Your home’s visually attractive and warm welcome is also known as curb appeal. It is how your exterior looks- the house and the yard.
The curb appeal is very important for your guests’ first impression before entering your home. Fortunately, the curb appeal is not down to luxurious furniture or expensive outdoor elements.
It depends on the organization of the yard, its maintenance, the updated look of some major outdoor elements and the addition of a few that are cheap but important for the curb appeal.
With our collection of 25 DIY Curb Appeal Ideas we will show you that curb appeal can be affordable and look expensive at the same time!
1. Create a Dry River Bed Around The Exterior Walls
The dry streams or also known as dry river beds are great for covering an uneven section of your yard or create an edge between areas.
They are easy to make and can be made with all kinds of rocks and stones. According to your visual idea, the key to giving the creek the perfect shape is to outline it with lining first.
The river beds also have a functional feature when made next to the exterior walls, ensuring no water retention.
2. Create An Appealing Front Yard
Your guests will get a first impression of your property from its beginning, i.e. the front yard so make sure that it is well-maintained and appealing. Adding planters is an easy and cheap way to give the front yard an elegant look.
There are plenty of ideas on how to arrange them but here we suggest a unique stacked terra cotta planter.
The best flowers for such a planter are cascading varieties that will follow the inclined position of the pots and will create a flowing and vibrant accent.
via We Heart This
3. Make Walkways
Walkways are not only functional but also décor valuable. They will show the right way through your yard but will also make it look more organized and neat.
A budget-friendly walkway idea here features a river stone bed and wooden planks arranged tightly in a zig-zag pattern.
4. Create A Relaxing Corner Around A Tree
If you have an old tree with a lush crown, build a bench around it to enjoy the natural shade and admire the surrounding landscape.
The cheapest material to assemble it is pallet slats. Before screwing them into the support, smooth them well. Add vibrant pillows to make sitting comfortable and why not a string of lights at the crown to enjoy the bench also at night?
via Addicted 2 DIY
5. Cover The Electrical Box
The number 1 rule of curb appeal is to keep the main elements of the yard decluttered. These are the driveway, the walkways and the lawn.
External units like AC, hoses, and electrical boxes are usually next to the walkways and they look so odd and overwhelming. Here is a great and cheap solution- hide them behind a cabinet.
via Shabby Glam
6. Decorate The Fence
Your classic picket fence can be given a whimsy look with faux gems. Get a few packages from the craft store and insert each in a hole preliminary drilled in the wood.
When the sun shines, the rays will be refracted through the glass and the colors will reflect on the adjacent surfaces.
This idea will surely improve the overall curb appeal of the outdoors for less than $10.
via Garden Mama
7. Decorate With Flower Boxes
Adding flower boxes is a good and easy idea to give the outdoors a pop of color and charm. You can install them on the external window sills, at the fence edge, or directly on the ground.
For an elegant and sophisticated look, opt for wooden boxes. You can also find good plastic planters imitating wood, marble, concrete or stone texture.
via Jenny Steffens
8. Add Charming Solar-powered Decoration
Solar lamps are great for outdoor decoration. You can find a wide variety of models that will suit the space in the garden. Here, we show you an idea of DIY solar-powered lamps for the fence. They are made from Mason jars in navy blue color.
Attaching to the fence happens with plain rack hooks. This combination adds a rustic touch and is suitable for a picket fence decoration or a plain chain-link fence.
via Thrifty Home
9. Make The Garage Door More Attractive
The garage door is an important part of curb appeal. You can easily update its look with a good power wash and the addition of decorative elements mimicking wrought iron hardware.
The set can be found for $15 and installation is easy-peasy. Thanks to the magnet back of the parts you only need to stick them to the garage door.
via Bliss Images
10. Blend The Electrical Box With the Exterior Wall
One of the ways to hide the electrical box is to put it into a hand-made cabinet. The other way to smoothen its look and make it not that striking is to paint the box the same color as the exterior wall to which it is attached.
11. Update The Front Door With Crown Molding
The front door is the face of your home, hence special attention should be paid to its condition and look.
We recommend that you refresh the paint on the door every year. Another way to update its look is to add crown molding at the top of it.
This will lengthen the door visually and give it a more sophisticated look.
via Jilly and Mia
12. Revamp The Light Fixtures
The outdoor light fixtures are exposed to tougher conditions and in time, their surfaces get damaged.
Plain spray paint can quickly restore the condition of the lamp. To create an accent, go for metallic colors that contrast with the exterior surface.
