Remodeling Tips for a Stunning Front Yard Makeover in Columbus Ohio
The first glimpse as someone drives by or visits your home is the front yard and exterior. Are you ready to take that first impression from ordinary to exquisite? We’ve got some thoughts and ideas about revamping your existing landscape and modifying your front exterior to create that curb appeal WOW factor.
The Remodel-Design-Build Team at The Cleary Company in Columbus, Ohio is ready to collaborate and create the changes you desire for the front of your home, help you with adding walkways, and design changes to unleash the curb appeal of your home.
What are some tips that can take your curb appeal up a notch?
Create a Plan
- Make a list and do your research.
- What are the strengths and weaknesses as you look at your front yard and home exterior?
- What do you want to keep and what needs to be changed?
Plan the Plants
- Clean up the garden beds to see where you have room for new plantings.
- Remove any shrubs or trees that have lived their best lives and need removal.
- Divide and relocate or gift any overgrown perennials!
- Invest in native plants. Indigenous plants are well-suited for your climate, usually require less maintenance and are good for the environment.
- Layering creates depth and visual interest when using plants of varying heights. Balance with taller plants near the back and shorter plants in front.
- Invest in grasses for enduring plumage in the fall and winter and planters for summer pops of colors.
Pathways and Hardscapes
- An attractive walkway is a perfect way to create curb appeal and add a warm and inviting approach. Natural stone, bricks, and pavers can add visual interest and be a bit more elevated than concrete. Though a concrete walkway can also be beautiful!
- Create focal points with a water feature, a bench, or stones along the side of the pathway. This is a wonderful place to add pots of flowers, native plants, sculptural edging, or low growing grasses.
Edging and Borders
- Adding defined borders or edging along the flower beds, perimeter of the home, and path walkways keeps everything neat and visually pleasing.
- Use contrasting textures such as stones, rocks, bricks, or metal to contrast with the colors of the yard, plants, and exterior features of your home.
- Small boulders bring contrast and texture to an area.
- Mulch suppresses weeds, cuts down on watering and creates a polished finish to your flower and perimeter beds. But don’t pile it up around your trees! That will promote disease and possibly kill them.
Outdoor Lighting
- Illuminate and play up walkways, plants, and architectural features to enhance safety and create a curb appealing look for evenings and early mornings. Path lights, stair lights, bollard lights, up/downlights, garden lights, all create different looks and moods.
- Consider solar lights to save energy.
- Well-placed and interesting lighting on the exterior of your home, such as sconces, lantern lights, string lights, spotlights, up/downlights, and floodlights will illuminate the front door, windows, porch, trees, and bushes, as well as provide safety features.
Water Features
- The benefits of adding water features to your yard include improved air quality, increased wildlife presence and believe it or not, health benefits by reducing blood pressure and stress among others.
- The sound of trickling water can be captivating, relaxing and reduce noise pollution.
- A small pond with moving water, a statue fountain, waterfall or bird bath all provide interest.
Home Exterior
- Window boxes add color, charm, and are a welcoming visual aesthetic.
- A portico or covered front porch with planters and seating will make people want to settle in and enjoy a conversation with you.
- A new front door, repainting the existing door or a freshly painted front entry is the focal point and adds to the curb appeal.
- Replace or repaint shutters for a refreshed and updated appearance.
- Upgrade, maintain or replace gutters. (You know what we mean—sometimes those get overlooked and they can be dirty and dented.)
- Upgrade any railings on the home with quality wood or metal accents!
Landscaping Trade Partners We Collaborate With & Trust
Need help with a landscape plan and/or yard maintenance? We recommend these pros!
When our Team needs design-build landscaping help for our remodeling projects, we seek guidance and advice from GreenScapes Landscape and Hidden Creek Landscaping. We work closely with industry professionals from both companies and are always amazed at the transformations they create for our clients. We appreciate their expertise, their ability to design and install just what our clients want, and their knowledge, especially of native plants.
Check out these two recent NARI CotY award winning project collaborations!
For regular or occasional care & maintenance of your yard, we recommend these professionals but depending on their availability they can also do whole yard makeovers!
- A & M Landscaping & Lawncare – Professional full service lawn & landscape maintenance established in 2006 by Ohio University grads Michael & Adele Thomasson. They provide excellent customer service along with a passion for creating, maintaining and renovating landscapes.
- CJ’s Lawncare – Established in 1981, CJ’s has been a trusted full service lawn maintenance company serving northwest Columbus. They also provide seasoned firewood! Visit their website for more details.
Ready to renovate your home’s exterior?
Visit our Outdoor Living & Exterior portfolio for inspiration! Contact our Client Relations Coordinator today and let us know it’s time to turn up the curb appeal. Call 614-459-4000 or visit our website.