What makes kerb appeal?
First impressions count, especially when it comes to selling your house. Kerb appeal is something that’s often overlooked with interiors taking priority but you actually have just 10 seconds to impress a future buyer. It doesn’t take long to improve your kerb appeal and you could add value to your asking price.
Whether you are selling your home or wanting to impress visitors and neighbours, our kerb appeal tips will help you to make a good first impression.
Ways to improve your property's kerb appeal:
1. Refresh your door colour
Your front door is one of the main features of your home that buyers will see first. So, it needs to give a good first impression and get viewers excited to see the rest of your home.
If you have a wooden front door, a lick of weatherproof paint will help it appear welcoming. If you want to add a splash of colour, choose a traditional navy, green or red to make it stand out without being too garish.
For plastic or uPVC doors there are special products available which can clean and brighten your door.
2. Spruce up your fence
We’re all guilty of putting off DIY projects but those projects, like painting your fence, can have a big impact on your kerb appeal.
A neglected and tired fence is just another job that prospective buyers will have to undertake if they bought your house. While you obviously don’t want to correct every single problem, tackling the ones that are easy to solve can immediately make your house appealing.
The good news is, that our Precision Finish Fence Sprayer will get the job done in next to no time at all. It paints a whole fence panel in less than 3 minutes, so you can easily spruce up your tired outdoor wood.
3. Tidy up the lawn
A manicured lawn and neat shrubs are just another way you can instantly make your home welcoming to visitors. Remove any weeds and mow your lawn and if the grass is looking a little yellowed, use some lawn feeder to revive it and make it appear healthy.
4. Clean the path and driveway
If you have a pressure washer then that’s a great way of quickly blasting any dirt from your path or driveway, making them both sparkle and the approach to your house look impressive.
5. Create feature lighting
Adding lighting either side of your front door will help if you have viewings in wintery months, but will also simply add to your kerb appeal and highlight the entrance to your home.
6. Spruce up the windows and frames
If you don’t have time to do anything else, at the very least give your windows a clean. If you can, sprucing up your window frames can go a long way too. Either way, you want to make sure that those windows gleam and let in as much light as possible.
7. Gutters and roofing
Remember that prospective buyers want to ensure that there aren’t any maintenance issues that they’ll later have to deal with. Making sure the roof is in good condition and that the gutters are clean can help to reassure them right from the start.
8. Brighten things up
Bright colours can really help to make people feel welcome. So, if you feel like something is missing and you want to go that extra mile, why not add some hanging baskets with flowers to the front of the house or plant some extra plants in your front garden.
9. Hide the bins
Many of us keep our wheelie bins near the front of the house for easy access when emptying. However, if you can put them out of sight, either round the back or in the garage, this will help your increase your kerb appeal.
10. Look to your gate
If you have a metal garden gate then you may have not painted it for some time. If your gate is looking rusted or in need of some TLC, we’d recommend giving it a lick of Direct to Metal Paint to spruce things up.
11. Freshen up exterior walls
Exterior walls are often neglected in comparison to interior walls, however, they suffer just as much from peeling over time and weather damage, and may need to be painted. If you have bare brick or stone walls, a jet wash should work well. Also, don’t forget about any repairs that may be needed.
12. Review your window display
Now that your windows and frames are clean, it’s time to think about the display in them and what can be seen from the outside depending on the size of your windows. Brighten things up with flowers in the window, or perhaps some decorative items like vases and candles to help give a more homely feel.
13. Doorstep decor
Whether it’s a new welcome mat, some potted plants on either side of your front door, or a decorative door knocker, why not try adding a little decor to your doorstep for those final touches?
Simple changes to the front exterior of your property can go a long way in terms of improving its kerb appeal. To find out more about how to spruce up your back garden for summer house viewings, take a look at our guide on how to clean garden furniture. Or, find your nearest stockist to kick start your own kerb appeal project using our products below.