I do not believe in love at first sight, at least when it comes to houses. I saw about fifty. One of the fifty I maybe kind of loved but being out of my price range it was more like lust than love. My little house had a lot of "potential" when I bought it. It was filthy, unloved and beige. The entirety of the house was beige/yellow with the exception of a superbly bland, white and black exterior. My 80+ year old grandmother, who is wise, stylish and full of good taste told me it was a mistake. That it was a "money pit". She couldn't see the potential. I must admit, I have questioned the "potential" a lot myself, including on the day I took possession. Good things take time and luckily time is something I have a lot of.
In today's modern world, a world where most house hunting happens on line, curb appeal is important. With over saturated housing markets, any future home owner scans dozens of listings before they narrow down their few favourites that they may want to see in person. Without curb appeal, a house can quickly be overlooked. I am convinced that is one of the main reasons I was able to land my house. The poor beast was overlooked. Curb appeal can not only increase the value of your home, but it can increase the value of your neighbour's homes. Happy neighbours are wonderful things!
To increase my curb appeal I did four very inexpensive things. They included painting my door a punchy colour and tearing off the horrible storm door (the one that kept catching my heels!). I put up shutters, window boxes and did a teensy, tiny bit of gardening (which includes flower pots). I figure everything cost less than $200 total and the change is dramatic. It amazes me how the little things make a huge difference!
This is my little house on the day I bought her, look at how naked and sad she looks!
Adding shutters reminded me of the change you see in a persons face when they go from having no eyebrows to painting them on. They frame your face and make your eyes "pop". Only problem was that shutters wouldn't fit on my lower windows, they were too close together...sigh.. The six shutters on the top cost $66.00. Thankfully my dad was around to help me put them up! Painting the door cost as much as a gallon of paint!
This is where the window boxes came in. They balanced the black on the top and evened everything out! Plus they will be so fun to decorate with evergreen boughs and Christmas garb in December! These were a gift from my dad (he is the best!) but I am certain they cost no more than $100 to have made.
Tahhhh-dahh! Xo
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