Home Improvements and Curb Appeal: Add value to your home

Home improvements and curb appeal go hand in hand. Curb appeal refers to the appeal that your home may have to a passer-by. It is a term often used by Real Estate agents, as it is a key success factor when selling homes.

There are many simple and DIY tasks that a homeowner can do themselves to increase their curb appeal. If your home is looking very dated, perhaps an exterior makeover is required.

Tasks that you can perform yourself to increase curb appeal

Maintaining your home’s curb appeal is often a reflection of how well you have looked after you home. By undertaking regular exterior maintenance, you can maintain your home’s appeal very simply yourself. Consider the following ideas:

Declutter and tidy up

Remove damaged or rusted furniture and rubbish from the yard. Most local councils In Perth have annual junk pick-ups from your verge. Make sure you know when this is, and clear your yard and shed at the same time!

Clear the Letterbox!

Ensure that your letterbox is regularly cleared! A letterbox bulging with weather-beaten junk mail hanging out of a stuffed letterbox just screams neglect and is very unappealing. If you are not interested in junk mail, consider getting a discreet ‘No Junk Mail Please’ sticker for your letterbox – you can get one of these for less than $5 at Bunnings!

Plant some blooms

Planting fresh flowers makes everyone feel good! Spring is the perfect time to plant a few cheap and cheerful blooms such as Petunias and the kids can join in too. Pretty flowers are a great boost to street and curb appeal.

Trim and Prune

Trimming and pruning overgrown bushes is a great way to freshen up the yard. Check with your local council and find out when the next Green verge collection is taking place in your area. Use this time every year to give your trees and shrubs a hard prune!

Pressure Clean Hard Surfaces

Driveways, paths, and verandahs get stained and look dull over time. Consider hiring a Pressure Cleaner from your local equipment hire store. This will get rid of oil stains on the driveway, and freshen up tired and dull paving and provide you with a freshened-up look in 1 day.

Increasing your curb appeal with the help of professionals

Landscaping

Engage the services of a Landscape Architect/Gardener. They will have great ideas and water-wise recommendations that you will not think of yourself. We love the latest trend of activating boring fence spaces with vertical gardens!

Roof restoration

If your roof needs attention you have a few options to consider. Old tiled roofs can be completely replaced with Colorbond.

Rendering

Alternatively, existing roofs can be restored by repairing and replacing cracked and damaged tiles, followed by a fresh coating to spruce it up. If your home was built between 1950 and 1990, chances are you have an unattractive face brick home.

before
Front profile before the renovation and rendering
after
After

Engaging the services of a professional to render the ugly bricks can give your home a real lift. You may also want to consider changing or sprucing up your window frames at the same time.

We have a great example with this 1970’s home that we renovated and brought into the modern era. You can read more about this stunning external home renovation and makeover by clicking here.

Tuck-pointing and Limestone maintenance

If you are lucky enough to have classic tuck-pointing or genuine limestone on your property, there are specialist trades that will faithfully restore these for you.

Renovated character home front profile with tuck-pointing

Repainting the home and woodwork

Updating the paintwork and woodwork on your home exterior can also make a big difference. We recommend engaging a professional for painting to ensure that you get quality results!