Be inspired by a landscape you love. Choosing your paint colors based on hues that occur together in nature takes some of the guesswork out of paint picking. The beach is the quintessential example of taking the landscape to a color scheme — the hues of sand, water and sky work beautifully as paint colors.
Try a unique front door. A really eye-catching front door can be just the thing to give a plain exterior a big dose of personality. Match plantings to your house style. Let the plants and pots you choose reflect the style of your house for a cohesive look. Accent a modern home with succulents and spiky-leafed plants in simple round pots, or surround your cottage with lush beds of flowers.
As with orange, using too much purple can veer toward gaudy very quickly. Stick to a small dose and try purple on your home's front door. Whether you like warm or cool tones, purple can — surprisingly — complement almost any exterior palette.
Shake things up by pairing a bright blue with a natural or neutral exterior for an unexpected welcome to your home.
Play off your surrounding landscape or introduce a new, refreshing color by painting your front door green. Whether olive, mint or lime, there's bound to be a shade of green that can fit into your exterior palette.
Orange is one of those colors that can go wrong really quickly. But don't let that stop you — with the right complementing tones, small doses of orange can look quite modern and welcoming.
If bright red feels too audacious for your home, deepen the hue for a more crimson tone. More refined and sophisticated than brighter reds, certain shades of this deep red can work almost as neutrals.
One of the most moving colors, red is known as a color that brings life, power, passion and strength to its surroundings. Bring its vitality to your home by painting your front door a statement-making red.
Welcome visitors with a cheerful yellow front door. Often identified with happiness, high energy and warmth, a lively yellow can brighten otherwise gloomy exteriors.
Look at the great details of this home's facade: a modern font for the house numbers, neat concrete steps, slatted privacy fence and minimalist landscaping with mounds of grasses.
Do your planters go with your architecture? Match the planters to your home's style. For example, urns go well with classic and transitional homes, bullet planters work well with modern homes, and rectangular containers pair up nicely with contemporary homes.
Do you need some life out there? Whether ferns or colorful flowers, hanging plants, window boxes and potted plants are easy-to-add touches that give miles of curb appeal.
Do your accessories go with your home's style? This woodsy cabin's charming bucket of logs and wreath suit it well, while if you're near the beach, you may want something coastal.
Check out your shutters. Are they smaller than your windows? Nailed to the siding? Shutters were made to cover windows and hang on hinges. Find a form that follows this function (or make them at least appear to be functional) and that goes with the style of your home.
Even a small front porch calls for old-fashioned rockers.
A clear view and access to the front door are key
Make sure your front door and pathway are well lit with fixtures that coordinate with your architecture and color scheme. Extra enhancements on the home here also include the lights on the potted trees out front.
If your house is channeling the blahs, refresh your trim. Perhaps your white could look crisper or your window trim is calling for a color that stands out. Sometimes dark panes that contrast with the outer trim are the answer.
Is your screen door or storm door unsightly? A lot of us don't necessarily notice our very functional but not-so-pretty front screen doors. Aluminum doors may be rusty; screens may be jutting out or covering up a beautiful door and taking away from its beauty.
If your front facade feels ho-hum, a new front door color can rev it up.
The most important thing is that it is crisply painted and clean. If you have sidelights or transoms, make sure you clean them weekly, inside and out. Coordinate lanterns or outdoor sconces, great hardware, house numbers and a door knocker with your home's style. These final touches make a big impact.
Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what is off about your home. Go across the street and check it out from a distance, then snap a photo. Keep the picture handy, go through this checklist and see if any of these smart curb appeal investments will help your home look more inviting.
Front yards are more public, with opportunities to welcome neighbors and connect with your community.
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