When you have holiday guests coming, you want to ensure that their first impression of your home is a good one. Curb appeal is important both to impress your guests and to potentially improve the property value of your home. If you are looking for some easy DIY projects to improve your curb appeal before guests arrive, read on.
Windows are an important feature in a home, but they often get ignored. Since people can see the window frames from the curb, they are an important part of curb appeal and an easy DIY project to improve. You can get new window frames for a completely new look, or if you are on a budget, a more economical option to update your windows is to repaint the frames themselves. You can paint them both inside and outside to help boost your curb appeal. To update the windows, you can also repaint the shutters and get new curtains.
A great way to improve your holiday curb appeal is to hang lights on your home exterior and around some of your bushes and trees. These can draw the eye and wow your guests and neighbors.
Make Accents More Symmetrical
If you want to create a clean look on your porch, it is a good idea to make your accents symmetrical. Hang sconces on either side of the door for symmetry. Flank the door with symmetrical potted plants or decorations.
Add Greenery to the Porch
It might be too cold outside for some plants, but there are plenty of winter-friendly plants you can use to give your porch something green. Some wintery plants you can use in your outdoor space include:
- Yew Trees
- Cypress
- Golden Duke Eastern Hemlock
- Spanish Dagger
- Compact Oregon Grape
- Ivory Tower Yucca
- Colorado Blue Spruce
- Sun Sparkler Sedum
- Azaleas
- Boxwoods
- St. John's Wort
- Hens-and-Chicks
- Poinsettias
You can tie a festive ribbon around some planters to make them stand out and improve your curb appeal.
If you want to add some greenery or color anywhere else on your exterior to boost your curb appeal, you can install little window planter boxes and hang some on the railings of your porch.
Give Walkways and Driveways an Edge
This is an easy DIY project that is small but can make a big impact. You just need a few stones to line a walkway or driveway; you would be surprised at how much of a difference it can make in turning an old path into something prettier. Especially if you line your walkway with lights after using the stones to add an edge to it to keep it well-lit, a security feature like that is a great boost to your curb appeal.
Add Decorations You Can See Through the Windows
Adding some decorations in your windows that can stand out will be a great way to improve your curb appeal for the holidays. For a minimalist look, you can use an electric candle in each window. Another great option is to hang wreaths in the windows to draw the eye.
Window clings can be fun, especially if you have kids who want to help you decorate. These will all be protected from the elements since the window clings are inside the house. Plus, you can create different scenes in every window.
If you want a quick and easy DIY project to improve your curb appeal, one of the easiest and most affordable is to repaint your front door. You can either make it blend in with the color scheme of your home exterior, or you can make it a bold color that draws the eye.
Every guest you will have during the holidays is going to be waiting at your front door, so you want to make sure it is a festive space. You can hang a wreath on the door for a pop of holiday color. Making your own wreath can be a fun and easy DIY project for your front door. If you have kids, this can be a fun project to include them in.
Another way to dress up your door to improve holiday curb appeal is to get a festive doormat. It can help tie together the rest of your front porch decor together. If the mat you have chosen is more decorative than functional, you can layer it with a better mat under it that is bigger and more functional.
The beauty of natural stone and brick can give your home exterior a timeless look, but it is expensive and not DIY-friendly. However, there is faux stone and brick, which can give you the look of natural stone and brick, but it is DIY-friendly and much more affordable to install. You can use faux stone for any easy DIY home improvement projects to improve your curb appeal, including wrapping it around your porch columns, covering an unsightly concrete foundation, or even creating a little accent wall to draw the eye. If you need a quick and lasting boost to your curb appeal, this is a good choice. It can also give you a great conversation topic with your holiday guests, who will be impressed with the DIY project you completed. For something more ambitious, you can even replace your home siding with faux stone or brick!
Clean the Gutters and Roof
If your gutters are full of debris and your roof has moss or dirt on it, a great and easy way to improve your curb appeal is to clean your roof and gutters. Not only will this make your home exterior look more attractive, but it will also help protect your home from the elements. If your gutters are full of debris, they will not be able to do their job of directing water flow in the rain, and this can lead to potential water damage to your property.
Give the Mailbox a New Look
When decorating, the mailbox is easily forgotten, but it is a great way to improve your curb appeal. If your mailbox has seen better days, getting a new one is a good idea. Updating the post your mailbox sits on is a good idea, too. To give it a little holiday cheer, you can wrap a big bow around the box or even wrap a garland around the post. Just make sure that your mail carrier can still reach your mailbox and that you do not cover the house numbers on the box.
A metal screen door is a great security feature for a home, so it on its own can help improve curb appeal. However, if you want to take it one step further, you can paint the door a beautiful color that stands out and draws the eye.
An easy and budget-friendly DIY project is to install a trellis in your front yard and find an evergreen plant to climb your trellis. It can be a beautiful way to highlight your garden and give it a backdrop. Living walls can be an excellent improvement to curb appeal.
Garlands are a great way to improve your curb appeal this holiday season. If you have a low fence in your front yard, you can string up the garland along it; one with lights would be even more magical. If you have pillars on your front porch, garlands can easily be wrapped around them for a pop of color.
The garage door is a feature that is often ignored when thinking of DIY home improvements, but it is a good one to improve your home's curb appeal. Finding and replacing your garage door with one that is more attractive and secure is an easy improvement for curb appeal, and it can even improve your property value!
Power Wash the Exterior
Depending on the weather in your area, this might not be doable before the holidays, but if your local weather permits it, you can power wash everything. Clean all exterior surfaces of the house, driveway, walkways, and fences. You would be amazed at how big of a difference it can make in your home's curb appeal to have everything nice and clean.
Patch an Asphalt Driveway
If you have an asphalt driveway, keeping it in good shape is a good idea. Take the time to patch the surface, filling in any cracks and holes. Then, reseal the driveway to make it look like new. This is an easy project to complete, and you will be removing tripping hazards for your holiday guests. A better-looking driveway is a great way to improve your curb appeal, and it can potentially improve your property value if you plan on selling.
