Author: Kathleen Driscoll

Retirement & Home Ownership

First Time Buyers!

#1 Reason To Sell Now!

Written by Bryn Huntpalmer on Thursday, 02 July 2015

If you want to amp up your curb appeal before you go on the market or simply want to make guests feel more at home, adding a few special touches to your front porch can go a long way. It’s a way to show your personality and style before people even set foot in your house. And the best part is that it’s easy enough to make into a weekend project.

Don’t try to reinvent your style with the front porch–it should be an extension of your interior decorating, just a more outdoor-friendly version. For example, if your interior style is modern with sleek lines and pops of bright color, it’s not really cohesive to choose porch decor that follows in the English Country tradition. But it might make more sense to choose lighter, less substantial furniture or sturdier fabrics than the ones you use indoors.

Here a few ideas for creating a porch worthy of time alone with iced tea and a good book:

Paint Your Front Door

You don’t have to totally remodel your porch or even buy furniture to give it a face lift. Just buy a can of paint and call it a day! Painting a door a bright color is like smiling at your neighbors. It can show openness and express personality. Just make sure the color you choose isn’t more like a smirk–no one wants to live next to the house with the fuchsia or chartreuse door. This is the perfect solution for people with small porches who don’t have a lot of room to work with when it comes to decorating.

Create a Custom House Number

This one’s a fun one because they are so many ways to make your house numbers more than just a few black or gold digits glued above the door. You can stencil your house numbers on a wooden planter holding flowers. Try making a numbers out of nails hammered into a piece of wood, or gluing pretty numbers to the hanging wreath on your door. You could even stitch your house number onto a big pillow that sits on top of your yard furniture.

Ample Lighting

If your porch is a hub of activity day and night, one garish yellow-orange porchlight just won’t do. Make sure your sitting and/or eating areas are well lit, and go the extra mile by adding lights in your garden or on the steps leading up to your front porch. Just make sure to stock up on citronella candles or tiki torches to keep bugs out of the picture!

Few things make people feel quite as welcome as being told that they’re welcome every time they come over. There are plenty of ways to say this, of course, and you should feel free to get creative with the message. Stencil your welcome sign on canvas, or doodle it on a chalkboard that guests can write messages on. You can even get a fancy decal to stick right on your door.

Seating

If you have a big front porch, the best part about it is probably the fact that it acts like a whole other room in your house. Maybe your family takes the occasional meal onto the porch, or your neighbors like to stop over for a drink and a chat. If you have a get-together sized porch, make it get-together friendly! Don’t just slap a few iron chairs and a wobbly table out there and expect people to make themselves at home. Opt for cushy (but still weather resistant) furniture that lends itself to a few hours’ of lingering. While seating isn’t a must for a small porch, a quality rocking chair might motivate you to spend more time on your porch, and will definitely add to your porch’s picturesque quality.

Seasonal Decorations

Other than tasty treats and fun family events, the best way to welcome a new season is to show all of your neighbors and guests your sense of spring/fall/Christmas spirit. Decorating for a holiday or season helps us slow down and appreciate the sentiments that that particular time evokes. Just make sure to change decorations in a timely manner so you don’t go from being the enthusiastic neighbor to the annoying neighbor whose adorable Halloween ghosts are still lingering in the yard at Thanksgiving.

For more ideas and inspiration for your next home project, head to Modernize.com.

Great Home Updates You Can Do For Under $100
Written by Jaymi Naciri

A sushi dinner. A Saturday night movie for four (with popcorn). A new pair of Nikes.

They’ll all cost you about $100. But wouldn’t you rather put that money toward something that’ll make you smile whenever you walk in the room? Take that 100 bucks and freshen up something in your home. It’ll be money well spent.

“Updating your home can be a huge undertaking and cost a lot of money, but it doesn’t have to be! For under $100, simple updates like a coat of paint, cabinet hardware, or even a new rug can make a big impact without a big budget,” said POPSUGAR.

Here are a few places to start.

New Hardware

Nothing freshens up a kitchen faster. This case of 25 stainless steel pulls will give your kitchen a modern touch for just $49.

Remove the molding from the top of your kitchen cabinets

Want to take your kitchen from traditional to a more modern look? Remove the ornate crown molding. The cleaner lines will transform the room and give it a sleeker look, and it’ll only cost you a can of paint or stain for touch-ups.

A warm welcome

“Put a smile on guests’ faces while keeping dirt out of the house with this doormat ($29) in front of your door,” said POPSUGAR.

A fresh coat of paint

You can take a space from blah to beautiful for $50. If you’re going to paint and you’re not sure how to get the best results, check out HGTV for some tips on how to “make painting less painful.”

An easy kitchen update

Open shelving is one of today’s hottest trends in the kitchen. You can create your own quickly, easily, and affordably.

This Old House

“Remove the doors on a bank of upper cabinets, then paint the interiors for instant open shelving,” said This Old House. “Estimated cost: 1 gallon of Elements Zero VOC 100 percent acrylic paint with a washable semigloss sheen, about $35.”

A new rug

If your floors are worn and you don’t have the money to redo them, cover them up with something pretty. Yes, rugs can get pricey, so check your favorite stores for clearance sales. This Morrocan Trellis rug is huge at 7’10” x 9’10” and is only $89.

Clean your windows

Natural light makes people happy, but grime never put a smile on anyone’s face. For the cost of a bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels, you can vastly improve your view.

Create a home office

Short on space but need a place to work from home? If you have an underused closet, you could have the perfect space to set up shop.

This Old House

“Unhinge the door and trade hanging rods for shelves—a deep one for the desktop and two shallow ones above for storage,” said This Old House. “One 20-by-24-by-¾-inch and two 12-by-24-by-¾-inch white melamine shelves, metal standards, and shelf brackets, all by Elfa, about $95.”

Ditch the drab bedding

An injection of color, a new graphic pattern, or something light and dreamy will all make a bedroom feel fresh and new—especially if your current bedding is old, worn, or just plain boring.

Macy’s

This Hotel Collection Modern Gate Bedding Collection is on sale for $95, down from $240.

Change your lighting

Swapping out your builder bathroom fixtures for something with a little more style is an easy fix that can bring high impact. Changing out blah overhead lights and ceiling fans in bedrooms and living areas can have the same effect. For fans, be sure to pay attention to seasonal sales for the best deals, like this stylish gunmetal ceiling fan that’s just $78 at Home Depot.

Brighten up your kitchen

Pendants are the hottest trend in lighting right now, but they don’t have to be expensive. “Spruce up your breakfast bar and add more lighting by hanging this retro industrial pendant light ($99),” said POPSUGAR.

IKEA’s HEKTAR pendant is one of our favorite affordably chic finds, and it comes in bronze and dark gray for just $69

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