Curb Appeal

The ten ways to make your home more desirable to buyers.  Curbside Appeal will draw them in.

Front door decorated with simple Fall Leaves- curbside appeal

Fresh Coat of Paint and a Little Handmade whimsy. This Fall decoration on an ordinary Tract Door in an Orange County Condominium complex says "welcome." The owners collected leaves, tied with twine and hung above.

urns at garden entrance

Art is in the eye of the beholder but what you are looking for as a homeowner is - How will a buyer see my entrance from the curb? Symmetry works with these urns in Laguna Beach. The balance and repetition works nicely with the glossy painted black gate. You don't need to be a professional landscape architect or designer to use repetition to appear well put together.

fun crates recycled

I'm fond of home made and funky. I love this arrangement of birdhouses, wine crates and old windows from Laguna Niguel. The owner took out the broken window panes and attached the chipped wooden frame to mirrors to reflect the yard landscaping.  All the items in the photograph were found for free. The ladder above is hung with heavy twine. Even though all the artifacts are older, the balance again of using two windows framing both sides works well. Also you will notice everything is painted in muted browns and a darker barn red, thus pulling everything together while still saying: unique, homey, and loved

picket fence

House in Ladera Ranch with a gorgeous use of white wisteria and white picket fence. Notice the white bird houses on the fence that lead you to the door.

contrasting colors for curb appeal

Here is another style of picket fence. Isn't this Laguna Beach home just charming? The terra cotta pots with golden flowers lead your eye to want to bring them the newspaper in the mailbox on the left. Owners used broken pieces of concrete and dug a trench about five inches deep, filled with sand and seeded the grass right over the stepping stones. Simple, Cheap and charming front entrance.

roses blooming at the curb

Flowers add excitement if you take care of them. This climbing rose around the mailbox and picket fence are multiple shades of corals and yellow. Roses require trimming after booming and like some fertilizer to keep blooming. Choose a cultivar that blooms more than once a year for the front and that is suitable for your climate.

This trellis entrance is very beautiful.

lush tropicals at the curb

This Laguna Beach home has the most fabulous arrangement of bromeliads, orchids, ferns and exotic plants right at the curb. They have used recycled concrete pieces, found local stone and gravel back filling the walls that act as planters. The loose construction feels relaxed and is barely noticeable among the lush green variety. Don't you want to enter this gate and see the secret garden and tree house?

white gate

At the top of Laguna Beach a homeowner added a gate with a Dutch door. The light sconces are especially well done in this arrangement. For my taste it is a little too cold, needs annuals with reds in pots on both sides.

The cheapest ways to improve the curbside appeal of your home:

1. New Paint

2. Annual Color in pots

3. Scrub and clean hardware, clean windows

4. Trim plants not in balls but in natural lacy shapes to see the house

5. Clean up weeds and much beds to look neat

6. Add some personal touches

7. Use balance and color to create a theme

Being on a budget doesn't mean ugly. Go take pictures of other homes with similar bones to yours. If you have brick façade- find houses that feel good and inviting from the curb with the same brick. If you have clapboards hunt around your neighborhood -Laguna Niguel  and Newport Beach are pretty restrictive about paint palettes, so look to Laguna Beach for more whimsy. You won't need to get a new mortgage to finance these suggestions.