First impressions can make a huge difference, so if you’re thinking about selling your house, it’s crucial that your house has good kerb appeal.
Kerb appeal is all about how attractive the property and its surroundings are, as viewed from the street.
If you want to give your house more kerb appeal, here are seven tips on how to easily improve the exterior of your home.
1. Give your front door a fresh coat of paint
Your front door is the area that most viewers will be drawn to when looking at your house, so it’s important to keep it looking good.
A fresh coat of paint goes a long way when making a first impression. Classic colours such as red, navy blue, or racing green are all eye-catching without being gaudy. If you have a wooden door, consider applying a fresh coat of varnish.
You can even make plastic and composite doors look brand new with just a bit of effort. You can restore their original whiteness using a variety of products which you can find at any hardware store.
You should also consider cleaning and polishing any light fittings, letter boxes, or house numbers by your door too. Keeping fixtures free from rust can go a long way in improving your kerb appeal.
2. Keep your driveway tidy
There are plenty of small ways you can improve your driveway, no matter the surface.
You can usually improve hard driveways, such as concrete, paved tiles, or tarmac, with a good clean. Power-washing away the dirt from your driveway will instantly improve your kerb appeal.
If you have a paved driveway, consider cleaning out the cracks between the paving. Pulling out weeds will help improve it too, but you might need weedkiller for stubborn ones like dandelions.
Gravel driveways have a habit of dwindling over time, so remember to top it up to keep it looking new. You can use a garden rake to smooth out areas where it builds up to make it more even.
3. Make sure to have neat boundaries
Neat and tidy boundaries can really help to improve the kerb appeal of a house, so make sure to keep them that way.
You can give wooden garden fences a new coat of varnish to make them look new, while applying a fresh coat of paint to metal railings can keep them looking good. Remember to keep hedges trimmed too, they don’t have to be perfect, but an overgrown hedge can make a bad first impression.
You could also consider planting flowerbeds next to paths for some eye-catching colour. Don’t forget to keep them well pruned so they don’t spill over.
4. Keep the windows clean
Although you may not think it’s that important, keeping your windows clean goes a long way in improving your kerb appeal, as well as having the added benefit of letting more light into your home for when you have a viewing.
Cleaning your windows doesn’t have to be a chore and the light exercise might do you some good. There are also a variety of tools you can buy to make the process simpler and easier.
If you have hard-to-reach windows or lack the time to do housework, you could always pay a professional window cleaning company to do it for you.
5. Hide the bins
Keeping your bins out of sight may not be your first thought when it comes to improving your kerb appeal but, according to Homeowners Alliance, more than a third of UK homebuyers consider it to be important when choosing a house.
Storing your bins doesn’t have to involve anything fancy but having somewhere to keep them can make your front garden look tidier and make a big improvement to your house’s kerb appeal.
In a similar vein, you may also want to consider getting a simple storage box for your front garden for things like garden tools, as keeping them out of sight can help your garden look more orderly.
6. Stay on top of the gardening
Nothing hurts the kerb appeal of a house more than an unkept garden. No matter how attractive your house looks, most prospective buyers will probably be put off by the thought of having to battle through a small jungle to reach it.
Although it can sometimes be easy to neglect your front lawn, make sure to keep it under control by cutting the grass regularly. If the front lawn is too small for your mower to cut properly, consider buying a trimmer and using that instead.
You can easily keep flowerbeds and climbing plants in check with secateurs, but you might need a good pair of shears for keeping the bushes in order.
It might also be sensible to do a spot of weeding while you’re tidying up the front garden. A visible lack of weeds can make your garden look more orderly and can really improve the kerb appeal of your home.
7. Keep the pavement clean
If you want to maximise your house’s kerb appeal, it may be worth going the extra mile and keeping the pavement outside your house clean too.
Although it is technically the council’s job to maintain it, keeping your pavement clean and free of litter can make a good impression of the area. Trimming the grass on the verge outside your house can give a good impression too.
A potential viewer may also be checking the gardens of your neighbours to get an impression of the area they’re moving into. If your neighbours garden could do with some work, you may want to offer to give them a hand tidying it up.