Why the big deal with street appeal?

Two reasons really – you might be thinking of selling or you want your house to say something about you. This post is about the latter. I’ll say more about street appeal for selling in subsequent posts.

Our homes and the way they look say a great deal about us. You can usually tell a little about the person living in a house from the way it is presented. The way that we dress and present ourselves gives an insight into our character. We give a lot of thought about what we will wear for a job interview, a first date and a much anticipated special occasion. Most of us care about the way we are perceived and so it follows that we should give the same thought to how our house appears from the street as passers-by are making a judgement about you based on what they see.

Exterior blog

Photo by Michael Kumm

Clearly the person who lives in this house is neat and tidy but has a great sense of fun. I would imagine that the occupant here loves life and is great to be around. They are probably a creative type who is not afraid of colour but knows how to use it to its best advantage. The blue works well on the shingles as their pattern breaks up the intensity of the colour and provides a natural light and dark shadow. The window boxes are pretty without being too neat and the hanging baskets are placed at different heights, which makes things interesting.

A window box is one of the easiest ways to give your house character. People can really gain an insight into who you are by the colours that you select and this is an inexpensive yet effective way to dress your house without calling in a tradesperson. When you are putting together a colour scheme, firstly think about what you like. This is important as when you come home you need to be uplifted and feel happy. You should also consider the colours of your house and what is already planted in your garden.

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Planting out a window box is fun as you can introduce layers as you would for a garden bed but without all the back breaking digging – it really is a bit like arranging a large vase of flowers. Perennials and greenery can provide the basis with pretty annuals introduced for fun and colour.

Flower boxes blog

Photos by Spencer Means

So, if you agree that street appeal is important and would like to find out more, you might like to sign up here to my Free Resource Library which contains my e-book – Five Steps for Great Street Appeal amongst other useful checklists and books. It really would be great to have you on-board. You will also receive a regular newsletter with updates about my blog posts packed with lots of advice and images – you will be on your way to Making your HOME beautiful.