Bad Home Advice Dished Out On Curb Appeal
HGTV's smash hit "Curb Appeal" has been running since 1999. That's well over 20 years and hundreds of episodes worth of interesting remodels. As with any show airing that long, there have been a few flops over the years. Popular decorating styles change with time, so watching early episodes will likely have you cringing and thinking, "Yikes, that's not going to age well." But even in more recent episodes, some of the renovation advice dished out on the show will have even the most loyal viewers scratching their heads.
Curb appeal as a concept is the idea of how pretty a home is at first glance, per Investopedia. When you are trying to sell your home, you are likely to hear your real estate agent say that you need to update its curb appeal. This way, your property will make a good first impression on buyers. If you are the one buying, you will likely notice curb appeal, too. If a home looks unkempt from the outside, why would you bother looking inside?
The TV show "Curb Appeal" takes this idea to the extreme. Most homeowners featured are not interested in selling their houses at all. Instead, they just don't like the overall aesthetic of their home and watch to switch things up. This often leads to interesting results that viewers should be wary of replicating at home. Here is all the bad home advice from "Curb Appeal" that you should avoid.
It's okay to change your entire design after construction has begun
Something you see a lot on home renovation shows is a change in the plan when work has already begun. For example, in "Asian Inspired Makeover" the Denton family spent the first half of the episode transforming their drab cottage into a home that looks like it belongs on the Pacific Coast Highway. Yet, after much of the work was already completed, they decided to ditch the California Coastal look. Instead, they wanted to lean into more of an East Asian design. If you were going to recreate this change of mind at home, you could, but just know that it's going to cost you.
According to Mascord Design Associates, when you are financing the redesign of your home, you are totally in control. You can make as many changes as you want. You just need the budget for it. If any of the changes you make are structural, you might have to go back to the beginning for approval. This could set your construction timeline back weeks as you reapply for the necessary permits. The same could be said for ordering new materials, as you never know when they might arrive. All that, plus you have the sunk costs of the labor you've already paid for, plus all the supplies you now won't use. To avoid this, take a little extra time at the beginning of the process to ensure you have a plan you can stick to.
Updating your curb appeal should involve major construction
Something viewers of "Curb Appeal" will begin to notice is that these homeowners aren't just sprucing things up around the house. Instead, most episodes show couples spending thousands of dollars to carry out what might seem like major construction to some. For example, in the episode "Boright," the family loves visiting the beach. To incorporate their hobby into their main residence, they spend thousands of dollars building an entirely new front porch. While the result certainly adds a beachy flair to the property, those watching at home should pause before doing the same.
Before you begin updating your home's curb appeal, consider your why. For the Boright family, it was more about individual design preferences and less about increasing the overall value of their home. While they might love their new front porch, if they were selling the house, it might not add much value for potential buyers. If you are sprucing up your home to sell, consider ways to get the most bang for your buck instead.
According to The Budget Decorator, there are plenty of curb appeal-boosting projects you can do on a budget and even in just one day. Instead of spending thousands on a contractor and building a new porch, try adding a fresh coat of paint to the structure you already have. That, plus adding a fresh potted plant to the walkway, will go far with potential buyers.
You can use textiles outdoors without thought
The outdoor seating areas created on "Curb Appeal" are picture-perfect, but this is just because they are on TV. Often, we see the designers putting together porches with textiles, yet they never mention the weather. Caring for outdoor fabrics requires a lot of thought, no matter how the professionals might make it seem. While the Boright family had a gorgeous porch with pillows and seat cushions, the show forgot to mention the many problems the family could run into after the cameras disappeared.
According to designer Liz Marie, you have to think ahead to protect your outdoor pillows from the elements. That is, unless you want to swap them out each season because they are damp, covered in mold, and very, very stinky. Luckily, there are a few things budding designers can do to keep their textiles safe. First, you can purchase pillows that are specially made for the outdoors. That said, you still need to keep an eye on the weather and bring them inside if things are getting particularly hairy outside. Like any textile, they need to be cleaned often. However, if none of the items in the outdoor decor area are calling your name, don't worry. All you need to do to convert indoor cushions for outdoor use is spray them with Scotch Guard.
