12 Easy Curb Appeal Ideas for Your Home

Curb appeal: every homeowner wants it, and every prospective homebuyer is looking for it. Whether or not you’re looking to sell your Asheville home in the near future, it’s always a good idea to increase curb appeal with a few smart home renovations. No one wants to come home to a house that doesn’t look excellent, after all!

But if you’re on a tight budget or lacking clear project ideas, this guide can help you learn how to increase curb appeal. Today, let’s look at 12 simple – yet highly effective – home renovations that will surely increase curb appeal.

1. Clean or replace your house numbers

It's tough to be proud of your home if the address numbers near your front door are dirty, tarnished, or otherwise poor-looking. We recommend cleaning or replacing your house numbers with new ones for a cost-effective home renovation.

The logic is simple: when a prospective homebuyer drives by to inspect your property, they’ll always look at your house numbers to make sure they have the right address. If your house numbers look clean and crisp, they’ll serve as an excellent first impression!

2. Rejuvenate your front yard

Your front yard contributes to that first impression of curb appeal, too. So, we recommend rejuvenating or sprucing up your front yard, whatever form that may happen to take. As a few examples:

• Trim the hedges and bushes in your front yard so it looks managed instead of wild.
• Make sure your lawn, if you have one, is green and healthy looking. Be sure to sprinkle some fertilizer on the soil of your lawn just before spring.
• Plant some new shrubs and other greenery throughout your front yard. Native grasses and flowers are particularly good since they’re eco-friendly and add curb appeal by making your home look like a natural part of the local Asheville ecology.
• Don’t forget to pick up any toys or tools scattered around your front yard, as well! This is especially important if you are showcasing your house to guests or buyers.

3. Place some landscape lighting

No matter how good your front yard looks, it won't matter if people can't see it. Landscape light fixtures, like tall lampposts, old-fashioned lanterns, and modern LEDs mounted on the porch, make your front yard and your front walkway easier to traverse, plus increase curb appeal by making your home stand out in the early morning and evening (the latter is more important since you might invite guests or hold an open house event during the evening hours).

In any case, landscape lighting can seriously improve the curb appeal of your Asheville property without breaking the bank.

4. Install a new entry door

A stellar new front door is sure to impress your guests the first time they arrive. It’s also an important centerpiece element for your property – think of it as the last third of the “trio” of first impression attributes for your home (the other two being the house numbers and the front yard).

You can install a new woodgrain front door to give your house an enhanced aesthetic, plus improve its overall energy efficiency. A properly installed, properly insulated front door will minimize drafts and air leaks.

5. Dress up the front porch

If your Asheville property has a front porch, don’t let it stay bare or plain for too long. Instead, fill it with furniture like chairs, tables, and even decorative fountains or birdfeeders. Just a few homey touches can make your porch seem warm and welcoming to all of your guests, plus make your home look that much more impressive from the street.

6. Add window boxes, then fill them

If your windows don’t have much in the way of eye-catching appeal outside the holiday season, consider installing a few window boxes and filling them with local flowers or herbs. As an example, you can put a flower box beneath the window nearest to your kitchen or dining room, then grow herbs like rosemary or thyme for use in your recipes.

Then, in the winter, you can fill the window boxes with ornaments, baubles, and other seasonal decorations if it’s too cold for things to grow. All in all, this is a simple but very valuable home renovation that can increase curb appeal.

7. Replace old windows with new energy-efficient windows

Speaking of windows, your Asheville home won’t look its best if your windows are cracked, foggy, drafty, or worn down. Brand-new windows can increase curb appeal, enhance energy efficiency, and even help you save money on your monthly utility bill.

That’s because new windows can be fitted perfectly for your window frames, sealing in air-conditioned or heated air, depending on the season. Those new windows will be less likely to fog up or suffer from mold damage, and they'll let in plenty of natural light.

No matter what your Asheville home’s current style or aesthetic might be, we’re willing to bet that there are fantastic new windows perfect for its architectural type.

8. Consider installing shutters

Many of the best new windows are durable by themselves, but you can further protect them and add curb appeal to your property by installing some shutters. Colonial-style or barn-style shutters serve as extra barriers between your windows' glass surfaces and debris like pebbles or hail. Compared to others, adding shutters is a cost-effective home renovation, too.

9. Give your home’s exterior a power wash

Have a power washer? Use it to give your home and front driveway a thorough scrub. Power washing your home’s exterior can make it look like new, even if you don’t have to expend a lot of elbow grease! As an added benefit, this is one of the most satisfying home improvements you can tackle without spending lots of cash.

10. Apply a new coat of paint

Of course, power washing your home will only be effective if the underlying paint layer looks great already. If the paint on your home’s siding is faded or chipped, a new coat of paint is the only real solution.

You can purchase paint of the appropriate type and color at a local home improvement store, then paint it yourself, or hire contractors to get the job done for you. In either case, new paint can certainly help with drawing eyes to your home if it’s for sale.

11. Get a new garage door

Just like you should replace your front door if it's old, worn down, or drafty, consider swapping out your old garage door with a new one if it's giving you trouble. This is a very important curb appeal idea if you plan to show your home to prospective buyers. A rickety, old looking, and unreliable garage door is a surefire way to turn away those buyers!

12. Install a new mailbox

Don’t neglect your mailbox by the street! Give it a fresh coat of paint or purchase a new mailbox to match the rest of your home’s facelift.

When it comes to boosting curb appeal through home renovations, the only limit (aside from your budget) is your imagination! Even complex upgrades aren’t off-limits when you partner with the right experts, like our specialists at Window World of Asheville.

Contact us today to learn more about the windows, doors, and other home improvements we can help with, or visit our showroom to see our offerings in person!