Front Step Curb Appeal!

Writing about this topic is about as big as the great outdoors itself, and can be a little intimidating.  Taking one spot at a time, here are some thoughts for sprucing up your front steps!

A Bright Front Door!

Years ago I was watching a HGTV show and the decorator remarked that your front door paint color is the most important feature of outdoor decor.  Most homes are painted with simple, neutral colors, but that doesn’t have to be true for the front door!

• Using a chip of your main house color, think outside the box! 
• Some fun and interesting colors for a front door include eggplant, deep pink, teal, a crisp red, bright yellow, or navy blue.
• Make sure that you purchase exterior paint in a high gloss finish.
• Don’t be afraid!  It’s easy to paint over a door if you hate your choice! 

A Clean Front Entrance

Make sure your front door, steps, and side windows are clean!  At my home, family and guests all come to the back door, so it’s easy to forget to keep the front tidy.

• Sweep away dirt, cobwebs, and leaves.
• Wipe down the door and threshold as needed.
• Clean side windows.

Door Knocker and Kick Plate

An attractive brass door knocker and kick plate will give your door a finished look.  Polished pewter is also a nice choice. 

• Try to buy products that will not tarnish.
• Purchase both the knocker and kick plate in the same finish.
• As you make a choice, keep the age and style of your home in mind, as well as the size of your door.

See Door Knockers for some online resources.

Doormat

Over the years, I’ve tried many different types of doormats, and have often been disappointed. 

• The types with printed designs often fade in the sun or with foot traffic. 
• Coir mats shed with use and their designs fade too. 
• Hands down, my favorite doormat is made of heavy black rubber in a wrought iron pattern.  These mats don’t fade, show no wear at all and can be cleaned off with a hose.  The dirt gets trapped in the open parts of the design and is easily swept away.  The best part is how attractive these mats look!

See Doormat Sources for some online resources for these mats.

Urns for Your Front Steps

Based on the design of your steps, you will need one or two containers to display seasonal flowers.  Choosing urns is challenging. 

• There are many choices varying in shape, material, and cost. 
• Cement urns are very heavy and urns made of resin may not look as good as you’d like. 
• Quality urns may need to be considered a true investment.

See Sources for Urns for online resources for urns and Flowers for Urns for ideas on filling them.

Final Touch – Add a Wreath!

I have collected a number of seasonal wreathes that I rotate on my front door throughout the year.

• Make sure that each wreath matches your door and the season!
• Very nice wreaths are available at Target and through Lillian Vernon.
• Be selective when you choose your wreaths and toss them when they are worn out!

After all of your efforts, stand at the curb with a smile!  Your neighbors will smile too!

• improvementscatalog.com – this site offers rectangular half-moon shapes and one version that can be personalized
• williams-sonoma.com – also carries great doormats
• nextag.com – lists several nice options for doormats

Do you have a favorite doormat?  We’d love to hear!

• target.com – big name designers offer lovely choices on this site.  Sean Conway for target has designed a square, slatted wooden planter that is very attractive and currently on sale for $59.99.
• Smithandhawken.com – consider the “Libitina Urn” for $49.99 or a large planter with a copper liner and black wrought iron holder for $89.99.
• ballarddesigns.com – offers a wide variety of high quality resin planters that look like the real thing!  Some finishes offered are grey stone, earth tone, aged zinc and weathered brown.  Styles include square, Grecian urn and acanthus.

Also take a look at your local garden shop of home improvement store!  Be selective!

Have you found the perfect urn?  We’d love to hear!

Spring -

• Pansies with stems of pussy willows “planted” toward the back of the planter for height

Summer -

• Try for color that compliments the color of your home or your tricky front door!
• If your front door is pink, skip the red geraniums and go for pink and white flowers!
• Make sure that you keep the flowers varied in height – tall greens in the back, various medium sized plants in the middle and trailing ivy in the front.

Fall -

• Mums or kale or a combination of both
• Kale and trailing ivy last well into the winter in the tri-state area.

Winter -

• This winter I set live evergreen wreaths on the top of my planters and then used the soil in the pot to hold branches of evergreen and holly cut from my own yard.  I tucked glass ball ornaments into the greens!
• Last winter I filled my pots with tons of branches spray painted white.  This was really attractive and easy!

• yourdoorknocker.com – This site offers very traditional choices in eight different finishes and many different sizes.  Engraving is also available.

• door-knocker.com – This site carries some very unique designs including a crab, palm tree, pineaple, turtle and light house.  Here’s a great opportunity to express your personality or interests!  This site also sells the style of knocker that is on my own front door – a doctor’s door knocker.  The way that this knocker is designed, it allows you to hang a wreath from the top!  (See item# BA-A-06 for $48.99)

• houseofantiquehardware.com – This site sells very unusual hardware of a historical or vintage nature.  This could be really helpful if your home is a strong reflection of a certain historical period.

Do you have an idea for a front door knocker?  We’d love to hear!