7 Awesome Curb Appeal Ideas for Fall
Article by Emma Jones, Superior Moving PA
Thinking of putting your property on the market? Or are you just vying for the unofficial title of the most beautiful house on the block? When fall rolls around, the temperature starts to tumble, and trees start shedding their colorful leaves, things start to look a bit dull, worn out, and even gloomy. The transition to fall can get a bit tricky for a home’s exterior. But, this season, things are going to be different for your Fort Collins home! Luckily, it doesn’t take a complete overhaul to perk things up and bring out that romantic and vibrant side of autumn. Keep your home looking fresh and well-groomed with these seven awesome curb appeal ideas for fall.
1. Keep up with exterior maintenance
We’ve all got those items on our to-do lists that somehow never get done. And for most of us – it’s home exterior tasks. Changing air conditioner filters, cleaning the appliances – these are the things that are remembered easily. However, clearing the gutters and downspouts, pressure washing the driveways, and such tends to slip our minds somehow. So, put your hand on your heart – when was the last time that you took some time to maintain your home’s exterior? Worry not; this is a well-known tale – particularly when life gets busy. Still, if you find it hard to remember, that’s all the telltale you need to realize that now’s the time to do so.
A well-kept home’s exterior is not merely a curb appeal idea for this year’s autumn season. It’s rather a timeless trend, one that will help you keep your investment looking beautiful across the seasons. If that’s the look you’re aiming for, make it your task this fall to clear out debris from your gutters, clean your deck, inspect the roof, clean the windows, and pressure wash the driveway. It will do wonders to revamp your home’s appearance.
2. Green up the grass
At this time of year, overgrown and messy lawns are a common sight to behold. Not a particularly pretty one, nonetheless. So, whether you are selling your home or just bought or rented your home from an owner whose thumb was not particularly green, it’s important to keep up with lawn maintenance. Luckily, it is relatively easy to keep your lawn in tip-top shape and barefoot-worthy. What’s more, there’s no time of year more perfect than fall to start again with your lawn treatment, given the temperature of the soil is still warm enough to stimulate grass growth.
A few simple steps, such as aerating, overseeding, and fertilizing, will ensure that it stays looking green and healthy for those cozy evenings in the fall – and ready to bounce right back in the springtime. Next, edging the lawn will display those perfect lines along your driveway, any pathways, and flowerbeds, instantly giving your entire yard that clean-cut look. Finally, frequent raking will keep fall foliage at bay. Newly fallen leaves may be fun to shuffle through. However, a thick layer of dead leaves on your lawn will smother the grass, thus blocking sunlight and air from reaching your grass and eventually leading to weeds invasion and lawn diseases.
3. Pump up the flower power
Once your lawn is looking its best, it’s time to spice things up a bit. Bushes, trees, and shrubs are a perfect place to start, as they can all start to look a bit gangly after dropping their foliage. Removing any dead branches and trimming back unruly stems will give your yard a well-tended appearance while also guaranteeing a healthy start for the next growing season.
Now, if you were fishing for some curb appeal ideas for fall, think flowers. The next step is adding a splash of color to flowerbeds with cool-season bloomers. As one group of flowers completes its bloom cycle, the next one is waiting in the wings to put on a grand autumn finale and salvage the dry and drab-looking lawn. Mums are especially popular fall bloomers, but asters, celosia flowering kale, sumac, and goldenrod also make wow-worthy flower beds. If you decide to pull weeds, remember that the weed won’t stop growing unless you get the whole root. If not, you could also try a weed spray killer or powdered weed preventer.
4. Perk up the porch
Before doing anything else, get rid of summer’s worth of debris by giving your porch a thorough sweeping, and fix or replace any worn or loose steps and railings. Now that you’re done with that, here comes the fun part.
- Display a wreath. Nothing says “welcome” quite like a beautiful seasonal wreath hanging on your entrance door. Besides adding an inviting touch, a simple wreath made out of fall foliage and bright flowers will make your property stand out throughout the season.
- Adorn entry with potted plants. Flank your entryway with various groupings of potted plants (such as evergreen fillers and annuals), or scatter them across the porch steps and patio.
- Create a front porch sitting area. This is as simple as adding a couple of weather-resistant, comfy chairs and an end table. For extra coziness and a dash of style, add a soft outdoor rug.
5. Light the autumn nights
With fall come shorter days. And with shorter days comes the need for proper outdoor lighting to illuminate the walkway leading up to your front door, but also to accentuate the plantings you’d worked so hard on. Besides enhancing your home’s after-dusk appeal, landscape and porch lighting will add an extra measure of security.
6. Accessorize for the perfect autumn ambiance
If you are about to transition into a new residence, it will be up to convert it from “yet another cookie-cutter on the block” into a place that’s unique and your own – a place that makes you happy. Traditionally, autumn is a time of harvest and home. So, don’t miss the opportunity to dress up your home accordingly. Before the Fort Collins-based professionals you’ve enlisted for your local move arrive to take your belongings, check that you packed your colorful wreath for the door, your decorative pumpkins, welcome mat in autumn tones, or your pots of mums, kale, and pansies. Give the scarecrows and spooky Halloween decorations the slip this year, though. We’re going to keep things subtle and tasteful this autumn season. Here are some ideas:
- Hang a dazzling wreath of dried and preserved flowers, mixed berries, and autumn foliage on your front door to wow passerby;
- Give the chairs on your porch an autumnal lift with soft cushions in autumn shades and prints;
- Swap your old welcome mat with a new one in warm fall tones;
- Fill a wagon with fall décor items like corn husks, corn ears, dried flowers, and winter squash. Then, park it in the front yard to boost curb appeal;
- If you’ve got some extra pumpkins, and don’t know what to do with them, paint your stash in rainbow colors and align them along your staircase or pathway for a playful display;
- Light your porch or walkway with pumpkin lanterns;
- Stuff your flower boxes with fall leaves, fall mums, and small pumpkins to add special charm to your home décor.
7. Dress up your mailbox
Your mailbox and address numbers can also become the protagonists of your autumn-inspired front yard décor. So, while you’re digging out inspiring curb appeal ideas for fall, consider giving these two an upgrade. For instance, start by creating a border around the mailbox and then planting some seasonal flowers at the base. Complete the look with baskets, mums, pumpkins, and other bounties of the season. Attaching dried corn stalks to a mailbox is another idea. A simple thin florist wire and a large zip tie or a ribbon will do the trick. Complete the look with a new set of address numbers in a style that matches the aesthetic of your house.