7 Affordable Ways to Increase Your Curb Appeal

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“People are in the habit of making assumptions, and their first impressions after seeing your house are hard to shake.”

There comes a time in every homeowner's life when it’s time to move on to the next good thing. It’s easy to feel unprepared for selling your home. All of a sudden, all the quirks of your house are tinged with nostalgia instead of frustration.

Whether the housing market is up or down, finding a good home is always challenging. Some houses might look disappointing from the outside, but the inside has untapped potential, and curb appeal starts with the fence.

Two-story? Split Level? Ranch Home? Choose A Fence To Match

 

No matter the style of your home, what if your house's curb appeal could use a facelift so the dream buyer could find you? People are in the habit of making assumptions. We want to help make those first impressions perfect. 

We’ve come up with a guide with seven affordable ways to increase your home’s curb appeal to find your dream buyer while staying on a budget:

• Fences (Our specialty–we are a fence contractor in Austin)
• Landscaping
• Color coordination
• Upgrading windows
• Painting the front door
• Front porch seating
• Outdoor Lighting

Install Good Fences

Good fences make good neighbors, and we agree with Robert Frost. There are few things more American or beautiful than a white picket fence. Fortunately, depending on your preferences and needs, we offer many types of fences, too.

Fences can add a historical charm to a home, a layer of security, a barrier of privacy, a buffer of noise, and/or safety boundaries for kiddos with unlimited energy reserves. It might be all of those at once. Depending on what you need, you might consider several different types of fences:

• Ornamental iron fence
• Wood fence
• Chain link fence
• Commercial Fencing
• Fencing Accessories
• Custom work

Average fences cost between $1500 to $4000 or more, depending on the style and length of the wall. If you plan on landscaping, include fencing–it helps frame the home.

Fences can transform your lonely house into a dignified home. No matter the size of your property, we can design fences that meet your needs. We let the quality of our work speak for itself, which has made all the difference.

Landscaping

Landscaping is a form of gardening: Altering your property's terrain to accommodate visually pleasing or useful plants or structures. Sometimes, landscaping functions both as visually pleasing and practical. 

For instance, a tree is visually pleasing. But, it also provides shade if planted close enough to the house. That can cut down on energy usage in the summer for AC.

Landscaping gives a home a “finished” look. A house can look a little naked until plants and garden beds surround it. The grass just stops, and the house begins. 

Landscaping is expensive. Average landscaping costs are between $3000 and $13000. If the cost seems prohibitive to you, know that almost every expert opinion says that you will at least recoup the money you invest in landscaping, if not double or more your investment.

Color Coordination

There’s always that one home in the neighborhood where you drive by, scratch your head, and ask, “What were they thinking when they chose THAT color?” Another faux pas is when the homeowner doesn’t think to coordinate the color of the home's exterior with the fence. It sticks out like a sore thumb.

Some colors look good in the catalog but should never get applied to your property. Here are some striking color combinations to consider:

• Iron Gray + Slate Blue + White
• Dark Red + White + Light Blue + Beige
• Light Gray + Copper + Beige
• Stormy Gray + Dark red + White
• Seafoam Green + White

Upgrade Windows

Windows are a conduit to the soul of a home. If your windows look dilapidated or need repair, your resale value could tarnish. Windows can make a home seem inviting as if it is beckoning home buyers to take a peek inside.

Replacing windows can be expensive. But especially if your windows are an outdated style that looks undesirable from a distance, replacing them could be an excellent option. Installing window boxes and shutters is another way to spruce up your windows without replacing them.

Window boxes are little outside planters filled with flora right underneath your window. They add depth to the window and break up the front of the home. Another way to frame your windows is to add shutters. Shutters mainly serve a decorative purpose nowadays. They used to be close to keeping the inhabitants safe inside, but today, they are affixed to the sides of homes.

The average window can cost $500 to $1000. Depending on how many you would have to replace to improve curb appeal, this way might be the least likely to make a return on your investment.

Paint The Front Door

Don’t forget the front door! The front door is a lovely accent piece for the rest of the house. It’s the one color that doesn’t necessarily need to be coordinated and could be any accent color you love.

Feel free to go wild with the color palette if the rest of your home is neutral. If you had a suitable color scheme for the rest of your home, you could make teal, orange, or yellow work for the front door. If your home is more boldly painted, try to stick to neutral or dark colors.

It will cost you less than $100 for materials and supplies, and it makes a huge first impression on prospective home buyers.

Patio Furniture

Front porch seating transforms your patio into an extended living area. It invites prospective home buyers to sit down and IMAGINE themselves living here.

Patio furniture is also the only way to increase curb appeal that you can take with you when you leave! Like the furniture you stage inside, your patio makes the home look good from every angle. This creates an additional living space for prospective buyers to plan their future outdoor evenings or summer gatherings. An empty patio is an invitation to lower the asking price. Even selling in winter, you should stage some patio furniture. Good patio furniture can last many years and only cost you $500 to $1500.

Outdoor Lighting

Outdoor lighting can make your house look safe and inviting. An excellent front porch light can be electrically powered or even gas-powered. Whether your home is rustic, charming, or modern, outdoor lighting can meet your needs.

Recessed lights built into your roof's soffit can make a home look exceptional. It looks sleek without being tacky. But outdoor lighting isn’t isolated to the home. You can install lanterns on your fence posts as well! 

Lanterns can illuminate your property’s boundaries. It adds to the house’s charm if the prospective buyer arrives in the evening. Lights can be installed quickly and easily for around $100 to $300. That’s an easy way to increase your curb appeal.

Northwest Fence & Iron

If you have any fencing needs to increase your curb appeal, contact us today at Northwest Fence & Iron in Austin, TX. We have many years of experience in the business and can give you expert treatment at an affordable price.