Your home’s exterior
is your first chance to make an impression — on passing strangers and family alike — so it’s worthwhile to keep it in tip-top shape. Although it’s important to maintain your curb appeal for neighbors and visiting guests, it’s equally important to do it for yourself; after all, you’re the one who heads in and out the front door every day. While your home’s architecture and landscape design make all the difference, there are small, easy ways to help your home stand out from the rest.
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Make sure your house number is noticeable. When people visit for the first time, the house number is what directs them, so make sure it’s large and easy to read. Feel free to experiment with funky fonts and colors — after all, they can help make your home’s exterior unique — but be sure to test out the legibility yourself before keeping the numbers around; you don’t want to confuse (and frustrate) family and friends.
Ensure there’s lot of light. For outdoor lighting, it’s oftentimes challenging to find the balance between too much lighting and not enough. On the one hand, you want to make sure all nooks and crannies are well lit, but you don’t want to have a pricey energy bill or light up the whole neighborhood. The best way to find the middle ground is to use a wide variety of light sources. Outdoor wall sconces are a great way to brighten up your front porch or driveway, while hanging lanterns and rope lighting offer a more romantic, warmer ambience. For lighting that extends beyond the front door, use path lights and accent lights for sidewalks or garden walkways.
Decorate where you can. Your home’s exterior might not offer a lot of decorating opportunities, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work with what you have. At holiday time, hang seasonal wreaths, signs and holiday decorations on your front door. If you’re feeling extra festive, you can do the same with your doormats, or just stick with a traditional welcome mat all year round. Lanterns are a great way to add a touch of contemporary decor, and personalized mailboxes can be both practical and aesthetically pleasing. Just be sure that anything placed outdoors can withstand changing temperatures, regardless of the season.