Enhancing the curb appeal of your home is important for a number of reasons, the main one being that it will improve the value of your home if you decide to sell. If you want to find a way of doing this without breaking the bank, read on. Outlined are five tips that can help you boost your home's curb appeal without breaking a sweat in these times when everyone is trying to practice frugal living.
Get Stone Veneer
Stone adds an exquisite look to any home, and it can take yours from an average home to a sophisticated one. Unfortunately, real stone can be rather expensive. This is where stone veneer comes in. Stone veneer is faster and easier to install than real stone. In addition, it typically costs between 40% to 70% less. These are advantages that you can't look past when you're practicing frugal living. Shop around and work with an expert to get the best for your home, and you will have a head-turning house exterior in no time at all.
Clean Up
Sometimes, all it takes to improve the aesthetics of your home is a good clean-up. You will get instant results because the dirt washes off to reveal an attractive exterior underneath. Start with the roof and gutters, remove any debris present there, and then remove any mold and mildew that may have started forming on the trim. Next, wash the windows on both the outside and the inside. You can finish up by power washing the driveways. If you can fit it into your budget, you may want to use Viking Power washing, for example, to help you clean, especially if there are tough to remove stains. However, if this is not possible, try to rally up your family, and with some cleaning solutions you already have and elbow grease, you will be able to stand back and admire your sparkling house.
Make a Budget and Stick to it
If you have an improvement you want to make, it's often easy to get carried away and start making changes and never stop. To avoid doing this, it's important to do your research and then come up with a budget. This may be the easy part as you will likely come across gorgeous additions and endless upsells that you will want to implement, but you will need to reign it in. With 55% of homeowners planning to start or continue renovation projects this winter, you can expect to be in great company while out shopping for what to get, but don't get carried away and spend on things you were not planning to spend on just because everyone else is.
Work on the Landscape
Your landscape is often the biggest reflection of your efforts outdoors, so make it count this season by sprucing it up. Add flower boxes where there's room and prune if you have some flowers already. Trim your hedges as well, and cut off excessive branches that may be obstructing the view of your house. Doing this will likely cost you a weekend and some sweat, but it's the cheapest way to improve your home's appearance.
Paint it
If you've worked on the other suggestions or you feel like they just might not cut it, you can always fall back on painting it. In the U.S., the cost of painting the exterior of the average home ranges between $1,700 to $4,000, bringing the average price per square foot to between $0.50 and $3.30. While there will be other factors playing a role in determining the final cost, you can use these estimates to find out how much you need to set aside for the job.
Frugal living doesn't have to make you live a dull and unattractive life. Make use of the five tips above to improve your home's curb appeal while sticking to an affordable budget.
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