From the outside in!

The outside of our homes are often overlooked in favour of the warm and cosy inside. But there is so much more to making your house a home.

So grab your paint brushes, gardening gloves and tools to start sprucing up the outside, too.

Follow these simple steps from Ryan Calvert, product expert at Hiatt Hardware – it’s time to look from the outside in.

● 1. Upgrade your front door

Whether bright and bold or classy and muted, a freshly painted door can work wonders – opt for finishes like satin or semi-gloss, which are known for their durability, and stick to neutral tones such as navy, grey or black.

Plus, a new door knocker can go a long way to make your house feel like a home from the moment you step inside – it’s attractive to new buyers, too. You can pick one up from as little as £15.

2. Tidy your lawn and driveway

One of the first things both you and a potential buyer will see is the front driveway and lawn of your home. So, it’s important to keep everything neat and tidy.

Slip on your gardening gloves and prepare to get down and dirty – simply weeding, trimming the hedges and pressure washing your drive can make a huge difference.

Plus, a well-maintained driveway can actually boost the value of your home by up to an estimated 10%.

If you’re planning on stretching your DIY budget a little further, stay away from driveway materials like tarmac or asphalt. They’re not as appealing to buyers if you eventually want to sell.

3. Refresh your exteriors

No one likes peeling paint, cluttered gutters and dirty glass, especially new buyers!

For an average-sized house in the UK, you can give your home a fresh lick of basic masonry paint at just £8 a litre. And by doing the work yourself, you can increase your property value by £132, with the potential return on investment as high as 55%.

If you want to push the boat out, you can opt for a gloss finish paint, which means your revamp could add £330 to your home’s overall value.