1. Clean up
The first thing Manfredini recommends is to clean up and declutter the outside of your home. Winter can often mat down shrubs and break branches in your yard, giving it an unkempt look. Spend a day raking up dead grass, pruning your bushes or trees and using a pressure washer to clean away mud or dirt from the sidewalks and driveway.
“It will be remarkable how much better your exterior on and around your home can look,” Manfredini said. “And you really didn’t spend any money, it was just really more of your time.”
2. Paint
A new coat of paint can go a long way in preventing your home from looking drab or rundown. Manfredini recommended touching up areas where the paint has started peeling, whether on the house or fence. He also suggested using accent colors to make your home look fresh and new.
“If you really want to change the look of your home, then paint the front door a color, and I mean a real color — a deep green or a deep red or a purple,” he said.
He said if you have shutters on your home to paint them a corresponding color to brighten the overall appearance.
Cost: $10 for good paint brush and $30 for typical gallon of paint.
3. Add Lighting
Adding flood lights can go a long way in brightening and “adding life to your home in the evening,” Manfredini said. A simple way to do it is to buy two LED flood lights, attach them to stakes, stick them in your front lawn close to the front of your home and point the lights towards your house. You can also buy stake lights.
“It’s accent lighting that creates a funnel effect of light,” he said. “It’s really a beautiful look.”
Manfredini recommended centering the lights if you have a center-entry home.
Cost: $12.99 for stakes and $20 for two packs of LED lightbulbs
4. Condition Your Lawn
The largest area around most homes is usually the lawn and so if the lawn is yellow or untrimmed, it is very noticeable. Manfredini said one of the best ways to achieve a really green lawn is to use soil conditions, not just fertilizers.
He recommends using
Milorganite, an all-natural soil conditioner, and sprinkling it on your grass about once a month during the spring and summer. Too much fertilizer can burn out the grass, but you can use soil conditioner more regularly, Manfredini said.
“It’s full of iron and so it gets inside the soil and it has so many nutrients in it that it gets inside the soil and it feeds the root of the plant,” he said.
Cost: $12.99 per bag
5. Fill In Cracks And Put in Sealcoat in Driveway
The largest area around most homes is usually the lawn and so if the lawn is yellow or untrimmed, it is very noticeable. Manfredini said one of the best ways to achieve a really green lawn is to use soil conditions, not just fertilizers.
He recommends using Milorganite, an all-natural soil conditioner, and sprinkling it on your grass about once a month during the spring and summer. Too much fertilizer can burn out the grass, but you can use soil conditioner more regularly, Manfredini said.
“It’s full of iron and so it gets inside the soil and it has so many nutrients in it that it gets inside the soil and it feeds the root of the plant,” he said.
Cost: $12.99 per bag
Shauna Quick
Realtor
Exit Realty Success
801-550-4419
shaunaqsellshomes@gmail.com
www.shaunaqsellshomes.com
