Real-estate agents love to bandy the phrase “street appeal” about when selling houses – and there’s no doubt about it, people generally judge a house by its cover.
Whether you’re planning to live in your home forever or flipping it to resell, the face it shows to the world should looks loved and cared for. A scruffy front garden with cracked paving or a broken letterbox are easy fixes, but creating a new path or creating a new garden may take a weekend or two. Whatever you decide to do, here’s some inspiration to help your house look its very best.
Seven homes that are serving street appeal
Front of house
It may seem obvious, but there’s no underestimating the impact a freshly painted front door can make. If it works with the style of your house, consider a statement front door (like this golden one in Mount Maunganui) with hardware to match. While you’re at it, make sure your letterbox is up to scratch, too.
The route between the street and your front door may be short, but it also needs to be quite obvious. If this is not the case, to avoid visitors stumbling around the garden trying to find the entrance, try placing a large pot or sculpture on the path as a pointer to the door.
Rerouting the front path might also be worth considering, but make sure any new paths follow a natural access pattern to the front door, otherwise, you’ll risk people cutting through garden beds.
If you have steps up to your front door, be sure to add sensor lights and a handrail as a safety measure.
Define the space between the driveway and entryway
If space allows, separate your pedestrian and vehicle access with planting such as low hedges or tough perennials like dieties, dwarf flax or lomandra. Consider simply using different paving (like this white villa above) for the two entrances to avoid the front garden looking like a parking lot.
The right-size pathway
The path to your front door should be generous, 1200mm wide at least. Replace chipped or stained pavers, or remove old-fashioned paving units and lay something more up-to-date. Larger pavers create a more spacious, modern feel and can often be laid over existing concrete.
Ideally, select paving colours that work well with the existing materials on the house exterior and in the garden, like this Mount Maungani home that has matched the pavers to the wall.
Create a sense of arrival
Signal to visitors that they have arrived at your place with a lovely feature such as a large handsome pot, piece of art, decorative screen or architecturally shaped plant. Better yet, if you have the space, create an area for people to pause and admire the garden en route to the front door. Place a bench or artwork along the path.
(Or get yourself a very good dog to welcome all your guests, just like this modern barn in Kumeu).
Create a gardening plan
The landscaping at the front of your house should speak of you and your home – a kind of first impression for guests. Consider well-performing species in your climate and don’t rely on annuals unless you plant them in pots and can replace them regularly. Better to use low-maintenance species that have good form and foliage, including bromeliads, camellias, coloured flaxes, libertia, succulents, corokia, box and michelia.
This St Mary’s Bay home in Auckland has opted for layered planting; tall trees, small potted plants and ground cover to add some greenery to their front entrance.
Get your front fence in shape
The benefits of a good quality front fence goes without saying. But, if you’re building a new boundary structure, consider stepping it back from the footpath a foot or so so you can plant in front. This also leaves a space for a lovely threshold area at the gate, separate from the public space.
Like your front door, the front gate is a portal to the space between the street and the house. Its appearance is a marker of your style, so don’t settle for the bland or average, particularly when there are some great custom-built designs around. Make sure existing gates are in good condition.
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