What is street appeal, and should you care?

Having a property that looks beautiful and well-maintained from the kerbside will give you a lift every time you come home, it can open up new areas of use for your property, it’s much more welcoming for visitors, and it can become a talking point that builds connection with your neighbourhood. But what makes for great street appeal?

GET THE BASICS RIGHT

Mowing the lawns, trimming the hedges, painting the fences, keeping paths and pavers free of moss, keeping the garden weeded and paintwork clean and free of flakes and chips. These basics make your home look smart and presentable.

Do small jobs regularly and you won’t have to do a huge push to tidy things up for a special event, or if you decide to sell.

If gardening or mowing isn’t your thing, avoid large areas of grass and opt for trees and shrubs rather than flowers and annuals that need more work.

Tip: Inspect your home’s exterior at the start of spring and autumn. Make a note of what needs fixing now, what you’ll need to do in the coming months, and any bigger projects. It’ll make your maintenance plan seem a lot more manageable.

STAND OUT IN A CROWD

Nothing catches the eye like splashes of colour in a sea of green lawns and neutral houses. It could be pots or raised beds filled with flowers, or it could be a bold-coloured front door, mail box or even a table and chairs tucked into a corner of the porch.

You may not want to paint your whole house bright orange or turquoise, but a hint of a bench seat or gate in a bolder colour nestled among the greenery of your garden or against a neutral colour scheme on your house may be just the touch of colour you need.

A bold front door will complete the look. Front doors in an eyecatching shade are a very simple way to elevate the street appeal of your house, while keeping most of it to a classic colour scheme. Choose Resene Enamacryl gloss for the front door and tint it with a bold colour.

A PRETTY, PERKY PORCH

You can also add street appeal by simply sprucing up your porch.

Treat it like an extra room, adding a bench seat or a small table and chairs, or add some potted shrubs and flowers. If you have only a tiny porch, make sure it’s perfectly painted and stained in colours that pull the rest of your exterior colour scheme together, and draw people toward the front door. If you need it to be functional with spaces for boots and umbrellas, upcycle a cupboard or a shoe rack, so everything has a place and the porch isn’t cluttered.

Ensure there’s a clear path to the front door from the street, and that it’s well-lit at night.

DON’T HAVE A STREET FRONT OR A FRONT YARD?

Street appeal is all very well if you have a street-front property. But if you’re down a long driveway or in a row of townhouses with no front yard, remember it’s all about first impressions. Focus on the front door and porch, add plants and keep things tidy and maintained.

Create a sense of arrival at your front door, with a large plant in a painted pot, outdoor fairy lights or even an artwork.

■ This article was commissioned in response to a commercial partnership. We have produced it independently, to the same standards applied to the rest of our journalism.