We’ve all done it. Turned up at someone’s home, only to stand on the footpath outside puzzling over where the front door is located. To increase street appeal, your home’s front door should always be easy to locate, with a clear route to it.
1. Make your front door visible
For many homes, this is easy – modern designs in particular are very keen on using pillars to frame the entry. You can achieve a similar effect using a verandah with an attractive handrail, or a change in roofline. Just be careful that your front door doesn’t end up looking look an endless black hole through shading. Another current trend, using a brightly painted front door, can help with this. But even a light-coloured wood makes a difference.
Avoid overgrown bushes that hide the front door, or piles of junk. Apart from improving street appeal, having your front door visible is a good security precaution.
2. Car parking
For some houses, parking the cars in an open carport and effectively blocking the front door is the only parking option you have. This probably doesn’t matter too much if you’re not expecting visitors, but if you are, look at other options such as parking in tandem, or putting one car on the street. The last thing visitors want to do is squeeze past your cars in the search for the front door. And you probably don’t want them scratching up your cars, either!
3. A clear path to the front door
Even if your front door isn’t immediately visible, for example if it’s tucked around the corner, having a clear path is a great choice for showing the way. Access via a front gate is great if you can manage it, but even a pathway turning off from the driveway is good.
Avoid planting large trees and bushes beside the path, as they’ll soon overgrow it and confuse visitors about whether it’s the way to the front door or not. Plus who wants to brush up against weeds and plants? They came to visit you, not trek through a jungle.
So there you have it – 3 ways to improve the street appeal of your property by letting everyone know where your front door is.