How to Increase Curb Appeal on a Budget

Trying to sell your home is stressful, exciting, and difficult all at once. 

Make it easier on yourself by listening to the experts: 94% of realtors suggest that homeowners improve their curb appeal before listing their home. Not only that, but a whopping 99% of realtors insist that curb appeal is important for attracting buyers.

So, what’s curb appeal? Simply put, curb appeal is how attractive, aka how appealing, a home looks from the outside. How it looks when a prospective buyer is standing on the curb, you could say.

But with all of the money and time many sellers put into their big ticket items like the kitchen or the bathroom, many people don’t have much money to put into their curb appeal.

If that sounds like you, keep reading. We’re going to go over how to increase curb appeal on a budget.

1. Update, or Install, Some Pathways

The first thing you should take care of is maintenance of your pathways. 

Disheveled, untidy, or unmaintained pathways give the overall impression that you haven’t been doing your homeowner’s duty of taking care of your house. And that’s the last thing you want your prospective buyers thinking before they even get a look inside!

Be sure to cut the grass and pull the weeds around any pathways leading to your door, around the yard, etc.

If you don’t have any pathways or you think that you need to update the ones you have, head over to a local tile store to pick out some fresh options. Ceramic tile works exceptionally well in pathways especially because it comes in many colors, designs, and shapes to fit the aesthetic you’re going for.

2. Spruce Up Your Door

The door is the window to the home… well, besides the actual windows. Like a person’s eyes (the windows to the soul) the front door is one of the first things people are drawn to and that people use to judge the home instantly. 

The front door makes your home feel welcoming and accepting; it’s one of the main things that adds personality to your home. 

This might not be true if the paint on your door is chipped, if the paint is an unsightly color, or if it doesn’t match the colors of your home and/or yard, for example. 

You have a couple of options to spruce up your door. 

The first is that you could replace the entire door. Look for ones made of specialty wood, ones with intricate carvings, or ones with windows, for example. This is the most expensive option, though, with the average front door installation costing about $3,500.

The second option is replacing the accessories or hardware on the door. For example, you could add a door knocker or a new doorknob. You could install a smart doorbell or a new lighting fixture. Or, you could decorate the door with wreaths, flowers, and other seasonal decor.

Depending on which you choose, this could cost as little as 50 dollars for a nice new door knob or 20 dollars for some seasonal decor. Even the smart doorbell can cost as little as 120 dollars!

The last, and probably most impactful, option you have is a fresh coat of paint. Bold and bright colors often have the greatest impact on your curve appeal, but even just a fresh coat of the same color can do wonders for the overall look. 

And with a can of paint and brushes for the project costing around 75 dollars, this is a budget project that can have a huge overall impact on your home’s look.

3. A Good Wash and Tidy

You don’t always need to put something into your home in order to improve value or curb appeal. In fact, you can take things away in order to improve curb appeal.

What do we mean? We mean that taking away rubbish, weeds, dirt, dead leaves, and grime can go a long way for improving your curb appeal.

Clean out your gutters. Keep up with mowing your lawn. Powerwash your driveway. Remove fallen sticks/branches. Weed your flower beds. Get rid of the fence that’s falling apart. 

You get the idea. 

Keeping your home and lawn clean and tidy is similar to makeover scenes you see in every chick flick. Power washing your driveway and pathways transforms your yard from the disheveled “nerd” to the homecoming queen, so to speak.

Besides washing and taking away some of the grime that’s surely accumulated after inhabiting your home for a while, you should also take the time to tidy up as well. 

Throw a fresh coat of paint on your mailbox. Paint your fence while you’re at it. Buy a new doormat. Make sure all lighting fixtures have working light bulbs. Fix your house numbers that fell off a year ago. Again, you get the idea.

These things all take very little time and cost very little overall. If you’re on a tight budget, do things one at a time as you increase your funds and it will eventually all get done!

4. Add Some Life… Literally

Painting your door and tidying up is certainly going to add some life to your house. But you should add some literal life in the form of plants, flowers, trees, and grass.

Flowers are scientifically proven to make us feel happier when we look at them. Greenery has that same happiness power as well: plants trigger our brains to release endorphins, which make us feel happy and at ease. 

Don’t you want potential buyers to look at your house and instantly feel happy and at home? You can do that by adding some bright flowers to your flower beds, keeping your lawn green and healthy, and planting some trees.

You can do this piece by piece to keep the cost down. If you have a green thumb, you could plant things from seeds or from small saplings to keep things relatively inexpensive. 

