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Friday, May 25, 2018

Giving Your Front Yard a Makeover

~ This is a featured post. ~

However diligent you are in making your interiors beautiful, the frontage of your property can be left behind and start to look a little sad and neglected. Your front garden is, after all, an important part of your home and returning to see a well-ordered, welcoming area will give you a lift after a hard day at work. Equally, coming home to a run-down house will be depressing, no matter lovely it is inside. Luckily there are some easy fixes to transform your frontage from plain and dowdy to eye-catching, many of which needn’t cost a great deal. If your home is in need of a facelift, try some of these ideas.

Garage and Driveway
If you have a garage, it will be quite a dominant feature from the road. The first job will be to remove any weeds and dirt that have been left to proliferate, and give the garage and the drive a thorough clean and sweep. Washing your garage doors can breathe new life into them, and if they are a boring color or the paint is fading, rub them down and give them a fresh coat of paint in a new, cheery color. If they’re damaged, inoperable or out of date, you can get very smart, fully automated doors from companies like All About Doors, so if they are beyond saving, work out a budget for replacing them. Once the driveway is clear, see if there are any potholes or broken areas that need infilling, and check all the pipes, gutters and drains around the garage.

The House
Washing the windows will bring back sparkle to your glass, and make a big difference to the look of your house. Getting a window cleaner in on a regular basis isn’t overly expensive, and will keep the glass looking clean and shiny all year round, so it’s a worthwhile investment. If you have UPVC or similar fixtures, a wash will spruce them up nicely too. Wooden sills and fascias might need a coat of paint, or if rotten, they will need replacing. The same is true of the front door, and as it is a focal point for the house, it’s good to have a smart, clean door that suits the building. If your door is damaged or doesn’t have the best standards of security, you should consider getting it replaced. You’ll need to remove any dead plants, weeds, rubbish, and belongings from the front area, and replace them with clean pots and plants that bring color and style to the frontage. If you’re not much of a gardener, use low maintenance and drought-resistant plants, and make use of exterior artworks to bring color and interest to the house.

Unless you’ve let things get out of hand, it shouldn’t take too much time to get everything ship-shape again. Once it’s tidy, try and maintain the area with a sweep and a wash-down on a regular basis, then you will be able to enjoy the bright, welcoming exterior of your home every time you see it.