Swapping one siding for another increases the home's overall appeal
Sometimes swapping out siding can majorly increase your home's overall curb appeal. If your siding is old, peeling, dingy, or a design that is out of fashion, investing in a fresh look is typically worth it. Whether you plan to sell, or just want to come home to a prettier house, updating the siding can do the trick. However, viewers of "Curb Appeal" were left scratching their heads when a family on the show decided to spend north of $10,000 swapping out their siding. Yet there was nothing wrong with it in the first place.
In the episode "Clearly Contemporary," the Devlin family had a beautiful home with red brick siding on the lower portion. They completed major renovations to update their home's curb appeal, including changing the red brick for a rustic dark stone. The stone looked fantastic, but the cost is hard to justify for the overall impact it has on the final look. According to real estate agent Noemy Martinez Conway, both brick and stone are classic materials for siding.
Homeowners have used each for hundreds of years, providing great exterior protection to all buildings. The options are similar in cost and tend not to go out of style. This is why the Devlins' choice to swap one for the other, and spend so much in the process, is baffling. Instead, viewers should try to enhance the siding option they already have, such as with a thorough power washing, to achieve a fresh look instead.
Not matching the landscape to the environment
Part of ensuring your home has good curb appeal is making sure your property doesn't stand out too much from the rest of the nearby houses. Sure, individuality is important. We are certainly not advocating that everyone fall into "Stepford Wives" type of living. However, if you have an ultra-modern home on a street filled with rustic cottages, or the other way around, you won't have much curb appeal. Instead, you will stick out like a sore thumb. The same could be said for homes with lawns that don't match their neighbors' homes. If you live in a neighborhood where everyone else has green lawns and flowerbeds, going for desert chic with all rocks instead is going to set you back.
We see this a lot on "Curb Appeal." Instead of considering the entire aesthetic of the neighborhood to bring out the best in their homes, contestants on the show instead go all out with hyper-individualist decor. According to Cedar Management Group, this can hurt the overall value of all the properties. Curb appeal is a community effort, so it's unlikely your neighbors will be your biggest fans if your house looks a bit too much like you. Neighbors can impact a home's resale value, so you don't want to be that weirdo down the street, per Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group.
Louvered shutters look great, but don't have to work
If you are going to add an element to your home to increase its curb appeal, it's a good idea if the item works. For example, what's the point of having beautiful dormer windows if you can't see out of them? Sure, they add a snap of detail to your home's exterior, but any potential buyer will be disappointed to learn they just lead into the attic. The same could be said for smaller details, like shutters. The Singh family decides to paint their beautiful Lourved shutters in the episode "Key West Casual." The shutters look fantastic in the final reveal. However, it is a missed opportunity that they were not treated as more than just a fashion statement.
In both the before and after, the shutters are mere fashion pieces and have no functional purpose. While shutters do make for great curb appeal, the benefits of working shutters are not to be overlooked. According to Timberlane, working shutters can be opened and closed to control the amount of light in a room. You can also use them to allow for more privacy in a space, while still allowing for a nice breeze to drift inside. Ignoring the potential for the shutters to be both fashionable and functional is something you should not overlook when updating your own home.
Stainless steel doors are not a lot of maintenance
Choosing the right front door for your home is a large part of the curb appeal process. Unfortunately, more often than not, viewers of the HGTV hit show will witness homeowners making some questionable choices when it comes to the centerpiece of their property. According to Best Pick Reports, a front door should provide you with three main things: Safety, privacy, and style. Your door should keep pests and predators outside, while maintaining the energy efficiency of your home. When the Devlin family chose to upgrade their home's door with an ultra-modern stainless steel option on their episode of "Curb Appeal," they praised how well it fits into their home's modern aesthetic. They also spent $7,000 on just the door to do so, which might be some viewers' entire renovation budget.
