Relax During Your Renovation
The outdoor spaces around your home are an extension of living room and entertaining space, while also providing the warm welcome for guests. Here are 4 tips to the increase curb appeal and create your personal outdoor oasis.
1. All about the lighting!!
There are so many creative ideas available for garden lighting. Make sure to illuminate focal areas, as well as areas of safety, such as steps and walkways. LED ambient lighting has a wide variety of colors and tones which can easily be controlled by a phone application. Clever up-lighting in your trees allows nature to do the work for you. Deep shadows and branches can really create a magical environment and also amazing photographs which will showcase your home’s entertaining potential.
2. Creative planting in ceramic pots
To make your outdoor spaces more dynamic, start thinking more 3 dimensional about planting in your garden, or on your deck and patio. Add multiple levels of planters, varied heights and raisers increase the visual interest. Don’t underestimate how the different levels and heights of planted pots create the illusion of a mature garden. Try 4-5 different heights and plant some at ground level also. Using in ground pots are also a wonderful way to separate herbs and more invasive species like mint. A super lush kitchen garden is only a few ceramic pots away.
3. The secret is mulch
When it comes to making your property and garden feel more complete nothing says professional upkeep like mulch and bark. Worth every investment, spreading ‘bark’ or ‘mulch’ between your plants really allows your garden to shine, while eliminating any visual queues of regular soil upkeep such as weeding or turnover. For best results use a weed shield or other membrane to prevent any weeds from growing through. This will extend the life of your mulch and also make weeding your garden less frequent.
4. Front Porch
Your front porch, however small or grand, is your guest’s first welcome into your home. The message of warmth and welcome can easily be achieved by well placed and character-filled porch lighting, an impressive front door, and some beautiful plantings. Many lighting options exist to match the character of your home, whether contemporary or traditional, try matching the fixture finish to the hardware on your front door. The style and paint color of your front door is a wonderful place to add interest. Modern frosted glass or brightly painted red, your door will be welcome its first knock soon. Top-off the front porch area by adding seasonal plantings is decorative potted plants.