My Plan for Increasing Our Curb Appeal

Here is the current state of my front yard.  As I discussed in my previous post about outside curb appeal, my husband destroyed all plant life our first summer at the house.  To provide some decoration, I made the wreath on the front door in this DIY post.  To continue improvements on our front yard, my next steps involve prepping the front yard beds and layering down mulch as well as adding some decorative accents.

HOW MUCH MULCH IS NEEDED

My house is 36' long with our front door smack dab in the middle measuring 30" wide.  This creates roughly 33 feet of space following the length of my house and the current beds are 7 feet in depth.  This total space is 231 sqft.  Now the question is "How much mulch do I need to adequately cover the front yard space".  I found a handy calculator on Home Depot that makes this extremely easy.

Calculating your square footage

Results

LANDSCAPED FLOWER BEDS

My choice would be bark mulch rather than rubberized mulch, which doesn't last as long (usually replaced each season), but provides nutrients for the soil and plants. Here are a few nicely landscaped garden beds that represents the vibe I'd like for our front yard.  I really like the creeping phlox, which has coverage like moss, but is a purple flowering plant and does well in the shade.  My favorite mulch look is the black mulch, which also does better in New England climate.



Image sources 1 Westview Bungalow // 2 Fancy Garden Ideas // 3 Decoist // 4 Craftsy

DECORATIVE ACCENTS

WINDOW BOXES

I found this great roundup of 10 DIY window box planters By Stephanie Lynn.  I am not handy so I will not be attempting any of these, but I love the images she has pulled together.  I do have the ability to paint, so I could buy these window box planters from Home Depot for $20.  My window base is 30" so these would fit perfectly underneath.

Image via Home Depot

HANGING GUTTER PLANTER

I love this amazing DIY planter I found on Make It & Love It.

DIY Hanging Gutter Planters

I love the cobalt blue color - so nice!

OTHER PLANTERS

Another great DIY planter I found over on The Country Chic Cottage using lanterns (owl lantern buy here) from Better Home & Gardens collection at Walmart.

OTHER ACCENT PIECES

All these picks are under $60!

Images Top to Bottom:  Garden Cart Plant Stand @ Target // Ceramic Planter @ Home Depot // Pig Table Planter @ Target // Ash Pot @ Target // Garden Stool @ TJMaxx // Mosaic Garden Tables (set of 3) @ TJMaxx

What will you be doing to your yards this year?  Have you already started your garden planting?  I hope you enjoy the DIYs - please feel free to share more and my other decorative picks.

Love, Candace Jean

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