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HOME & GARDEN
STYLING: BUFFY HARGETT MILLER; CONTAINER ARRANGEMENTS: TOM ERICSON/THE TRANSPLANTED GARDEN; LOCATION: THE COTTAGES AT OCEAN ISLE BEACH, NORTH CAROLINA
IT DOESN’T TAKE a major overhaul to perk up your home’s exterior. So why wait until something is broken, chipped, and rotten or until there’s a “For Sale” sign in your yard? Think of these smart projects as fresh accents for your home. Like buying new throw pillows (or even a fun pair of sunglasses), these updates offer significant bang for your buck— and you’ll get a little thrill every time you pull into the driveway. Let the spring sprucing start...now!
1. Maintain colorful pots.
Consider planters accessories that change with the seasons. If you have steps leading to the front door, add a pair of topiaries or groupings of pots. You can plant topiary boxwoods or other evergreens as year-round fillers and then add blooming annuals. “Keep it simple with contrasting shades. If you have a redbrick house, you don’t necessarily want pink blooms right next to it. Purple and blue stand out against a white clapboard house, but then again, so does green!” says Anne Daigh, founder and principal of Daigh Rick Landscape Architects in Nashville. Bottom line: Don’t go overboard; pick plants in one or two hues (like white
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and green) that contrast with the exterior of your home.
2. Build a great fence.
Even if you don’t technically have a classic cottage, you can create the same warm, friendly vibe. “I love a picket fence,” says Daigh. “I know it seems cliché, but it makes a place so inviting, like arms extending around the house to welcome you.” A wooden fence with simple diagonal cuts is ideal for a bungalow or Craftsman- style home. Or invest in a wrought iron fence for more stately architecture, like Georgian. “Keep it low—no taller than 32 inches. You don’t want your home to seem like a prison,” she says.
3. Spray away grime.
Pressure washing is quick, inexpensive, and satisfying. Much like getting your shoes shined, it’s a simple task with a huge payoff. “And it’s considerably less expensive than a full-on paint job,” says Chauncey Clark, a Realtor and the vice president of The Peninsula Co. in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Tip: You can rent a pressure washer from your local home-improvement store.
4. Show off your actual home.
Daigh says one of the biggest mistakes that steal the beauty away from the house is having too many plants. Her advice? “Let the architecture shine. Allow the foundation to show; it will give the home presence. Layers of overgrown landscaping can muddy up the look,” she says. When in doubt, just stick with boxwoods. “They are my favorite anchor plants—make groupings at the corners to provide structure, but don’t block the founda- tion,” Daigh adds. Then fill in with grass or a low ground cover (no more than 6 inches tall) that runs right up
to the foundation.
5. Wow with window boxes.
They’re a lot like puppies—high maintenance but really cute. Daigh says window boxes require frequent, sometimes daily, watering, so ensure that you can easily reach them. They should be at least 12 inches deep (to give plants enough room to root and grow) and have adequate drainage. Daigh likes to use dwarf boxwoods and ivy, adding pansies in the winter and another annual in the summer.
MARCH 2018 / SOUTHERNLIVING.COM
EXTERIOR UPDATES
10 Secrets of Curb Appeal
Small upgrades and subtle tweaks that will add major charm
BY ELIZABETH PASSARELLA | PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBBIE CAPONETTO