This is the time of year that we all start to make plans for visiting friends, relatives, and company outings. So it is a good opportunity to take a hard look at your home’s exterior and see what message it is really sending. First impressions count and you only get one chance! Read on for the first in a two part series on quick and effective pointers on making a good one.
Fix it! Take a good look, what needs to be fixed. Are you guilty of using the garage door entry so never look at the front? Are there crumbling steps? Is there a walkway in need of a pressure wash? Are there broken light fixtures, or burned out bulbs? Is your hardware tarnished and pitted? Any unsightly peeling or chipping paint? Now is the time to get it all in order, don’t put it off.
Dead stuff! I know you may be amazed but those planters you put at the front door a couple of months ago and forgot to water haven’t gotten any livelier with time. Dead plants do not make an inviting entrance. Get rid of them, just as having people coming to your home and having to wrestle with a jungle of overgrown vines, ivy, evergreens and more to get there is not effective either. Prune it. Weed it. Replace it.
Add color! Color creates interest and attracts attention. It should be in keeping with the style of your home. For example, I have a lot of stone facing on the front and a more Arts and Crafts feeling. This lends itself to an autumn palette of spicy reds and golds, rich ambers and burgundies. Pinks and purples aren’t going to make sense. On the other hand if I had a country cottage with a white picket fence, I can create a garden of pink, purple and orange asters, electric lemons, and much more. Your color can be in your landscaping and/or on the house itself. There are some wonderful inspirations in the exterior palettes available at any do-it-yourself super center or your favorite paint store. Plant now, for the fall season.
Make Hardware Shine! Okay now it doesn’t have to be brass, but it does need to have a gleam, be inviting to the touch, and make a statement about the house and it’s owners. The choices are myriad, from brushed nickel, to bright brass, from oil rubbed bronze, to hammered copper. You can invest a little or a lot. Be sure to consider door knockers, kick plates, and your doorbell housing at the same time. This is a simple, quick, and astoundingly effective fix, particularly if you repaint your door or restain and reseal.