13. Make the Garden Edges Perfect
Improve the curb appeal inexpensively by making the garden edges perfect. Pavers, bricks, and stones are perfect for defining the edge in a perfect and clean line.
This edging is helpful not only for the visual appearance of the garden but also for keeping the soil in place and limiting the weeds’ growth.
via Garden World
14. Add Vertical Planters
Improve the curb appeal of your home by adding more plants to the outdoor décor. Plenty of DIY ideas for planters made of affordable or upcycled materials exist.
This one showcases copper buckets transformed into herb pots. They are added to window frames creating a living and aromatic wall collage.
via Lowes
15. Add A Vertical Garden
Another great idea for decoration with plants is this big fence vertical garden. It is made from pallet slats forming box-shaped garden beds.
They are stacked in a zig-zag pattern to offer enough space for the seeded plants to grow to their optimum size.
This type of garden is great for small yards or in cases when you need more space for gardening without overwhelming the lawn.
via Homemade Modern
16. Update The Landscape With A Walkway
We already mentioned how important the walkways are for curb appeal. They refresh the garden and function as a connection and divider between different yard zones.
This wooden walkway is made from slats in a dark stain. If you have any reclaimed wood material, why not upcycle it for a garden walkway? Before laying down the slats, prepare the ground and treat the wood with a suitable coating that will extend the wood’s life.
17. Hide The Hose
You would be surprised how important it is for the curb appeal to keep all tools and gadgets for the garden well organized. A tangled hose left on the ground instantly creates a chaotic vision and also is hazardous for the people passing through the yard.
This inexpensive curb appeal idea offers you an easy way to keep the hose coiled for the next usage and hidden from sight. To make this DIY project cost-effective, consider salvaged wood for the cabinet.
via DIY Candy
18. Welcome With Elegance
The classic decor item for welcoming guests is the wreath. Its original shape is round but you can customize it in the family’s initial shape.
The basis of the monogram can be cardstock, thin wood or Styrofoam. The decoration is up to you but we suggest that you choose something more universal to be able to use the wreath all year long.
If you prefer embellishment that matches the season, go for faux flowers for spring and summer, leaves, berries and pumpkins for fall and pinecones and Christmas tree ornaments for winter.
via Daisy Mae Belle
19. Revamp The Mailbox
Another important element that affects the overall curb appeal is the mailbox. If you already have one, have you paid attention to its condition? Opt for restoring its surface every year. Another way to make it more appealing and eye-catching is to upgrade it.
Add the street address, the family name or a sign on the post of the mailbox. Insert it in a galvanized tub with planted flowers or surround it with a garden bed.
20. Hide The AC
The big outdoor air-conditioners are not the greatest part of the yard, are they? With a DIY structure, you can easily assemble a wood cover that will hide it.
You can use plain lumber like pallet slats because the structure has a décor value, not a functional one. Make sure that you space the slats at some distance to let air access and go out.
21. Update The Porch Windows
Give the porch a more inviting look with window shutters. You can get them from a thrift shop or make them yourself.
Depending on the style you want to impose, you can give the shutters a weathered look for a rustic accent or paint them a bright color in case the porch needs a vibrant accent.
22. Create A Floral Focal Point In The Garden
The well-maintained garden is another key to impressive curb appeal. That can be a backyard full of wide varieties or only a small garden bed with seasonal flowers.
Check this idea for a sunflower obelisk, isn’t it amazing? The structure of the obelisk reminds a tomato cage. Instead of wire and thin slats, for this DIY inexpensive curb appeal project, you need thicker slats that will give the structure a good shape and strength.
via Oliver and Rust
23. Add A House Number Plaque
The house number plates do give the house a polished look. You can find them for cheap in different craft stores or make one yourself in the style and design that suits most the house exterior.
There are ideas with faux moss and grass, metallic numbers, license plates and plenty with wood. This one features a mix of rustic and modern combining stained wood with metallic numbers.
24. Add A Birdhouse With The House Number
Birdhouses are a typical farmhouse exterior décor. They are charming and can be given an interesting function different than their original one.
This creative idea shows that a plain birdhouse can become the vintage focal point of the house with a simple addition- a license plate with the house number.
You can get one of these metal plates from Etsy customizing it with the words, numbers and colors you like.
via Countryliving
25. Painted House Numbers
If you like the idea of adding house numbers to your home, here is a cheap and easy DIY idea. Get the numbers in size and shape you like from a craft store. Then, paint each a different color that will add a vibrant accent to the exterior wall.
You can screw or glue them directly on the flat surface or you can add them to an existing decoration such as a birdhouse, a planter, or a mailbox.
via Countryliving
