In recent years, fire pits, walkways, and patios have topped the list for new home additions. Why not get ahead of the game and build these for your home and for the next buyer? Whether you’re selling your home in six months, or you simply want to keep up with the trends of your neighborhood, consider these five ways to quickly add curb appeal to your home.
Add Curb Appeal with 5 Key Outdoor Projects
1. Fire Pits
Backyard fire pits have become must-haves in recent years. Many homeowners build fire pits because they provide warmth while adding atmosphere to an outdoor living space.
Fire pits allow homeowners to enjoy their outdoor living spaces throughout the year, offering heat and homey elegance. When accented with comfortable outdoor furniture, a fire pit can help potential buyers visualize themselves enjoying the backyard. Here are some of the products used most often to build outdoor fire pits:
- TuscanStone Fire Pits: If you want square fire pit, TuscanStone is a great choice. This fire pit is built simply using 3-5 layers of blocks.
- StackStone Fire Pit: If you want something more circular, you should consider StackStone. To build a 58” diameter pit, layer 3 rows, with a fourth and fifth layer on half of the circle. This ledge blocks the wind and provides and opening for guests to sit on the opposite side.
2. Walkways
Not only do many homeowners want fire pits, they want a walkway that leads to the fire pit. Walkways provide a structure and order to the backyard and can be used to draw attention to gardens, outdoor play areas and other backyard elements.
- Clay Pavers – Clay Pavers are an outstanding choice for backyard walkways as they are versatile in design. With these pavers you get a variety of colors and textures that allow you to create your own unique design.
- Flagstone Walkways – Flagstone comes from directly from nature so there are no pieces that look the same. These will give your walkway a truly rustic look with a touch of elegance.
- Dominion Pavers – These pavers are tumbled and come in three different sizes to create diverse patterns and lend well to walkways. With rounded corners, Dominion pavers are similar to European design styles.
3. Patios
Adding a patio automatically increases the value of your home since it adds living space outdoors. For ultimate convenience, build a patio right next to your house, preferably in the area that affords the most privacy from any neighboring homes. These patio products can help you, and future owners of your home, enjoy your backyard:
- Architectural Slab Patios – If you are looking for a more modern style for your patio, architectural slabs are the ideal option. With uniform colors and clean lines, architectural slabs can help you create a modern oasis.
- Flagstone Patios – With each stone being a different size and shape, you’ll never have two areas that look the exact same. Flagstone is a great choice for those who prefer natural, classic styles.
- Clay Pavers – These pavers come in rich, deep, earthy colors. As a design choice they offer attractive design options, are relatively inexpensive, and will last for years. There are multiple designs which will provide you with plenty of opportunities to find the right style; for a complete list of patio designs, visit here.
4. Retaining Walls
Retaining walls can serve multiple functions; both practical and decorative. They can hold back soil from a building or structure while also preventing down slope movement and provide support for vertical grade changes. They also can serve as an effective runoff solution. Potential home buyers will see retaining walls as a value add as they can also maximize the amount of useable yard by defining spaces. Here are some of the materials commonly used for residential backyard retaining walls:
- CypressStone – These retaining walls are simple to install and require little maintenance. This system includes corners and a choice of Revers-a-Cap or Coping units to finish it. CypressStone can be used for gravity walls up to 4 ft. and reinforced walls up to 26 feet.
- ManorStone – The unique feature of ManorStone Retaining walls is that they can also be used for planters, terraced gardens and steps. ManorStone is available in multiple shapes and sizes to meet your specific need. ManorStone is ideal for gravity walls up to 3 feet.
- CornerStone – CornerStone is best when you have projects that require 90 and 45 degree angles for inside or outside corners. Stairs, railings, and edges can be effectively integrated into any hardscape design. For a full list of Mutual Materials retaining wall materials, visit here.
5. Driveways
You probably rarely think about the appearance of your driveway, but this may well be the first feature a potential home buyer sees when they visit your home. Installing brick or stone in place of gravel, dirt or even an already-paved driveway can transform what might be a buyer turn-off into the focal point and most memorable aspect of your property. If you haven’t thought about it before, check out some of the materials you can use to step-up the look of your driveway:
- Eco-Priora Driveways – Eco-Prioria pavers allows stormwater to infiltrate directly into the soil rather than carry into storm drains. This enables homeowners to live a little greener which is very popular with many Pacific Northwest home buyers. An permeable paver driveway will not crack because of the flexibility of the joints between each paver. Additionally, if repairs are needed, they can be addressed without having to replace the entire driveway.
- Holland Driveways – Holland pavers are a traditional paver that look great in a driveway application. They come in three different colors: Charcoal, Harvest Blend, and Summit Blend. Holland pavers also come in three different sizes: Holland, Double Holland, and Triple Holland. This allows homeowners to express creativity when designing and constructing their driveways.
- Dominion Slate Driveways – Dominion Slate pavers have a unique slate texture with slight rippling to provide a surface with soft ridges that lends well to designing a variety of driveways. Like the Eco-Prioria driveways, repairs are simple to address and don’t require the entire driveway to be corrected.
When it’s time to increase your home’s curb appeal these projects can take your property from so-so to highly desirable. You can do many if not all of them yourself which is an added bonus whether you want to increase curb appeal to sell your home or to increase your pride as a homeowner.