10 Outdoor Touches to Make Your Home More Inviting

There are many motivations for changing your home’s exterior to be more inviting. You might want to make your home seem more welcoming to new guests, or you may want to jazz it up to look more enticing to potential buyers. You may just want to improve how your home looks when you come home after a hard day at work.

Regardless of your core motivation, there are some simple touches that can improve your home’s exterior.

Make Your Home’s Exterior More Inviting

These are some of the best strategies to make your home more inviting from the outside:

1. Choose the right chimney cap. If your home has a chimney, you’ll be amazed how much a chimney cap can change how it looks. They aren’t expensive or hard to install, but they can instantly make your home look more upgraded—or suit your new exterior design choices more appropriately.
2. Upgrade (and/or paint) the front door. It’s natural for a person’s eyes to be drawn to the front door of a home when encountering it for the first time. Whether they mean to or not, they often judge the entire home by the look of the front door. If yours is old, chipped, or broken, you may want to replace the entire unit. If not, a new paint job can work wonders.
3. Plant a garden. Any type of garden can make your home more inviting; people respond well to plant life. If you have the space in front of your house to plant flowers, herbs, or vegetables, take advantage of it. Otherwise, consider using hanging baskets on your front porch to add a bit of flair and color to your home’s exterior.
4. Keep up with the landscaping. While you’re at it, spend some extra time and/or money to keep up with your landscaping. The shape, texture, and general quality of your yard can make a big difference in how your home is perceived (by you and others). If you have a lawn, keep it the ideal length, and take good care of your shrubs, trees, and/or
5. Install new lighting. A bit of outdoor lighting can make your home pop, especially at night. Installing new lights above your porch can make it seem more welcoming for visitors, and installing spotlights can help you highlight your home’s most unique features—even in the dark. You can even use lights to keep your home safer.
6. Keep things symmetrical. Symmetry is a subtle feature that can instantly make your home seem more impressive. Guests won’t be able to figure out why they like your home’s exterior, but they will. Try to make use of design elements that are the same on both sides, or at least balance out the sides with comparable levels of effort.
7. Make your mailbox pop. Your mailbox is responsible for forming many first impressions, and serves as a communicative gateway to your household. You don’t want to go overboard here with a gaudily designed miniature replica of your house, but you may want to invest effort to make it pop. Keep it clean, choose a bold color, and make it fit your home’s personality.
8. Clean or replace the siding. Siding tends to degrade over time—especially vinyl siding. Occasionally pressure washing your siding can keep it in good shape and make your home more welcoming and impressive. After a few years of wear and tear, it may be better to replace your siding entirely. Depending on its condition and your preferences, you may also be able to paint it a new color.
9. Hide unsightly necessities. There are some things you’ll need to keep outdoors that may interfere with how your home is seen. For example, you likely have an electrical box, or a garbage can attached to your house and on standby, respectively. Do your best to cover up these elements, as appropriate, or keep them contained so they aren’t responsible for anyone’s first impression of your home.
10. Be tasteful with your outdoor furniture. Outdoor furniture can make or break your exterior design. Don’t clutter your porch or yard with excessively large or garish pieces; instead, restrict your purchases to a handful of well-matched, high-quality pieces, and take good care of them so they stay looking like new.

One Step at a Time

You don’t need to take care of all these elements at once to make the outside of your home more inviting. Sometimes, even a single change, or just some extra outdoor maintenance, can make all the difference. Make an action plan or just start executing on your ideas one at a time; eventually, you’ll get to a point where you’re proud of your home’s exterior.