Curb Appeal
Landscaping
Home Staging with Curb
Appeal Landscaping Tips
By Jeanette Joy Fisher
Wishing well made with dry stacked
stones adds height to landscape; a good alternative to
planting a statement tree.
Designer Tricks to Sell
Your Home for Top Dollar
If you're selling your home or
investment house, take a drive around your
neighborhood and check out the competition. Stop and
pick up the sales flyers. Take a notebook with you and
make a chart of houses for sale with sales price,
features, and curb appeal notes.
Approach your home just like a home shopper will.
Drive up slowly, stop across the street, and then park
where most buyers will park their car. Pause and study
each scene; take notes about what you see that can be
improved. Take pictures with a digital camera and look
at them in the black and white view to see the home
from a different perspective. Without color, you might
see something that you never noticed before.
Compare your house to the other properties for sale.
If you were the home buyer, which home would you
favor? What can you do to enhance your curb appeal
landscaping?
Often, it's not what you add but what you take away.
Remember, buyers don't pay top dollar for a home that
needs work.
Exterior Landscaping and Clean Up Tips
- Remove any tree limbs near
or touching the roof.
- Clear rain gutters and
chimneys.
- Kill mold on sidewalks,
roof, and patio.
- Pressure wash siding,
porches, sidewalks, and decks.
- Remove spider webs.
- Remove leaves and weeds;
mow and edge lawn.
- Put away garden equipment
and tools.
- Clean windows so they shine
and glimmer.
Exterior Curb Appeal
Additions
- Create a pathway to front
door so buyers don't have to walk around cars in
driveways.
- Plant a statement tree for
height variation in landscape.
- Place flowers in two large
pots flanking entryway.
- Hang flowers or ferns.
- Freshen paint, especially
on the entry door or surrounding architectural
features.
- Add new door hardware.
- Replace front door.
- Add textures to porches and
patios.
Texture added
with warm blanket suggests dining pleasure after
sunset.
Check to see if you have a
ReStore (Habitat for Humanity's thrift store) nearby.
They sell great hardware, lighting fixtures, and even
doors for deep discount prices.
Evening Curb Appeal Design Tips
Many home shoppers drive around neighborhoods after
work. Make sure your home glows at twilight and after
dark. Drive by the same houses you looked at while
checking out your competition. What does you home
look like when you drive up?
Some enhancements to consider:
- Light the setting with
low-voltage lighting or solar lighting along the
drive way, sidewalks, and around landscaping
elements.
- Highlight a statement tree
or unique design element with a spot light.
- Add a decorative street
lamp or an attractive light fixture near the entry.
- Plant white flowers because
they show up in dim light.
Open heavy drapes, shades, and
blinds in the evening to let interior light out.
Privacy sheers make buyers feel that your home offers
privacy and at the same time present a gentle glow
that looks attractive at night.
If you can see a peek of your back yard, add gentle
lighting to spark the imagination of an entertaining
space.
Buyers can't always visualize changes to a home. If
they think a home needs a lot of landscaping work,
buyers expect to pay a reduced price. You must make
your curb appeal and landscaping stand out over your
competition to sell for top dollar.
Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher
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