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Easy Exterior Upgrades to Give Your Home a Facelift This Spring
Mar 1st 2019
Instead of focusing on spring cleaning this year, why not invest in your home’s curb appeal with a spring facelift? It’s the perfect time of year to address issues that may have cropped up during the winter. Taking time to improve specific areas of the exterior of your home will not only protect your home long term but also increase your home’s value. Consider these easy exterior upgrades to give your home a facelift this spring:
Smart Lighting
Adding lighting is a smart way to instantly transform your outdoor space. Making your home more energy efficient is a great way to save on electric costs as well as help the environment. Invest in smart LED lights that cost less to run and last much longer than incandescent lights. Consider an LED downlight for your covered porch or gazebo. They’re easy to install and will offer the perfect amount of energy efficient lighting to draw attention to certain parts of your home at night.
Paint the Front Door
Entry doors can take a beating since they’re used many times throughout the day. The front door is one of the first things neighbors and visitors notice about your home. Consider taking the door off the hinges on a warm spring day and painting the front door a bright color. This will not only protect the door from another year of scuffs, dents, and scrapes, but it will also become a point of interest to your home. Make sure to consider the color palette of the exterior of your home when choosing a complementary color for the front door.
Showcase Plants
Rope lighting is becoming more popular as homeowners use it for the exterior parts of their home. Consider adding LED rope lighting on the backside of a border edge to shine just enough light on the garden. You want to enjoy and show off your garden as much as possible and this will give visitors a chance to view the plants after dark. Installing rope lighting also helps define the lawn making it safer to be in the yard at night.
Power Wash
Renting a power washer is a smart investment that will help you brighten your home instantly. You’ll be amazed at how much dirt can build up on the exterior portions of your home during the winter. Power washing the exterior siding of your house, as well as the concrete walkway and driveway, will improve the overall look of your home. Cut down on rental costs by asking a neighbor if they want to split the cost and power wash their home as well. (You’ll improve the curb appeal of your home when your neighbor’s house also looks clean and fresh!)
Plant A Border
Spring is the perfect time of year to choose some new plants for the yard. Consider adding a border of flowers along the walkway to welcome guests. Other options include planting pollinator plants, like Black-eyed Susans or Lavender, that will attract honey bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Be sure to use an edger or string trimmer to cut back any sod so that the border is clearly defined. Choose a unique plant to add to a planter near the front door or patio to brighten up the exterior portions of your home as well.
There are so many inexpensive ways to upgrade the exterior of your home quickly. Consider all these easy exterior upgrades to give your home a facelift this spring.
Carol Squire is a gardening and outdoor living writer who spends her free time on DIY projects around her house. As a gardening guru, she can often be found tending to her roses and vegetable garden and building outdoor furniture for her patio.