Amplify Your Home’s Curb Appeal with Helpful Tips from AMC!
The definition for curb appeal is pretty self explanatory. It describes how the overall exterior appearance of your home looks to your guests, neighbors, prospective buyers or anyone else passing by. But why does curb appeal only matter to everyone outside the home? You should enjoy the way it looks, too. You may think that because you spend more time indoors, that the exterior doesn’t matter too much. But, what if improving the exterior made you want to spend more time outdoors enjoying the yard and amenities that are part of your home?
Let’s take a look at some options for improving the exterior appearance of your home that can make it more comfortable for you, more attractive to anyone passing by and safer and more protected, too.
New Exterior Paint
One of the quickest ways to refresh your home with focus on a single project is new exterior paint. Paint has a way of turning aging siding and trim into a fresh, new look that makes homeowners feel great about their curb appeal. Even better, new paint reseals your siding and trim, ensuring a new era of protection from harsh UV rays, bad weather or anything else nature decides to throw at your home.
Paint doesn’t just protect your home and make you happier with its appearance. It’s also a helpful way to improve your chances of selling if you put your house on the market. Check out this article on how painting can improve your home value to learn more about the impact!
The key to new exterior paint is balance Consider using a more neutral color for the body of your home, then add a pop of energy with a brightly colored front door or a uniquely contrasting trim. Here are some of our more popular neutrals, plus a few of Sherwin-Williams’ top selections for doors and trim. (C created swatches that are ready in the task)
Neutral Exterior Body Colors:
Bold Exterior Door Paint Colors:
Exterior Trim Colors
Exterior Lighting Gives Homes a True Glow-Up!
The options for exterior lighting have increased dramatically in recent years. Homeowners are no longer stuck with the choice between a single dull bulb lighting the porch or glaring security lights that make the yard feel more like a penitentiary. Today’s homeowners have real options for installing lighting that’s as beautiful and fun as it is functional. AMC’s Illumination division installs some incredible soffit lighting and we’ve seen firsthand how it can change the way you — and others — see your home!
Some of the most popular features for permanent exterior lighting include:
- Permanent Christmas Lights: Don’t spend another year on the ladder using a giant stapler to poke holes in your siding and trim to put up inferior string lights. And don’t waste time taking them down when the next holiday is right around the corner, either. Permanent Christmas lights can easily become permanent New Year’s Eve lights, Independence day lights or Halloween lights with a few simple clicks. You’ll have the most festive house on the block in every season and show off your holiday spirit.
- Color Changing Lights: The reason you can keep count on permanent soffit lighting to be relevant for every season is color changing capabilities. The newer systems our lighting division installs include app-based controls with millions of color options. It’s really incredible! Talk about curb appeal. Show off the colors of your favorite sports team or rep your child’s high school colors before the next big game or graduation.
- Mood Lighting: Turn it up, turn it down, set it to a pattern — exterior soffit lighting can create the mood in your yard anytime, whether you’re turning up the lights for that intense game of horse at the family basketball hoop or creating a cozy ambiance for hushed conversations around the backyard fire pit.
- Safety, Timers and More: Curb appeal isn’t always about standing out. Sometimes it’s about fitting in. Modern lighting allows you to use timers and other app controls to ensure your system isn’t a detriment to your neighbors. You can also use it to make your yard safer and deter vandals from coming onto your property.
Landscaping
You don’t have to install an English maze in your yard to boost curb appeal with landscaping. A little clean-up, some creative lighting and you’ll soon have a look and feel that highlights the best features of your yard. Some of our favorite ways to improve your home with landscaping include:
Landscape Lighting — Like exterior soffit lighting, landscape lighting options have become incredibly versatile and aesthetically pleasing while still serving a practical purpose. Today’s options can light up a walkway, highlight unique features in your yard or turn your deck into a magical place for evening entertaining. In the event that you do put your house on the market, your lighting investment will help give prospective buyers another reason to take a second look.
Yard Maintenance — As a painting company, we tend to promote general yard maintenance anyway. After all, trimmed shrubs and trees do protect your siding, decking, fencing and outbuildings. They also look much neater to passersby and ensure the yard stays easy to keep neat and tidy. Other simple steps like investing in nice planters that coordinate with your exterior color palette or adding arbors and other decorative elements can also beautify outdoor spaces.
Refinish Your Deck and Fence
Stain can also be a huge helper in boosting your home’s overall appearance, especially when it comes to porches, decking and fencing. Let’s talk about decks and porches first.
Deck and Porch Staining
Despite an uptick in the use of composite decking, many homeowners still prefer the look of natural wood — or do not want to invest in ripping out the wood to replace it with new deck material. However, that doesn’t mean wooden decks need to look old or worn out, or stay the same shade for life. Refinishing your deck can help restore the wood’s appearance to its original glory! Restaining also protects your natural wood for a new era of entertaining, grilling and hanging out with your favorite people. Many decks can be stripped by your painting company with minimal sanding and chemicals and the colors available are amazing.
Deck Stain Colors:
Fence Staining
We’ve come to expect that fencing eventually goes the way of the dark and dingy, weather-stained wood, but why? Refinishing is an option and once you do it, you’ll wonder why you waited to make the decision. Re-staining a fence can transform it so it looks brand new. It will also protect it from harsh weather like rain, snow and the 300+ days of Colorado sunshine that dry it out with UV damage. Give your fence a classic look or take it up a notch with an unexpected shade. Check out some of our favorites:
Fence Stain Colors:
Get Curb Appeal You’ll Love Coming Home To! Call AMC for a Complimentary Estimate.
Ready to get going on your next big project to boost curb appeal? AMC can help! We offer a variety of paint, stain and lighting services to help you transform your space. Let use show you how to bring your vision to life. We offer no-pressure, no-risk, complimentary estimates to help you make an informed decision about your improvements and upgrades!
