If you are thinking of selling your home, adding curb appeal can increase your home value 3% – 5% according to Consumer Reports. You can utilize this time while sheltering at home to get your house ready to put on the market, and remember, staging does not stop at the front door!  Your home's curb appeal makes a great first impression. Create a vision that will make everyone want to see what's inside. 

Here are a few simple, low-cost curb appeal improvements that you can do in a day, a week, or a month, by yourself without hiring a landscaper or handyman. 

Your Front Door Makes a Statement

• Paint your front door a distinctive color. Polish or replace your doorknob and hardware. Your front door is the focal point of curb appeal!
• Create a welcoming entryway by placing symmetrical elements such as topiaries or sconces on either side of the front door.

Create a Mood

• Install low voltage landscape lighting to walkways, flower beds and trees. In addition to creating a warm inviting curb appeal, they add security to your home.

Mailbox Makeover

• Your mailbox should compliment your home. Apply a fresh coat of paint to match the house's exterior color. 
• Replace old house numbers with new ones. 
• Surround it with a beautiful flowering garden.

Get Your Flowerbeds in Shape                                                                                                         

• Prune back new growth
• Pull weeds
• Plant contrasting colors and staggered heights of flowers
• Add mulch

Note: Prime spots for flower beds creating curb appeal are at the front corners of the yard, along driveway or walkway, and immediately in front of house.

Guttering

• Clean out your gutters. Look for peeling paint or rusty spots and repaint them if necessary. 

Patio/Deck/Front Porch

Add an artistic flair with containers of potted flowers and nice patio furniture to your front porch and back deck. Many times, your existing patio furniture needs to be thinned out. Notice if your deck has become a storage place for outdoor toys and mismatched outdoor furniture. 

You may need to rent a storage space to start moving extra items and furniture into. Be objective and try to see your home as if for the first time. Give your potential buyers a blank canvas to paint a picture of what their dream home looks like, starting with curb appeal!