If only your front door looked as good as the day you installed it. But it deals with a lot of foot traffic and may be showing its years. Don’t worry! The simplest way to make a new statement is to paint it a new color. Here are some other ideas:
- Install a door that complements the details in your home’s architectural style or lets in some light.
- Hang a wreath or other decoration to personalize your entrance.
- Clean and fix anything dirty or broken near your door—restore the old shine of your mailboxes and light fixtures!
- Install a lantern—it’s simple yet adds depth to a flat exterior.
A final tip: Preserving symmetry is a classic way to dress up your front entrance. Whatever you do, let symmetry be your guide.
The main act
Your front walk frames your front door—let your personality spill out from the stage and into the audience. Here are some plans to make it pop:
- Install outdoor lighting along a front path. Consider using solar fixtures to go green and avoid the hassle of wiring! But keep in mind that they are not as bright as electric lights.
- Create a quick and affordable container garden and bring nature right up to your doorstep. Buy arrangements or plant your own plants in many different sizes to impress the eye.
- Decorate a mailbox. Paint the post the same color as your house and adorn it with flowers around the base for a finished look.
- Update planter beds by pulling weeds, resetting old stone walls, adding new mulch, or installing features like arbors, walkways or fountains.
A final tip: Be sure any plants you add don’t have aggressive roots that could damage buried utilities or trees that could drip sap onto your parked car.
The stage itself
You want your home to be One Singular Sensation. To jazz up the whole exterior of your home, consider these ideas:
- Repainting always freshens up the look of a home, whether it be a complete new coat or just the trim and shutters.
- Adding window boxes in copper, iron or wood is a charming way to introduce more plants to your exterior.
- Updating the driveway by staining the concrete or installing flagstones can have the effect of a complete redo without the cost.
A final tip: Many of the tips above will work not only to increase the beauty of your home but also to hide the garage. Bright paint elsewhere, soft foliage, and a nice front walkway will all draw the eye to the front door instead.
Use the above guidelines, add your own imagination, and see what happens!