the best curb appeal elements

Jeanine wrote in with this awesome question about the best curb appeal: 

…Now that it’s spring, I’d love to know a little more about what some of your favorite tips are for outdoor changes in the spring. I love how you guys have done your house, and I was wondering if you had any advice for a fresh spring look? I am not in a place to do much landscaping until I am finished with our own renovation and was wondering what some of your favorite tips are for the outside…

If you checked in this week, then you probably saw some of our addition progress earlier. We were happy to highlight some of our outside renovation timeline there, if you’re interested in what the process has been like for us. We wanted to share a little spring tour of our porch, and also, answer this great {and oh so timely!} question from Jeanine. The best curb appeal elements!

Here are a few of our very favorite {realistic} tips and tricks for freshening up the outside of your house. Above is the before – what the outside looked like, before we purchased it. And the after is pretty exciting, even if the yard isn’t in full bloom yet. We’ve come so far!

So here are a few of our faves for faking it until you can do some serious landscaping: [We’re kind of pros at this one].

• Flowers

If we’re being honest, we really do mean to tackle more landscaping this warm weather season. Up until now, all of our funds have gone into the inside of our home. In the past, whatever outside funds we had, went into revitalizing our pool and building a hideaway for the kiddos. #priorities.

That means our one acre yard could use some serious work. We still have a lot of that ahead of us. What did we do in the meantime? We camouflaged seasonally with flowers. They bring color to the front.

Our porch is bright and pretty, and the rest can wait. True story. This being an older house, we also have little surprises that pop up in different times of the year, planted by past homeowners. Lamb’s ear in the back yard, and tulips around the mailbox. Sweet little accents that add interest annually, and a nice bonus. So the yard isn’t a total lost cause. 

• Window Boxes

Another example of small changes. No, not everything will be this dramatic. But do you see how much character we were able to bring to this side of our home with all things handmade window boxes? –You can find the how to for easy hand-built ones here. We were thrilled to share our side entrance curb appeal last year, and it made a huge difference. 

It doesn’t have to cost a fortune and they can change your world with a simple addition. 

I can’t back up to get a recent photo from far away, so last season’s will have to do. Why? There’s a giant dumpster blocking the driveway all because of our newest addition to the house. But we did add some fresh flowers this past week and we’re still loving the look! And here’s a little side view, anyway. 

Speaking of window boxes, this is an old toy crate we pulled out of storage for the flowers we knew we wanted to add. I was a little torn about what to use, and knew we wanted height, when it occurred to us that we already had something. We used it in the boys’ room of our last house, and we love it here on the front porch where it has a new purpose. Read all about how we built it, here!

• Lighting

Again, more of that to come with the fabulous Kichler. But sometimes a tired old light outside can use a whole new look with a simple change. We plan to do more landscape lighting this year, but in the meantime, it’s the smaller changes that can make a big difference. 

• Doormats

We selected this nice hefty doormat, and layered it with a large woven plastic one. Basically, it’s super durable so we can pressure wash whatever we need to, later.

• Wreaths

Don’t forget the wreath – and they don’t have to be outlandish. We scored this one on Amazon, and it’s our second season to use it. We plan on using it for many more. With all the colors and flowers we had going on, we found this simple outdoor boxwood wreath and loved adding some character to the side door.

• Paint and siding 

I know. Insert generic answer here. But it can do so much for your house!

You can read more about our process here {window world + a spring porch makeover + side entrance curb appeal} on the outside. All of the details behind what we chose are here. But again, it doesn’t have to be as extreme as ours, or all at once. Baby steps. A little paint goes a long way for a fresh coat on a house. And again, it does a lot for your landscaping. Just pressure washing is a game changer. Keep the mold and dirt in check by updating it regularly. 

• Numbers for flare

Add character with numbers. Our house numbers are from the fabulous Dropcap Studio.

We love the gorgeous look and classic feel the brass numbers bring to the front of our house. Here’s how we installed them. 

• Rocking Chairs 

They always say let’s come and sit a spell. There’s something about them that we adore, and while we have many more plans for all things changes outside, this was a pretty great, inviting change. So any pieces of inviting furniture you wish to add to your porch always goes a long way to cozy it up for curb appeal.

We hope you enjoyed our little spring tour of sorts, today… and that it helped you with any ideas! 

What are some of your favorite elements for curb appeal? We’d love to hear. 

Have an inspired day!