Creating Curb Appeal!

 Curb appeal is the "First Great Impression" that your home makes when someone first sees it, or fails to make a good impression without a second chance. It is basically how your home looks from the street as a potential client pulls up to your address. How does the house look?  Is the paint still in good condition, the roof clean and streak free from winters past? How are the windows? Is the wood still holding the paint, or does it need another coat?  Any indications of rot starting? The houses visual appeal is very important in curb appeal. Could you home's appeal be enhanced with shutters? Does it need to be pressure washed?  Is the sidewalk and front entrance clean. How does your door look?

The next part of  curb appeal is the condition of the yard and the foliage surrounding your home. Do you have bushes in places that look like they are on their last root? Get rid of them and consider plants with color to add to the dark green foliage. Your local nursery can recommend foliage that will thrive in your particular lighting conditions and give you the look and feel that you want in a plant scape.

A well landscaped and maintained home is automatically worth more than a home where the plants are sparce and tired looking. Not sure what to plant? Again, your local nursery can make recommendations on what will do well and what will give you the variety of color and texture that makes for a well groomed home. Make sure that what you buy will not outgrow the area you want to plant it in. Ask questions about the plants maximum height and width, and how winter hardy it is. Will it stay green all winter, or will it defoliate? Make sure that you keep some plants in spots that retain their leaves. How fast do they grow? Are they susceptible to certain bugs or diseases? All this information is free for the asking, but you will have to ask.

Placement of the plants are crucial to the yards over appeal. Ask your nursery if someone can come out and look at your yard and recommend plants and placements that are appealing. They may charge you, but I bet that if you buy the plants there, they will credit the cost of the initial survey. Make sure the beds have a well edged and defined edge, and plan the beds with flowing lines for more appeal to accentuate the lay of the yard. When you are done, you will have more pride in your home, it will definitely look better, and it will certainly increase in value.