With regards to curb appeal some of the time that is all it takes is a slap of paint and a little imagination. A few of us simply have a talent for it, while others might require a little motivation to get the thoughts streaming. You’d be astounded at what a distinction even economic changes can make to enhance the curb appeal of your home. Beside the self-evident — arranging, pulling weeds, paint, and general clean it up — here is 7 easy and affordable tips that I plan on doing for my house and pretty much anybody can do!

1. I found this on Pinterest, the person who pinned it ditched the slab foundation look by purchasing fake panels which cover the boring old slab look and are relatively inexpensive. As someone who also has a slab foundation, I did some research and found the fake or “faux” as they are referred to panels can be ordered online in a wide variety of choices. I personally like the faux rock look and will definitely be ordering mine soon.

I was overwhelmed with how many options I found on www.fauxpanels.com

2. Give your front door a much-needed make over! Sometimes ditching an old door and replacing it with a newer one does the trick BUT for most of us on a budget a new door is costly and let’s face it we’re all tight on cash here and there. In this case, take your current door and paint it a bold new color. Once your done with that, add brass numbers to the door to give it extra pizzazz.

I really loved the article about how this door went from ‘Blah’ to ‘Yeah!’ in Melissa’s blog which you can check out at: http://www.320sycamoreblog.com/2011/06/door-details.html

3. Maybe it’s because I think I’m a Disney Princess 90% of the time but I really want window boxes, and I want you to want them too because not only are they super chic but it makes your windows look bigger (look for yourself in the picture below). Plus, it’s a total bonus that it’s almost like bringing a bit of nature indoors because you can see all of the flowers and plants from the interior of the home, too. SHAZAM!

Found on Pinterest

4. I’m dying to ditch that old as the hills mailbox that’s been there since before I moved in! Think about it, our mailbox is literally the first impression of our home. So go outside, look at your mailbox and ask yourself: what does it say about you? Go ahead…I’ll wait! Verdict is? Nothing good? Well that’s okay because since it is so small, it could be as simple as an afternoon project to get it looking like it came straight out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Pinterest has a whole slew of affordable ideas, like one post I read which a woman took a cast stone post surround that she placed over a 4×4 wooden post, it looked gorgeous and turns out it’s much easier than it looks!

Read more about how to do this on http://www.beneathmyheart.net

5. My porch is concrete, not to mention it’s the first thing my friends and family see when they come in the front door. Ever since I found this picture on Pinterest I’ve been dying to create faux tile by the use of concrete stain! The pinner (I’m not entirely sure who the author is when I went to revisit their site from Pinterest the link was broken) created a concrete look like tile by using painter’s tape to make faux grout lines prior to staining. I’ve seen many neighbors use the stain by itself which instantly give walkways, patios, and driveways and entirely new look and its relatively inexpensive at your local Home Depot or Lowes.

Faux tile without the hassle of real tile! Found on Pinterest if anyone knows who took this picture please leave a comment so I can cite them properly.

6. Okay! I saw this on Pinterest and my inner gardening goddess jumped with glee at this planting pottery addresses idea. I mean what a cute DIY idea to enhance curb appeal! The address display I have now was left over from the people who used to live in my house, not to mention you can’t see it from the road, it was then I stumbled across this idea on Pinterest and I couldn’t help but love the simplicity of it, yet how chic it would be to incorporate my address into the garden pots with flowers in them. I may just scratch the numbers on the front door idea and trade it in for the perfect little area on the front corner of my yard where I plan to make this happen!

Pottery addresses add sensational curb appeal to your home Courtesy of Pinterest

7. Hide your trash! Hide your recycle! This is one of my biggest pet peeves about my own house where my big, ugly trash cans are visible from the street, sometimes open with trash bags peeking out of the top. If you, like me, are forced to keep your trash where it can easily be seen from the street (or from anywhere really), you can put up a small fence, or perhaps even build  a garbage can storage shed to hide any and all offending trash culprits. Gates like the one pictured below, you can find at Lowes in their outdoor gardening section.

Courtesy of Pinterest

So there you have it, some Pinterest gems I definitely plan on doing and will be compiling before and after photos as well as  ‘How To’s as I accomplish each one to share with you, my readers. What ways have you found Pinterest helped give you ideas to enhance your home’s curb appeal? Leave a comment below and join in the discussion because I love hearing from all of you!

Love you. Mean it.

Brittany

xo