Curb Appeal - It Matters!

It’s 6:15 on a rainy morning in Wisconsin. The house is quiet. The lake is relatively calm. Our yard; a herd highway. Time to grab a Diet Coke, stare out the window, and dream about the landscaping I want.

We’ve been working in the dirt. Our daughter gets married here next summer. I want the house perfect; inside and out.

Erika Riggs emphatically typed, “… the first thing we do when we pull up in front of a house is judge. Maybe we like what we see, or maybe we don’t and that’s why first impressions count in real estate. It’s called “curb appeal.” (Zillow; August 12, 2016)

Visual Charm. First Look. Allure.

I’ll admit it. I’m shallow. I do judge a house by its cover.

It matters!

We put on grubbies and head outside. Matt buys a lawn mower. I pull weeds and throw rocks in a pile as he walks back and forth. We argue walking circles around the house. I Google lens existing plants and make a list. We can only buy what we know we can’t kill. We drag patio furniture from storage, creating outdoor vignettes (we’ll probably never sit in) for al fresco dining, sunsets, and bonfires.

I make plans to bulk buy mulch, rock, and gravel. I put “clean outdoor lantern lights, wash windows, power wash front entry, re-stain timbers, fill porch pots with fresh flowers” on the to do list.

I feel productive.

I like to make. To do. To stand back and evaluate. To judge, to learn, to try again.

We call an expert landscape designer to ask his opinion. I just know this will lead to a bid. I pray the number will be so high we faint. Sorry Matt, I do not want my dreams of a Summer of outdoor accomplishment to go up in flames.