It is May, spring is here, the sun is shining a lot of the days and your neighbours are coming out of their winter seclusion and spending time in the front yard again. As we begin to make our list of all the house chores we want to get done over the next couple of months, now is a great time to put “Sprucing up the front of house” on that list. ✔️

So here are 9 things that you can do to spruce up your curb appeal.

Paint your front door.

One of the easiest ways to freshen the look of your home is with a new coat of paint on the front door. If you are wanting to be trendy, take a look at Pantone’s Color of the year, Viva Magenta. I’m currently trying to decide what colour I want to paint my front door - maybe Provincial Realty blue would make a good choice?

Pressure wash your front deck and sidewalk

Giving that space a good cleaning can do wonders for a freshened look. Did you know that you can rent these tools from Home Depot’s rental department? Check out all the options here.

Add cold-hardy flowers to pots or front gardens

Yes, frost is still a possibility and actually the last frost date on PEI is not until June 20th this year. So make sure that any plants you are putting in the ground outside are cold hardy plants, like pansies. Adding a planter of pansies to your front area instantly makes it seem like a happier and more fun place to be.

Remulch your gardens

Spring roadside pickup has started so now is the time to clean-up your gardens. And while that can make a huge difference, that final step of adding the mulch just ups the ante that much higher. You can grab the bags at Kent or Home Depot, or you can call a local gardening supplier and have them deliver the mulch by the truckload to your front yard.

Add Spring Decor

Adding a spring wreath, a brightly coloured “Welcome” sign, a happy mat are 3 more options to freshen the feeling of the front of your house. Put away the winter wreath that has pine boughs and pine cones with red plaid ribbon and bring out a forsythia inspired wreath for a breath of freshness.

Check your outdoor lights

If you are anything like me, you avoid any home maintenance tasks outside in the winter, because it’s cold. But I guess I should get around to figuring out what’s going on with one of the outdoor lights - does it need a new bulb or is it something more? If the style of your outdoor lights just isn’t doing it for you, this is a great time to update them to something more modern, that provides more light.

Change out the key lock for an code lock

While this won’t really make the front of your house look any better or more fresh, it’s so handy to not need a key. So now that we can have the doors open for 20 minutes while we change out the lock, take advantage and make accessing your house just that much easier.

New knobs?? Painted knobs??

And while you are taking that door apart, what about freshening up the look with a new knob. There is a personal aesthetic that you are drawn to and maybe the knob on your newly painted front door just isn’t doing it for you anymore. So CHANGE IT or paint it. Make it work for you!

And lastly…
Plan out a freshened garden space

In a couple weeks, it will be planting time so what are you going to be putting in baskets, planters and the front garden? I am a huge fan of perennials that I can plant one year and then they grow and fill and grow and prosper. I will have more to follow about my favourite plants for easy maintenance and great looks! Planning ahead will help you at the garden centre from buying ALL THE PLANTS!!! Your partner will thank me!

So put on some sunscreen, a sunhat and make your property be a shining example of loveliness.

Sprucing up the front of your home for spring.