Grand Rapids, MI · Member since 2013 · 99 posts · 30 votes
This house is a perfect rectangle. There is no even minor bump outs in front.. its so blah.
No covered porch (small deck to the front door). The siding and windows are all one peachy/tan color... I need ideas for curb appeal! I am adding flower boxes under the windows, putting up a flag, and maybe adding shutters... Any other ideas or < $500 ? Can I paint vinyl windows so add some color variation?
I'll put on my landscape architect cap for a quick reply:
Sawcut out & remove the asphalt at the bottom of the steps and in front of the deck, at least 2.5' in front of the deck if you can.
Add a piece or two of flagstone or pre-cast rectangular stepstones at the bottom of the steps. Put a large pot right in that planter area below the deck with a tall blooming plant or plant with large, strappy dramatic leaves in the pot. Make the pot as big as you can,. Add Plants around the pot, but not a hedge. You are trying to soften the line of the deck and add more of a three-dimensional effect.
Plant creeping thyme around the stepstones at the bottom of the stairs.
Add (3) oversized pots on top of the asphalt on the other corner of the steps.
Buy two brightly colored adirondack chairs at World Market. Put them on the deck.
Add a frame around the house numbers.
Make sure the lockset for the front door is updated and feels nice to the touch.
Buy a large doormat for inside and outside the door.
I think stone on this simple house is a bad idea--trying too hard for such a simple place.
If this is a retail flip I think adding the shutters will really help offset the plain rectangle feel and help it sell faster. I don't know how many windows you have but at HD they have vinyl shutters for $35/pair so for maybe $300 including install you could give the house some dimension.
I would also add at least 1 taller bush/tree off on the corner somewhere again to break up that 2D feel of everything.
Ranches here sell immediately with very little lipstick!!!
Nicely Finished basements add the biggest value.
But i like to blow out the walls on the main floor just for fun.
Matt Devincenzo - shutters are locked in as a must. Hopefully those and window boxes will spice it up :)
Bill Gulley here is a picture (hopefully it works) of the front and the side, sorry for the delay!
You can see there is plenty of space for a garage/breezeway... but I feel like it will just be a wash (10k to build, add 10k to listing price) Is it worth the hassle? I'd love your opinion.
Overall budget for the outside is still being discussed... I was hoping to do all curb appeal for ~$500-$1,000... but obviously a garage could change that.
I'll also add... this house will have a ARV in the 115-130k range. It's a 1/2 acre lot in a desirable school district... many of the houses on this street have long term/older owners and I have a feeling there will be a lot of transition in the next 5-10 years... So we will envision our buyer being a young family/first time home buyer.
You could apply stacked stone veneer panels to the bottom third of the exterior front wall. This will likely cost more than $500, but it makes a huge difference and is a popular trend at the moment.
Manufactured stacked stone panels sell for around $5 per square foot in my area. I am not sure what the installation cost would be in your area.
Here are some links to house pictures and a company who manufactures stacked stone panels:
I like Tim's idea with the stone, I'd go nuts with. Ranch design certainly uses stone and brick half walls with cap ledges. I would the the question would be how much are you locked into price ceiling?
The biggest issue I see is the parking lot, guess they didn't want to mow! I assume that's blacktop. If you go with some stone, I'd get rid of the landscape timbers along the house and build a stone planter.
I'd also carry the planter theme out on the front parking lot, not very high, maybe just a foot, kinda like a free form swimming pool shape, and landscape the inside. It would define the driveway and approach to the home, but leave enough space to turn around and drive through.
If that blacktop goes around the back I'd consider a carport, the driveway is already there. Easy to cut through it and set posts, rock'em and match the roof pitch of the house as a gable. A carport could go to the side just in front of that side door, breezeway? Adding a garage or carport from the front of that house will probably give you electrical service issues as the service line should not be over the roof anymore than necessary and you don't want to enclose the meter.
Lots you could do, but some homebuyers can be sold on the potential if you show them plans. Many buy dreams, not just a house. :)
I'll put on my landscape architect cap for a quick reply:
Sawcut out & remove the asphalt at the bottom of the steps and in front of the deck, at least 2.5' in front of the deck if you can.
Add a piece or two of flagstone or pre-cast rectangular stepstones at the bottom of the steps. Put a large pot right in that planter area below the deck with a tall blooming plant or plant with large, strappy dramatic leaves in the pot. Make the pot as big as you can,. Add Plants around the pot, but not a hedge. You are trying to soften the line of the deck and add more of a three-dimensional effect.
Plant creeping thyme around the stepstones at the bottom of the stairs.
Add (3) oversized pots on top of the asphalt on the other corner of the steps.
Buy two brightly colored adirondack chairs at World Market. Put them on the deck.
Add a frame around the house numbers.
Make sure the lockset for the front door is updated and feels nice to the touch.
Buy a large doormat for inside and outside the door.
I think stone on this simple house is a bad idea--trying too hard for such a simple place.
Beth Declercq It looks like a mobile home! You could tear out some of the asphalt and put at least a small front yard with some landscaping. As for painting the vinyl windows, go talk to someone at the paint store and ask them what it takes, and if you're going with a dark color on the body of the house, you can do the vinyl a darker color, they don't have to be bright white. Some shutters and maybe window boxes would help with the no landscaping, and give some style.
Try going on to Sherwin Williams website and use the free software to try out different color combos.
I would not paint the window frames. I cannot visualize that looking appropriate, but I could be wrong.
A good power wash and a cedar or redwood color stain on the deck would help add some "pop".Maybe you could go with cedar shutters stained to match? I would not like flower boxes personally and would worry abou the termite inspector calling that a "conducive condition". However, that would probably be the least expensive thing you could do fo fill some of that space between the ground and the windows. A bird bath might look good over their. I deally, you would have taller bushes below those windows, but that alone would probably cost more than 500.
I think I would probably remove that awning on the right hand side of the house, too.
The front door would look best, IMO, if you painted the door dark red and put a brass kick plate on the bottom and a brass knocker. If a storm door was a must, I would replace it with a full glass door to make it look the best.