Renting Your Home, Selling Your Home, Or Just To Wow Your Neighbors

Curb appeal and first impressions are important, here are 7 ways to boost your curb appeal.

1. Mulch heavily

You know that flower or shrub bed sitting in the front of your home? You might not be able to force it to bloom (more on that later), but you can still amplify its aesthetics by heavily mulching it at the start of each growing season.

Organic mulches that are colored with vegetable dyes, like red cedar bark, are a double-edged sword. They create the biggest ‘wow' factor, but the color can also fade quickly, especially if you live in an area with plenty of sunlight and rain. Once this mulch fades in color, it loses its charm, causing you to add more.

The solution? It depends on your budget. If you can re-mulch twice per year, feel free to indulge in the nicer varieties. If you're really on a shoestring, opt for something more durable, like pine straw or wood chips, or even entertain the notion of landscaping with small gravel.

2. Create a rock garden

Nothing screams "modern" and "chic" like a contained rock garden. One of the easiest ways to create this is by:

• Setting a border that visually defines an area of your front yard.
• Clearing that defined space of all weeds, leaves and plantings.
• Laying down landscape fabric and securing it into place with pegs.
• Covering the area with a nice-looking gravel, like decomposed granite or Russian river cobbles.
• Placing an odd number of vertical, eye-catching decorations in the center, such as a planter with blooming annuals.

Why an odd number? It's a design hack. Odd increments look more visually appealing. Try either one, three or five planters, depending on the size of your rock garden.

This will instantly upgrade your curb appeal without costing too much money or time. One warning, however: Don't place your rock garden close to any deciduous trees. When trees shed their leaves in the fall, you'll find that they get stuck in the gravel and are nearly-impossible to remove. No amount of leaf-blowing seems to solve the problem. Eventually, these leaves decompose into soil, which then creates a weed problem within your rock garden.

The solution? Be cautious about the placement of your garden, especially if you live in a humid or heavily forested area.

3. Add trim

Beyond landscaping, you can also boost curb appeal by adding an extra layer of trim and molding to the windows and doors.

If you don't want to remove your existing molding, simply add a layer of crown to the top of your current trim. There are hundreds of designs that you can select from, ranging from simple Craftsman styles to more ornate Victorian and Queen Anne motifs.

If you're willing to remove your existing trim, your options really explode. If you want to create an elaborate look, add fluted trim (rather than plain planks), top it with rosettes, and sandwich these between heavy layers of both crown and base molding.

Trim is like adding accessories to an outfit – it can elevate a basic ensemble into something that looks far more expensive than it actually is.

4. Add shutters

Depending on the architectural style of your home, shutters might be precisely the missing component. Historically, shutters were used to protect dwellings from storms (and in some areas, like along the Gulf Coast, they still are), but more homeowners are now using shutters as decorative elements that add texture and dimension to their home's facade.

You can choose from a variety of styles, ranging from more traditional louvered rectangular shutters to the far more decorative arch-top board-and-batten style.

5. Paint your brick

Do you own a brick home? Some homeowners have the good fortune of owning houses that are built from gorgeous bricks, such as old clay-fired red brick from the early 1900s. But if your house is constructed from an unremarkable brick style, try spraying-on a layer of paint.

If you're opting for a modern-yet-classic feel, try painting your bricks white. If you're more daring, consider a shimmery grey texture.

6. Paint your front door

Is your home clad in vinyl siding, rather than brick? Don't worry. You might not be able to paint your vinyl (and replacing it is pricey), but you can still add an eye-catching layer of paint to your front door.

Recently, the "red front door" trend has become popular. If your home bears a neutral color, such as beige or brown, painting your front door lipstick-red can add some contrast and really make your entrance pop.

If that's not your style, try a more muted shade like sea-blue, sage-green or even black.

7. Replace your house numbers

Finally, here's a tip that will improve the look of your home exterior for $50 or less: Replace your house numbers with something that's more stylish or aesthetically pleasing. If your house announces that it's "123 Main Street" with humdrum text, try replacing that numbering with a typeface that's art deco, cursive or a modern sans-serif made from metal.