When you put your home on the market, one of the best ways to pump up interest in your home is to boost its curb appeal. While installing a new mailbox or keeping the lawn well-manicured are great for maintenance, nothing boosts curb appeal quite like a fresh coat of paint on your home’s exterior.
Summer and early fall are a great time to pull the trigger on repainting your home. Ideally, you want warm, dry days. While there’s always a chance of thunderstorms in the summer, a simple check of the weekly forecast will alleviate any risk there.
Summer is also a good time because there aren’t big temperature fluctuations from day to night. If you’ve got perfect temperatures during the day, but then a big drop after the sun goes down, the paint will react and won’t cure properly.
Once you choose your painter, the next step is to start choosing your colors.
First, choose the main body color of your home. This color is what most of your home will be painted, and it will set the tone for the rest of the home. Normally, you would choose something neutral like white, cream, gray, etc. If you have a change in material, such as an entry feature or second roofline, or any other secondary main material feature, include a second main color to complement the first.
Then, choose a complementary accent color that will highlight smaller details, such as doors and shutters. For example, if you paint your home an off-white color, such as cream, choose a blue hue such as navy or a red hue like burgundy to complement it. Finally, tie everything together with a trim color around the windows and eaves.
If you’re not ready for an entire exterior paint job, you can still give your house a facelift with some practical touch-ups on accent pieces. Fresh, bright paint on the front door, stair rails, balconies, shutters or window sashes can vastly improve the look of your house. Plus, it’s easy to change the color on these smaller details every year or two so you can constantly update and boost that curb appeal.
If you’re putting your house on the market, look into a fresh coat of paint or doing some touch ups. It’ll go a long way towards a great first impression when it comes time to show your home.
