The front of your house isn’t just the first thing people notice—it sets the tone for everything else. If you’re lacking curb appeal, you’re likely not giving off the best first impression. Good thing it’s easy to fix—and often, you don’t have to spend a pretty penny to do so.
Boosting curb appeal is a matter of taking inventory of your front yard and what it could potentially be. Picture a vibrant garden, a charming water feature, or colorful flowers and shrubs lining your walkway.
To get you started, we consulted experts in the landscaping, real estate, and design industries to get their opinions on what landscaping moves have the most impact.
Regular Lawn Service
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One of the best things you can do for your property, according to Eric Halfman, a John Deere expert cited in a Martha Stewart article, is to keep your lawn well-kept.
Frank Strum, founder and CEO of GreenAce Lawn Care agrees that “consistent mowing and high-quality fertilization are essential to achieve a uniform, vibrant green that’s both eye-catching and easy to maintain,” resulting in “a healthy vibrant lawn.” So don’t skip the regular maintenance and hire a landscaping service if you’re too busy to do it yourself.
Outdoor Lighting
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Adding some lighting to your front yard is a “game-changer for evening curb appeal and safety,” according to Sean Grabow, owner of Central City Solutions, a home-buying company.
When flipping homes, he “install[s] low-voltage LED path lights about 4-6 feet apart, angled to highlight both the walkway and plant textures.” These are cost-effective additions to a front yard.
Window Boxes
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Window boxes are another great way to add appeal, according to Verdura Garden Design founder Sara Gasbarra. She advises “fill[ing] them with a combination of flowers, foliage, and herbs.
These are a cost-effective way to create some vertical appeal and dress up your home’s facade, and it’s easy enough to swap out plants as the seasons change.
Stone Walkway
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If you have a lengthy front yard, you might want to consider breaking up the landscaping to include a stone or rock walkway, which adds a touch of elegance and can boost value. Eduard Negodenko, a landscaping and construction expert who serves as the managing director of Avanti Landscaping, “love[s] making use of natural flagstone or pavers with crushed gravel” for simple elegance.
In fact, CEO Mike Wall of EZ Sell Homebuyers notes that a single client increased “their home’s value by $15K just by adding a curved stone pathway bordered with drought-resistant lavender and salvias” creating an eye-catching, yet minimal needs display.
Use Architectural Elements
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Negodenko also notes that architectural elements like “potted plants or seating arrangements” help create “a welcoming front porch space.” And don’t be afraid to put “a little paint on the front door,” as that will help create a sense of cohesiveness.
Other suggestions he includes are adding “hanging baskets, a birdbath, or even a trellis climbed with roses or jasmine.”
Add Clear Borders
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Don’t overlook the idea of adding borders to your yard. Legacy Countertops owner Pablo Cavalcante says sometimes simple changes like “decorative stone or brick edging” can take a “space from bland to grand” while simultaneously creating additional curb appeal.
Consider placing these borders around specific features, like a rock or mailbox garden.
Trim Your Hedges
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Having hedges in your yard contributes to its curb appeal, but not so much if they’re overgrown and haggard-looking. Like your lawn, you should pay attention to your shrubs and ensure they’re trimmed regularly.
Keep them at a decent height, typically no taller than your windows to create a lush, green appearance that’s both tidy and elegant.
Add a Focal Point
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One thing Shehar Yar, CEO of Software House, suggests “is to create a strong focal point—such as a beautifully designed entryway, a distinctive tree, or an eye-catching water feature—that draws the eye and anchors the overall design.”
Most of the time, these are not expensive additions, but the potential payoff in both curb appeal and perceived value can be significant
Enhance Your Mailbox with a Garden
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In addition to making sure your mailbox is in good condition, why not try to draw more eyes to the property by planting flowers around it and edging it with decorative stone or brick?
It’s what I did with my former home soon after moving in because it just felt right to pretty up the space. Doing so added a touch of elegance, plus, it was done in a day and didn’t break the bank.
Use Repurposed Materials
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Repurposed materials can really help draw a person’s eye to a front yard, especially since it’s not the norm. Ryan Young, owner of Revive Marketing Services, helped a client increase their engagement by “showcas[ing] their vintage wheelbarrow herb garden and recycled brick pathway” on social media.
Barry L. Smith, founder and CEO of Homesmith, similarly “us[ed] old wooden pallets as vertical planters and repurposed stone for borders” helping to create an eye-catching display that didn’t break the bank.
Add Plants on Your Porch
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The porch is often one overlooked area when it comes to creating curb appeal. Joseph Commisso, a full-time real estate investor and owner of Northview Home Buyers, suggests “adding colorful flowers or potted plants near the entrance [to make] the space more inviting.”
For best results, alternate the sizes to create a multidimensional display.
Focus on the Entry
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If you want to make a good impression, plant colorful flowers or bold greenery at the entrance to your property, even if this means extending your gardening to the curb. You want to draw eyes and Wall says years of flipping homes has taught him “that layering different heights of plants creates instant curb appeal.”
He recommends “put[ting] tall ornamental grasses in back, flowering shrubs in the middle, and ground cover plants up front.”