Page 26 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & IV • May 15, 2013 Beauty is yard deep: Always boost curb appeal Curb appeal is the first thing visitors see when they pull up to your house and the last thing they see as they pull away. “These are the two most crucial moments in a potential home buyer’s experience because the first and last impressions define how we feel about a property,” explained Terry McMahon of Borst Landscape & Design in Allendale. “If that feeling is negative, all of the high-end appliances, fresh paint, and other great interior upgrades are overshadowed.” While most people know how important curb appeal is, dealing with it can be overwhelming when you’re prepping a house for market and are already working overtime to fix interior spaces. Focus on specific outdoor beautifiers that won’t break the bank, but will immediately attract potential buyers. Clutter control: Open spaces and clean backdrops open potential buyers’ minds, making it much easier for them to envision their favorite garden features in your yard. Have the lawn cut, brush cleared, weeds pulled, and leaves raked. Put away the children’s toys, lawn ornaments, and outdoor furniture. Get balanced: Symmetrical placement of certain elements like light fixtures on either side of a door, or plantings along walkways and driveways, creates a welcoming effect. Instant gardens: Container gardens can be just as pretty and inviting as the real thing –but much quicker and more affordable to create. Purchase ready-made containers or custom order them with your favorite plants and colors. Refresh flowerbeds: In addition to weeding, pruning, and planting, any mulch that has lost its color to sunlight or harsh weather should be replaced. Stone or brick borders should also be spruced up and any broken pieces replaced. Box it in: Installing boxes beneath windows or on fences, decks, railings, or balconies is a simple yet effective way to add dashes of color and charm to a home’s exterior. McMahon recommends consulting a professional when choosing flowers and plants that will fare best given a box’s sunlightto-shade ratio and other factors, such as its size. Lighten up: Add mega wattage to your curb appeal with low-voltage landscape lighting. Use it to add accent lighting to trees, garden areas, or the house, or to add safety and security to a walking path. If wiring such lights is not possible, look into solar fixtures. Roll out the walkway: Think of your entrance walkway as the red carpet to your home and invite visitors to walk it. Edge existing walkways with flowers or flagstones, or consider replacing a nondescript concrete path with a contoured one made of stone or brick, which can be laid in many interesting patterns. Detail the driveway: If pesky, determined weeds are breaking through your driveway’s surface, do spot repairs. Pull the weeds and have the cracks repaved or filled. Then define the borders with plantings, shrubs, bricks, or flagstones. Dress up the façade: Give your front door a fresh coat of paint and add a new wreath or molding that adds substance and character. Railings, gutters, and downspouts that show peeling paint, rust spots, or other signs of neglect should be repaired or replaced. Do a sweep of your entryway and replace any hardware that is rusty, worn, or out of date. House numbers, doorknobs, locksets, wall-mounted mailboxes, and overhead light fixtures should be coordinated in style, material, and finish for a pulled-together look. This article was submitted by Borst Landscape & Design in Allendale.