Adding Curb Appeal Even With Strict Condo Rules + Small Budget

Here are some tips for adding curb appeal even with strict condo rules and a small budget!  The condo rules for our townhouse stipulated that we couldn’t change much: the door color, exterior color, mailbox design and color, trim color, lighting choice, door style – they are all part of a “master design scheme”.  Which seemed silly to me, because not everyone’s door was the same.  We, unfortunately, got a plain ugly orange door.  This is what the townhouse looked like when we first toured the property in 2009:

Once the house was ours, I made the left side “flower bed” (if I can call that dirt-heap a flower bed) deeper and planted a small yew bush, which I refuse to prune.  Planted to the right of the walkway were Lily of the Valley flowers (my favorite!) mailed to me by my mother-in-law and pilfered from my grandparents’ garden.  You can’t really see from the photos, but we matched the paint and repainted the door.  It was fresher and looked more new, but still condo-approved.  We also swapped out the brass door hardware for a pretty brushed silver handle and lock (obscured by the condo-issued brown storm door).

The house certainly looked more loved after our efforts but, by the time we went to sell years later, our little spruce had faded.  The orange mulch had turned blah and the salt had wreaked havoc on our lawn.  The colorful mat, which was originally teal, turquoise and orange (I was trying to tie the stupid color scheme together) had become disgusting.  Even the mailbox was looking worse for wear.

We didn’t do much to get the exterior ready for sale but we did plant some grass seed, splurge on fresh mulch, buy a crisp new mat, and add a colorful potted plant.  Oh yes, we also restored the mailbox with a quick blast of black spray paint.  I still refused to prune my yew.

During our original sprucing, I made a wreath with my Mummu, a devoted crafter.  I added teal-grey eucalyptus (the same color as our exterior), plus gold and coppery glittery bits to complement the orange door.  If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!

These small changes made the exterior of the townhouse more welcoming and helped boost our curb appeal, without spending a lot of money – or breaking condo rules!  Even though we weren’t allowed to change much, freshening up the door and mailbox with the same color paint made a big difference!  New hardware helped spruce up the front door.  And adding some accessories (a door mat, a wreath) that tied in the teal and orange the condo chose made the design look more intentional.

Here’s a Summary of What We Did:

• Repainted the mailbox
• Repainted the door
• Replaced door hardware
• Seeded the grass
• Planted shrubberies and flowers
• Added accessories to complement the existing color scheme