Have you driven by a home recently and felt like everything just...meshed? Maybe you couldn’t put your finger on why, but everything about the home captured your attention. That’s curb appeal.
Curb appeal adds value to your home, and definitely factors in if you’re selling the property. I’ve seen it time and time again: two homes are generally the same “on paper”. They each have roughly the same amount of space, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and are both in solid neighborhoods. Which one sells faster? The one that looks better from the outside. Buyers fall in love with a home before they ever walk through the front door, and it’s all because of the curb appeal.
What makes a home’s exterior captivating? I’ve broken it down into three main principles that you can apply to your own home.
Visibility
Is your home visible when someone pulls into the driveway, or are they met with overgrown bushes and trees? Landscaping should accentuate the home and lead the viewer’s eye towards the focal point of the home’s exterior. If any windows are covered by trees or bushes, remove them! Trim bushes and any other greenery so that it doesn’t obstruct any architectural details of the home. Pathways should be clear and nothing should be encroaching them.
While we’re speaking of visibility, if a pathway to the home isn’t clear at night, be sure to add some lighting along the way. This can be attached to the home itself, or with solar lights along the edge of the path. It’s practical and pretty.
Contrast
Contrast is an important component to visual appeal, whether in art or in home design. Our brains seem to like being able to discern elements, yet still find them cohesive. Contrast makes this possible, because not everything is the same color or shape. For example, a white home with black shutters is high in contrast, because black and white are very opposing. A light brown home with light brown shutters is low in contrast and is generally less appealing to the eye. What does this mean for your home?
Like the examples above, the contrast is higher if the color of your home and the shutters and trim are complimentary, yet contrasting. Think of combos like a white home with black shutters, a navy blue home with white trim, or a sage green home with cream shutters. Then add in a third element that will be used as an accent. This is typically light fixtures, and in many new homes, even the windows.
Generally, you want the light fixtures to stand out. With the black and white home, black or rubbed bronze finishes on the lights maintains the minimalist look and still allows the light fixtures to pop against the white of the home. For the navy blue home with white trim, add brushed nickel fixtures for crisp shine. And in the case of the sage green home with cream colored shutters, brass fixtures with a satin finish add metal accents and still maintain the warmth of the color palette.
Contrast can also be achieved through landscaping. If your home is white, planting shrubs and bushes that are green all year long (or most of it, depending on your climate) will keep that contrast level high.
Interest
Even if we can see the home and the color contrast is high, that doesn’t guarantee that the whole picture is interesting. Landscaping is so important! The term landscaping covers not only plants, trees, and shrubs, but also water features (fountains, ponds), stone walls and borders, and much more. Depending on your style and budget, look for projects that will accentuate your property's unique features without becoming distracting.
Great landscaping doesn't mean elaborate landscaping. The photo above shows how a few plants and planters can really make a home stand out. (Even without contrasting trim!)
Pro Tip: When choosing which plants to include in your landscaping, make sure you know how big the species grows, as well as how fast it grows. You don't it taking over!
If you're looking to get some help with your home's landscaping design in the Asheville area, B.B. Barns in South Asheville is a great place to go! They're a garden center, offering plants and supplies, as well as a landscape design center. They can help you design the right plans for your home and do all the work, too!
What are your favorite landscaping tips? What do you want to add to your property? Leave a comment and let me know!
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