When it comes to selling your house, first impressions are everything, so make sure you make a good one. When potential buyers visit a house, one of the first items they would notice is the landscaping. It’s important to make thoughtful decisions when focusing on outdoor home and yard renovations to help improve home value, whether it’s including clipped hedges or tended flower beds.
If you’re wondering where to begin, consider these landscaping tips to improve your home’s curb appeal before putting it on the market.
Choose an Appropriate Look For All Seasons
Begin by looking for plants that will grow in your area’s climate or weather. If you live in a tropical or hot climate, a cactus surrounded by single-standing shrubs might be a perfect choice for a year-round look. If you live in a colder climate, going for shrubs such as dwarf pine varieties looks good all year, even when shrouded in snow. Contact a local nursery to find out which plants will survive in your area.
Design Based on Your Home’s Style
The next step is to assess the design and style of your home before proceeding on a landscaping project. The landscape will compliment your home’s details and exterior if done properly.
Ask yourself simple questions like, what material is my house made of? What is the style of the home? What part of the home do you want to highlight?
A Cape Cod theme would best look good on a mirrored, symmetrical landscaping renovation. This will enhance its uniqueness and increase its curb appeal. Cottage plants like hydrangeas and roses and shrubs go well with distressed wood, walkways, and shutters.
For a Victorian home style, avoid doing so much landscaping that will divert the attention from the design and natural beauty of your house. Consider planting a few big trees around your Victorian’s base, or flowers to add color.
Install an Irrigation System
Let’s be honest: we always forget to water our plants. Setting an Irrigation system with timers, water gauges, and moisture meters will help maintain the lawn to look perfect without the effort of manual watering. Installing one in your yard offers several advantages, including continuous irrigation, avoidance of unequal water delivery, and controlled watering. This is particularly useful in hot climates where the grass can wither and die during the summer months.
Add Height & Curves in the Landscape Renovation
Improve your home’s curb appeal by incorporating curves and height in the lawn while preparing your landscaping renovation. Adding curves and height to your landscape will help to establish symmetry and improve surrounding fences, making your landscape look more sleek and new. Retaining walls or edging may be used to separate flower beds from grass.
Look for small trees that do not touch the roofline if the roof is lower. Window planter boxes can also help to raise greenery above ground level. All of these landscaping improvements will help you achieve a natural, dynamic look for your home’s exterior.
Additional Home Privacy
If you want to bring more privacy to your house, landscaping can be a wonderful option. There are several ways to improve privacy, like adding large tall trees around your property, adding vines to your fence, or trellises.
If you live near a main road or building, installing partitions, fencing, and trees will even serve as excellent exterior barriers.
Add a Water Feature
If you have the extra outdoor space, adding a water feature to your landscaping renovation will add tranquility and calm. You may design a sunken garden surrounded by shrubs and flowers, or a pond with a fountain in the center. There are also pipe-shaped fountains that can be used to complement yards in desert climates by making them look like ornamental rocks. Alternatively, if you own a multi-million dollar home with a swimming pool, providing well-maintained landscaping around the base will actually increase the value of your house based on its venue.
Make A Statement Through Different Pathways
Pathways come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and they help connect your garden. There are several ways to revamp your pathway depending on the style of your home, including Casual garden paths laid with stone and moss, curved walkways, colorful concrete, Or traditional brick inlays.
All of these can attract people to go to a certain area of your yard. Based on your home’s architecture and curb appeal, choose the type of pathway that will look best.
Proper Lighting Is The Key
Landscaping renovations will instantly get lost in the night after the sun goes down. Mount lights to highlight your home’s landscaping to keep it as a focal point. Lighting not only adds a premium feel to your house, but it can also serve as a key tool by making it look lived in.
Proper lighting will also extend the time you can spend outside if your home has amenities like a pool or a fire pit area.