Stainless steel doors are strong, so they provide good security to your home. However, their postmodern vibe can be off-putting to visitors and their upkeep can be tedious. Wooden and fiberglass doors, or even non-stainless steel doors finished to look like these options, tend not to show every single fingerprint or mark from your dog's nose. However, unlike its name might suggest, stainless steel door will, per Next Door Company. These doors require a bit more upkeep than a standard door. So unless you want to add another chore to your list, avoid installing one in your own home.
Niching too far down won't hurt resale value
Of course, you should play up your style interests when remodeling your home. However, before doing so, consider your "why." Often on shows like "Curb Appeal," the homeowners don't have a clear reason for their renovations other than "we just felt like it." Before you start, think about the reasoning behind your actions. Is the home simply not to your taste, and do you want to brighten things up? Or would you like to sell the house and need it to look fresh?
In both cases, be aware that themed curb appeal, just like themed rooms, can hurt resale value. In the Denton's episode "Asian Inspired Makeover," the couple make their love for East Asian-inspired decor evident. Unfortunately, should they ever try to sell, including Japanese lanterns as their main source of lighting a 300-pound buddha in their yard won't go over well with a large pool of buyers. While you should not have to abandon your style when updating, you should do so knowing you might have to backtrack should you ever move. According to Blythe Building Company, even those who build completely custom homes should always hold resale value in the back of their minds. Things like lots of windows, energy-efficient appliances, and large closets work well for selling again. Buddha statues do not.
Cutting down healthy trees is unavoidable
When possible, you should keep trees around as you increase the curb appeal of your home. According to Bright View, the presence of mature trees on your property can actually drive up value, sometimes by up to 7%. This is because trees provide things like shade cover while enjoying the outdoors, attract local wildlife for viewing enjoyment, and even ensure privacy from nosy neighbors.
Unfortunately, viewers of "Curb Appeal" see families across multiple episodes decide to cut out trees for looks alone. Some of the trees were said to block the view to the front door from the street, while others "were on the way out" and needed to be taken down anyway. However, all trees cut down on the show appeared healthy, so the reasoning didn't seem convincing. Trees that are leaning, rotting, or growing fungus should be taken down, as are trees that have no signs of green under their bark, per Integrity Tree Care. The trees on "Curb Appeal" were just cut down for looks, which if the homeowners were attempting to increase the overall value of their home, isn't a great idea.
Mixing metal and shingles looks great on a roof
Sometimes contestants on reality home renovation shows make interesting design choices. Some are simply a product of the times, as what's in vogue changes drastically through the years. Yet other times, the design choice is a total faux pas, no matter the decade. The Singh's choice to mix metal and shingle as roof choices is an interesting one because, in reality, these materials are best used separately.
According to Sheffield Metals, metal is a very lightweight choice, which can be expensive upfront, but the cost will even out over time because of how long it lasts. It is a low-maintenance option and tends to be pretty fire-resistant, as metal doesn't burn. Shingles, on the other hand, are cheaper upfront. They may require more patch-ups through the years, but these are typically not too expensive as it's easy to find a qualified technician. Yet by mixing the two options, with one on the porch and the other on the rest of the roof, the Singhs created quite the conundrum. It's a mix of two price points, a different set of repairmen for different parts of the roof, and a strange, textured look. For those following along at home, just pick one.
You should insist on a wooden door
When you are pricing out how much money you plan to spend on updating your own home's curb appeal, remember: Being a purist is much more work. When selecting materials for a new deck, flowers for landscaping, or even your new front door, sometimes paying for faux materials is the way to go. They can be cheaper, easier to clean, and just as safe as the real deal — without the hassle.
We see this going the opposite way on an episode of "Curb Appeal" when the Dentons choose a more expensive option because it's "real wood." In reality, a fiberglass door that looks like wood is just as effective without the big price tag. According to Thompson Creek, fiberglass doors also tend to be more energy efficient than wooden doors. So not only do they come with a cheaper price up front, but they can save you money on your energy bills over time, too. They also won't rot or weaken when exposed to the harsh elements of the outdoors. So before making your next purchase just for aesthetics like those on "Curb Appeal," be sure to consider a longer list of pros and cons.