape, you can also add water features to spruce things up. Water features give a soft, soothing look to small yards and make them appealing to visitors.
The best part about water features is that they require very little upkeep; you don’t have to worry about removing them or any time spent mowing. A birdbath, too, gives your yard the appearance of being larger than it is. You can add pond feature kits so that you can have a natural pond with fish and other aquatic animals.
Conclusion
Improving your home’s curb appeal might seem like a demanding task at first, but it’s totally worth it. This is what determines the appearance of your home and how people judge the rest of the structure. Therefore, investing in this area can mean a lot, especially if you’re planning to sell your home in the near future.
The first thing you’ll need to do is to focus on the lighting system around your front yard and the walkways. Are they in good shape? If not, make the necessary changes which might include repairs or replacements of fixtures, connections, and even the transformer.
Your roof is another huge player when it comes to your home’s curb appeal. Make sure to change your design to the trendiest one and do any necessary repairs like painting and so forth. Remember to consult a roofing expert when looking for the ideal design and colors based on your structure.
Since the front yard is the first thing that your visitors see, it’ll make sense to make a few tweaks here. Start with the flowerbed and its borders. The walkways in this area of your compound should also be well-kept. Installing enough lights here will ensure that your home looks beautiful even during the night. Regardless of the size of your home, all the tips given in this article will come in handy not only for the sake of boosting your sale but also to ensure that the home appeals to visitors at all times.
