Postscript: Curb Appeal

The Palo Alto home profiled in my Curb Appeal post has sold... for 10% over the list price. Did the landscaping have anything to do with it?

Curb Appeal

How do you make a house look great in preparation for offering it for sale? One of the most important factors is that hard-to-define quality of "curb appeal." The changes don't need to be huge; just some judicious color and some handsome accents can change the potential buyer's first impression from "ho-hum" to "gotta have it!"
Here's an example of some subtle changes that add up to a great effect for this English cottage style garden:

before…
…and after
with the addition of some color
and a little style.

The best part is, these changes don't need to be expensive. The transformation above cost about $1000 in plants, mulch and labor; the sellers of this home at 2255 Cornell Street estimate it added about 5x that amount to the home's desirability.

The Big TV Star

Well, my debut on "Landscape Smart" went well.

It's very weird seeing oneself on TV.

But at least the yard looked good.

Another Smart Landscape

I've been invited back to film another episode of HGTV's "Landscape Smart" -- apparently the last one was pretty well received.

This time we're working with homeowners who have two very energetic kids and two very energetic dogs, so the yard has to be as tough as it is good-looking. We've installed a bike/play path of decomposed granite, with a faux bridge atop a constructed berm set with flowing plants to create the illusion of water (since neither standing water nor a dry creek would be the safest thing).

I'll have more 'after' shots to share with you in a few weeks... stay tuned!

Sweating Bullets

Well, somehow we did it! And the transformation is nothing short of stunning. Here's the residence
before we got our hands on it...

...and
after.

Frankly, I'm a bit astonished it came together so well, especially in just two days. Never underestimate the quality of your crew...

...or your design!