4 Ways to Increase Home Value

Your home is the place where you feel most comfortable. It’s where you host dinners and curl up on the couch to watch a movie. It’s where you spend a large amount of your time with your family and friends.

It’s also likely the biggest investment you’ve ever made. 

If you want to take on a renovation project in order to add value to that large investment, you’re not alone. One 2018 study showed that 58% of homeowners are either definitely or probably going to renovate or add something to their home in the next 12 months.

Before you embark on a renovation, you need to do some research to learn what types of renovations and additions will actually add value to your home, if that’s important to you. In this post, we’re going to give you 4 options of renovations and additions that will almost definitely increase home value.

Let’s get started!

1. Remodel Your Bathroom

Bathroom remodels are a bit more costly compared to landscaping, but they’re much more profitable in the long run in terms of adding value. 

On average, a bathroom remodel costs 18,000 dollars. While that seems pretty steep, it’s estimated that you can recoup about 66% of that investment when you sell your home later on.

Now, you don’t have to remodel the entire bathroom to see some returns. You can pick and choose a few things to update and still see a great return on investment (ROI). 

Some examples are:

-Replacing the porcelain tile 

-Updating cabinets

-Adding heated floors

-Installing a double sink

-Installing a luxury bath and/or shower head

Depending on whether you’re remodeling a small or a master bath, you could also consider expanding the space to add more square footage, which can increase value greatly.

2. Pay Attention to Your Landscaping

Curb appeal is defined as the visual attractiveness of a property, usually a home, when viewed from the street. Curb appeal is one of the most important factors when determining a home’s value.

Imagine a home with a yard full of dead plants, a door that’s rotting away, unmowed grass, and a broken fence that also has an immaculate inside that’s been fully updated and renovated. 

Most potential buyers are going to be instantly turned off by the decrepit view the see right away and not even wait to see the inside. No matter how great the inside of the home is, without a great outside, the value is going to be quite low.

That being said, one of the best ways to increase your home’s value is to simply pay a bit of attention to your landscaping. Make sure you keep up with lawn maintenance, add in some trees, put in a flower bed, install pathways, etc. You can get creative here!

A bonus of this option is that this can fit into almost any budget. Those on small budgets can focus on lawn maintenance and perhaps planting some flowers. Those with larger budgets can go wild: add in a pond, fruit trees, hire a garden designer, etc. 

Another bonus: adding in large trees that shade your home can reduce your energy costs up to 50%!

3. Add a Fireplace

Fireplaces add an element of cozy homeyness that not much else can create in the same way. They don’t only add warmth to your home though: they can add up to 12,000 dollars in value! 

But don’t think that a fireplace installation is that easy. You’ll need to decide on a wood vs an electric and the size. You’ll also need to follow all building laws and restrictions in your area.

Besides that, you might need to rearrange and adjust your flooring that’s in front of the fireplace by adding in brick, glass and metal tile instead of wood or other flooring materials. 

Another bonus? Using the fireplace for heat in the winter could cut down on your bills during the winter, especially if you live in a colder climate.

4. Add in Some Technology

An estimated 64% of millennials are interested in having smart technology in their homes. This is important to know, considering that millennials are currently the largest generational demographic looking to buy a home.

Not only will adding technology to your home attract buyers, but it can also add value to your home. 

One of the best, and cheapest, options for adding a bit of value to your home is installing a smart thermostat. These thermostats cost a little more than 200 dollars, but they can add that same value to the home. 

Not only that, but it’s also been shown that smart thermostats can decrease yearly energy bills by hundreds of dollars by keeping heating/cooling both exact and efficient.

Another option that can add value and cut down on some bills (which doubles its attractiveness!) is a smart smoke detector. These only cost about 100 dollars, but they can cut insurance premiums by 5%.

Those are some smaller options, but if you’re willing to invest in your home’s value, you should consider adding solar panels. Adding solar panels to your home’s value by as much as $15,000. You can also get federal tax credits to offset the cost of installing the panels by up to 30%, which makes that added value a more lucrative investment.

Remember, these are just a few of your options. Do your research to see what will add value to both your home’s price point and to your life while you’re living there!

Most Common Uses of Porcelain

When you think “porcelain”, does your mind go straight to your bathroom? That’s not surprising seeing as many bathroom floors and components are made of porcelain.

Porcelain is a type of ceramic material that has a multitude of applications. These range from the construction of bathroom floors to art to insulation on high voltage electrical cables. You’ll even find that gorgeous pottery and art pieces from throughout history are made entirely of porcelain materials.

