Simple Changes That Will Give Your Home a Fresh Look
Over time, homeowners become accustomed and comfortable in the familiar things. They might not notice if their house loses its curb appeal or becomes dreary or cluttered inside, but their neighbors and visitors do. For that reason, it’s a good idea to plan a new project now and then to freshen up your home’s look.
Changes That Will Give Your Home a Fresh Look: Clean Up Your Yard
Most homeowners keep the lawn well-trimmed, but other outdoor yard maintenance sometimes gets overlooked. Cleaning up your yard can make a huge difference in its appearance. Start by cutting back overgrown bushes and pulling out scraggly perennials. Add new mulch or garden rocks around trees and shrubbery. The edging can also be a problem. Plastic garden edging loosens up over time, and concrete edging becomes faded or caked with dirt and mold, so your edging may be in need of an upgrade. Power washing concrete driveways also brightens up your yard.
Also, evaluate the stuff that accumulates in your yard. Too many lawn decorations can look tacky; try using one decorative piece as an attractive focal point. Children may also contribute to lawn clutter with bikes and toys. Find a storage place and motivate kids to keep their things put away.
Paint Your Home
Unless you have low-maintenance siding, your house’s exterior will need painting every several years, depending on where you live and what weather conditions are like. When the surface of your house looks sun-faded or stained, it’s time to paint. Before painting, you may need to patch or repair some exterior surfaces. Wood surfaces or trims might need scraping and sanding before applying paint.
Painting the interior of your house will also rejuvenate your home’s look, even if it’s just a fresh coat of the same neutral shade. Think about adding a brighter colored accent wall or changing up the color scheme. It will be like walking into a brand new room.
Changes That Will Give Your Home a Fresh Look: Add Additional Lighting
The right lighting can change the appearance and mood of your house, both outside and inside. The outdoor lights on your porch or garage might need to be updated for both style and function. LED bulbs are brighter and more efficient than incandescent ones. Landscape lighting can be an inexpensive way to add a glamorous touch to your exterior. Add solar lights along paths or spotlights that shine upward against your home’s exterior.
Indoors, under cabinet lighting is both useful and decorative. Battery powered lights can stick to the bottom of your cabinets, or you can use LED strips. Last, installing dimmers can save energy and set a relaxing mood in bedrooms, living rooms, and dens.
New Doors
The front door is one of the first things visitors will definitely notice about your home. If your door is dull, sun-faded, or dingy, it can create a bad first impression. A new and brighter door—whether it’s white, wood-stained, or a popular bright color such as red or blue—will welcome guests and become an attractive focal point.
New entrance doors can enhance the look of your home and lower your energy bills. Older doors often develop tiny gaps that let in the outdoor elements. Energy efficient doors reduce drafts and cut your home’s energy use, on the other hand. Today’s new doors are better constructed and better insulated than those of a generation ago, and will give your home a new look.
Changes That Will Give Your Home a Fresh Look: Buy New Furniture
Normal wear and tear can make upholstered furniture look shabby after a few years. Often, the cushions will begin to sag and the cloth on the arms or headrest get stained or threadbare. It’s also not unusual for wood furniture to suffer many dents or scratches.
While it may be impractical and expensive to replace all your furniture, sometimes buying one new piece can give the entire room a new look. Consider a new sofa, side chair, or dining room table. New furniture also gives you an opportunity to update your room’s style by changing the color palette or adding a complementary color.
Decorate Like a Minimalist
Clutter doesn’t always take the form of piles of objects you forgot to put away. Sometimes your room’s décor creates a cluttered look and makes the room feel smaller or closed in. Nearly always, this is caused by using too much of a good thing—too many pictures on the wall, too many pillows on the couch, too many knick-knacks on the shelves, too much furniture in the room. While you don’t need to turn into an extreme minimalist, reducing the number of decorative items in a room can freshen up its look.
Changes That Will Give Your Home a Fresh Look: Replace Curtains
Curtains are useful and often decorative, but they can have the effect of making a room look dark and dreary. You can provide privacy and block out the sun by replacing heavy curtains with shades and blinds. These come in a variety of materials and designs that allow you to control the amount and intensity of light coming into your room.
Clear window views will not only provide natural light but they also make your room seem bigger and more open. There are also energy saving perks, since you can use natural light instead of turning on overhead lights or lamps. Some blinds can also help insulate drafty windows.
Declutter Your Garage
If you have so much stuff in your garage that you can’t park your car inside, it’s time to declutter. Chances are, you’re storing items you haven’t used in years and probably never will. It’s time to decide what should be tossed in the trash, donated, or offered up at your next garage sale. When you’ve decided what to keep, use shelves to take advantage of the vertical space along your walls. Overhead brackets can be used for storage bins, sports equipment, or boxes of seasonal decorations. When your garage is organized, and your car can be parked inside, the exterior of your house will look much neater.
It might be time for you to think seriously about how your home might look to others. With a little creativity and effort, you can improve the appearance of your home. A few simple changes can give your house a fresh look.
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Steelbridge Realty LLC is a Licensed Real Estate Brokerage that utilizes cutting-edge marketing techniques and data-driven Real Estate solutions in today’s ever-changing environment. Our group of professionals have decades of experience and have navigated through many business cycles. Our diverse background gives us the tools to guide people towards successful decisions.
