5 Ways to Upgrade Your Outdoor Space
With summer fast approaching, it’s the perfect time to revamp your home’s outdoor space. Investing in strategic upgrades can enhance your home atmosphere, increase its resale value and improve your quality of life.
Here are five exterior upgrades to consider, along with the estimated cost of each.
Freshen Up your Paint
The fastest way to refresh your outdoor space is to apply a new coat of paint. Repainting your home’s exterior, including walls, window boxes, decks and doors, can make your home look newer, cleaner and more modern. Plus, if you use a weather-resistant paint, you’ll also set your home up for less wear and tear over time.
If you want to hire painting professionals, you’ll save time and energy but you could end up spending a few thousand dollars. DIY painting, on the other hand, costs just a few hundred dollars in paint and supplies, but it can take dozens of hours, especially if you don’t have painting experience.
Enhance your Lighting
Upgrading your outdoor lighting has practical and aesthetic benefits. Investing in flood lights, pathway lights, garage lights, sensor lights and door lights can help you see better in the dark and potentially prevent trespassers from entering your property.
Meanwhile, porch, patio and garden lighting can improve the ambiance, amp up the cozy factor and give you an excuse to spend more time outdoors. Depending on the look you want, you could try string lights and hanging lanterns or look into lamp posts and sconces.
Lighting can be expensive, especially if you need someone to install it for you. If you purchase wall-mounted sconces, for example, and set them up on your own, you can probably keep your spending under $1,000. But if you buy recessed garage lighting or flood lights, you might end up spending several thousand dollars in materials and labour.
Repair your Pavement
If the pavement in your yard or driveway is cracked or covered in potholes, consider repaving. Repairing your pavement helps improve your home’s curb appeal and functionality. That’s because smooth, level pavement isn’t just safer to walk on and easier to clean, it’s also simpler to ‘dress up.’
In addition to repairing cracks and crumbling, you can stain pavement or add patterns to match your home’s aesthetic.
It’s a good idea to enlist professional help to repave concrete areas. The cost depends on whether you decide to repair existing pavement or pave an area from scratch. The former can cost upwards of $1,000, while the latter can cost $5,000 or more.
Add a Fire Pit
A fire pit is a relatively affordable way to amp up the style, warmth and coziness of your outdoor space. You can centre a fire pit in your eating area or use a fire pit to create a separate zone for chatting and roasting s’mores.
Depending on the look you want, you can either purchase a table with a built-in gas fire pit, build a campfire-style pit in your ground or construct a more traditional fireplace attached to your home’s exterior.
If you buy a small portable fire pit and assemble it yourself, expect to spend a few hundred dollars. But if you want a more lavish fire pit or one built into your space, you could end up spending anywhere from $1,000 to $6,000 or more.
Revive or Create a Garden
Gardens require regular maintenance but with the right care and attention, they add an incredible amount of visual intrigue and tranquility to your outdoor space. Plus, they’re a beautiful selling point for your home.
In a small outdoor area, you can build boxes for your favourite herbs, vegetables or flowers. However, if you have ample outdoor space, you could create a walkable garden with different sections and even a sitting area. You could even build a gazebo or pergola.
If you’re just purchasing seeds and soil, you can build a garden for a few hundred dollars; all you need are some basic gardening tools and a good work ethic. However, if you want to purchase more expensive flora or build a pergola or gazebo, you could end up spending a few thousand dollars on labour and materials.
Hippo is a home insurance group focused on proactive home protection.
Clare Tattersall and www.realtorontowest.com disclaim any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this article and disclaims all liability in respect to the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this article. The opinions of the writer are their own and are in no way influenced by or representative of the opinions of Clare Tattersall or www.realtorontowest.com.