In this post, we’re going to go over some of the most common uses of porcelain along with why it’s used in those applications. Let’s get started!

What Is Porcelain?

Porcelain is a subtype of “ceramic” material. It’s defined as being very hard, non-porous, white in color, very high in strength, and resistant to both chemical and thermal shock.

Porcelain was discovered and first truly used by people in the Tang Dynasty around the year 618 AD. It took people a long time to begin using porcelain for building and other uses because it requires such high temperatures in order to be made. 

The firing temperature for porcelain depends on the type you’re talking about, but a general range is between 2,200 and 2,650 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Those temperatures were almost impossible to reach at earlier points in history, which is understandable: 2,650 degrees Fahrenheit is about the point that melts glass!  

The components of porcelain depend on the specific type, which can include hard paste, soft paste, and bone china types. They usually contain a mixture that includes various amounts of:

• Feldspars
• Quartz
• Kaolinite (a type of clay-like material)
• China stone (in specific types of porcelain)

It’s these components and qualities that allow porcelain to be the perfect material for the following uses/applications:

Building Materials

Porcelain is often used as a type of building material, most often in the form of porcelain tile. There are two subtypes of porcelain tile used for building materials: glazed and through-bodied. 

Glazed porcelain tiles have a glaze coated over the top of the tile that acts as a “finish” to add color and/or design to the tile. These tiles are most often used for decor, color, and design instead of for practical purposes. 

Through-bodied porcelain tiles lack that glaze over the top. These are most often used to create floors, back-splashes, walls, and countertops. Since they don’t have a glaze that would be easily rubbed off/worn down after constant use/wear, it works well in these areas.

Because of the hardness and toughness of this material, they’re highly durable for high-traffic areas. This also makes them perfect for both flooring and countertops.. 

They’re also non-porous, which means they don’t absorb stains, water, or odor. Since they are non-porous and generally non-absorbent, they don’t absorb harmful bacteria or substances. This is another bonus for countertops and floors that are often exposed to such substances.

Bathroom Applications

It’s these same qualities that make porcelain a perfect option for bathroom tile and other bathroom applications.

Porcelain cannot rust and does not absorb water. This makes it perfect for bathrooms where water is inevitable and expected.

This is also why some toilets and sinks are also made of porcelain. Porcelain is more easily molded into various shapes compared to than other material types. This allows it to form the odd and necessary shapes of sinks and toilets.

Porcelain is also easy to clean thanks to its various qualities listed earlier. This is essential for bathrooms (imagine a super-absorbent carpet in there instead of easy-to-clean porcelain tile? Yuck). This along with stain and bacteria resistance makes it the perfect choice.

Fun fact: the belief that bathtubs are made of porcelain is actually incorrect. 

While the color and feel of the material is quite close, modern bathtubs are usually made of acrylic materials or fiberglass reinforced polyester materials. Some tubs are made of porcelain enameled cast iron or steel, but not pure porcelain. 

Electrical Insulation

We mentioned earlier that porcelain is thermal shock resistant, but it’s also a great insulator for high electrical voltages as well. It’s often used in electrical engineering on high-voltage cable terminals, and insulation of antennas.

The American Ceramic Society even states that porcelain and other ceramic-based materials are essential for the electrical components and functioning of smartphones, computers, cars, televisions, and more. 

Porcelain Art

We’ve gone over quite a few practical applications, but not all uses of porcelain are necessarily practical! Porcelain has long been used by artists as a material for sculptures, decorative bowls, vases, and more.

Porcelain dolls were common in the mid- to late-19th century Europe. They’re now considered to be valuable pieces of art and cultural history in Germany, Italy, France, and other European countries. 

Painted porcelain pottery (say that five times fast) was also quite popular in both Europe and Asia. 

Most porcelain pottery during these time periods, and throughout Chinese and Japanese history, was painted after the pots were fired. This was to allow the paint to be fired at a lower temperature in order to preserve the color and pigment of the paint. 

When the paint is applied before the initial firing, it must be fired at the very high temperatures porcelain requires. This leads to colors appearing dimmer and, sometimes, becoming a different color altogether. This causes porcelain pottery to have a distinct appearance compared to other types of painted pottery/art.

Chinese and Japanese porcelain and ceramic pottery is world renowned as well. Porcelain also became a staple of the Chinese economy for thousands of years beginning in the Tang Dynasty that began in the year 618.

So while you might not be using porcelain to create a doll for display, it’s interesting to know that something that lines the floors of your bathroom is also an important cultural material that shaped everything from art in the 1800s and our modern-day electronics!