The front of your home is generally the first view of it that most people get. So if it looks a bit scruffy on the outside, then most people will assume that is reflected in the inside of your home too. Our new house has quite a grand entrance (the grandest I’ve ever had anyway!), so I have been looking at ways to spruce it up and make it more welcoming. We have plans to replace the door one day and maybe upgrade the porch paving, but for now I just want to find quick and easy ways of adding a bit of kerb appeal on a budget.
1. Kerb Appeal Basics
I started with getting rid of the weeds and giving the steps a wash. I also weed killer-ed the driveway. If I had one, I would also use a pressure washer to clean down the drive. Next I washed the front door and the woodwork around it. I gave the bushes around the door a quick trim to neaten them up and cut the grass. Just doing this made a huge improvement to the kerb appeal.
I cleaned our front steps with patio cleaner – as you can see in the picture above, the difference between the cleaned and dirty slabs is amazing!
2. Do Repairs
The porch posts needed re-painting as the paint was cracked and peeling. A sand down and a lick of fresh paint makes a dramatic difference.
3. Where Are Your bins?
Bins right next to the front door is really not a good look when you are working on your kerb appeal. We have our bins stored round the back of our garage, out of sight. If I couldn’t do this, I would get a bin store. I took a few bits of rubbish we had lying around to the tip.
4. Step Up
Spruce up your front step with a new doormat. This is a super cheap and easy way to smarten up the area immediately outside your front door. I went for this starry number!
5. Flower Power
A really quick and easy way to improve your kerb appeal is to add some plants. While we have plenty of bushes and greenery out the front, I wanted to put an evergreen plant either side of the front door to help soften the look of the steps and to make the porch feel more welcoming.
6. Light It Up For Kerb Appeal Day And Night
Having lighting outside your front door is a practical consideration – it’s always helpful to be able to find your front door key quickly on a cold dark night! Great lights also help make your house much more approachable and welcoming in the evening to visitors. There are a whole host of lighting options available, including solar lighting which is super-easy to install, to help light up the outside of your home. I have gone for a couple of solar lanterns like these from Amazon.
The Kerb Appeal Before and After!
There you have it; a few simple ideas for adding kerb appeal on a budget has created a neat and tidy front entrance that I feel looks much smarter and more welcoming! Just got to get the interior of the house to match now…!
If you are working on your kerb appeal because you are preparing your house for sale, check out my post on this for more ideas.
