Quick: they’re coming! If you’ve just learned that your inlaws are coming into town for several weeks or you’ve just committed to hosting a retirement party in your garden, what can you do to make your home look beautiful from the outside in? You need to implement ideas quickly to increase your home’s curb appeal. 

Add Flowers 

One of the simplest, cheapest ways to add to your home decor is to add more flowers. Whether you’re adding window boxes, hanging plants, or a bonsai near the front door, flowers and foliage give your home a vibrant, loved feel, and they also complement your home’s colors. Start a container garden or even add a vertical garden near your front door. Add flower beds around your trees in the front yard, or place them beside your house. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can add permanent flowers and foliage to the garden as well, as long as it’s the right time of year to plant.

Subtract Foliage 

Is your home hard to see, even during the daytime? If there’s a dark cloud hanging over your living room, it could actually be a large tree, shrub, or vine that’s growing in the front yard. Prune your plants and let everyone see your gorgeous home. 

Camouflage the Ugly Parts of Your Home 

If you have an A/C unit that’s an eyesore or any other piece of electrical equipment that sticks out from your house, you can use a small fence, vines, or plants to disguise the equipment. According to Arista, “using lattice to create a screen around your outside air conditioner works well, since the holes prevent the hot air blowing out of the unit from becoming trapped.” 

If you have electrical or water meters on your home, you can add surrounds that look similar to your home color to make them disappear. Place ugly cords on decorative hooks, or place them into a pot or a box to hide them. 

Decorate Your Deck or Patio

Make your deck or patio beautiful, and you’ll enchant your guests from the beginning. You can:

• Add an awning
• Wash the decking 
• Add window boxes 
• Add plant pots 
• Place lights in the trees or along the edge of the deck and pathways
• Create a focal point using a table and chairs
• Add art or a water feature 
• Create a simple outdoor kitchen space, such as a barbecue area 

Clean Your Exterior 

A clean house makes an excellent first impression. Wash your home, clean your gutters, or add gutter covers to avoid gutter problems. Remember to wash decks, patios, and stairs as well. 

Add Paint 

Painting the entire house might be a stretch, but it’s relatively simple to paint window frames, doors, porch chairs, or window boxes. Choose a paint color that contrasts with your home color and makes your home stand out. Consider painting hardware such as your mailbox and door handle as well.

Make Your Garden Flow

Adding defined garden beds and pathways to your garden will make it more pleasing to the eye; however, not all of these renovations are quick fixes. To spice up your current garden beds, edge the beds, add bark mulch, and place new annual flowers near those new edges. If your front yard is an expanse of lawn, add small garden beds by removing some of the lawn and adding soil and bark mulch to create small, bean-shaped beds that you populate with annuals. To add interest to your pathways, illuminate them with lights, place planters near the pathways, or use features such as garden art to add a sense of movement to your pathways, even if they don’t curve. 

At Harry Helmet, we’re happy to help your home look like it’s in top shape. Whether you need gutter covers, a full gutter replacement, awnings, or roofing, we can help you make your home one of the most beautiful ones on the block. Schedule a free estimate today.

Written by Del Thebaud