Increase Your Curb Appeal For Summer

When decorating for summer, the exterior of your home can be just as important as the inside -- after all, it's the first thing people see. Walk out to the sidewalk and take a look at your house from the street -- is it fresh and welcoming or dull and tired? The fastest way to brighten up the outside of your home is to paint the front door in a crisp new colour. If you want to take on a bigger project, now is a great time to paint siding and trim too.

Landscaping plays a huge part in getting your home summer-ready. Clean up the debris left over from winter; plant a garden full of brightly coloured flowers; place a planter full of greenery or flowers on each side of the front door. Add window boxes for splashes of colour that draw the eye up as well.

A brightly coloured welcome mat is a great summer accent that has an added bonus -- besides the visual appeal, it keeps the dirt tracked inside to a minimum (less time spent cleaning and more time for outside!). Add a wreath (grapevine or twig work best) to the front door - it can be decorated with summery accents and easily changed to reflect each season. If space permits, a comfortable bench by the front door is a perfect finishing touch.

Take it a step further and create an outdoor living space. Start with some comfortable patio furniture -- a couple of lounge chairs, a wicker loveseat, a swing or hammock, and small side tables if you have room. Add a few lanterns, some greenery and a summery rug, and you have a relaxing summer retreat that will really boost your home's summer curb appeal!

Where Do I Stop Paint Colour?

One question I get asked a lot is where to stop paint colour. Here are a few guidelines for a couple of different scenarios:

If the ceiling in your room goes up on an angle from a low wall, continue the wall colour upwards – otherwise it brings the ceiling too far down and makes the room look oddly proportioned.

When it comes to rounded corners, stopping the colour would create an odd line, so colour should be continued. Only stop at straight corners/edges.

A common scenario is the living/dining room combo. When both rooms share one long wall, that wall should be one colour - stopping anywhere along that wall will look choppy. If you choose, you can paint the entire wall a different colour from the other walls in the room to define space – but that wall needs to be all one colour along its whole length.