Are you considering putting your Calgary house for sale? Then indeed you must have thought about renovating the kitchen and bathrooms etc. But do you know landscaping can increase not only the curb appeal of your house but also increase the return on investment by 15-25%? Crazy, isn’t it? We have been landscaping Calgary for the last two decades. Thus here we are with four breakthrough landscaping ideas that will help you sell your home quickly and at a good price.
So, let’s start!
Four Great Landscaping Ideas To Sell Your Home!
#1: Patio and Walkways
Patio and walkways both give a finish to your house. While walkways enhance the curb appeal, the patio enhances the utility of the house.
A beautiful well-landscaped patio increases your investment return by 10-20%. Thus updating and upgrading your patio is a must-do if you plan to sell your house anytime soon.
A patio adds living space to your house and often serves as the dining room for you and your family. It gives your backyard a structure and plays a key role in beautifying it.
Patios are nowadays being preferred more than wooden decks. The reason? Easy, patios last longer and are low maintenance. Wood is prone to rot and thus has a limited short lifespan. On the other hand, patios are usually made of concrete or paving stones; both are durable and low maintenance. Although a new entry in the market, the composite wood is stealing the show from all other options. This composite wood looks like wood and is not prone to rotting.
Walkways and driveways are essential curb-appeal elements. The curb appeal of your house attracts any passerby or anybody looking up the photographs of your property. It is the first impression, and if that clicks, you have a higher chance of selling your property quickly.
An excellent way of making your patio and walkways attractive is by using paving stones. As already said, they are durable, low maintenance, and beautiful. What else do you need? Paving stones come in the form of large format pavers, wood-alike pavers, natural stone pavers, etc. You have endless options for creating patterns through them and decorate your patio and walkways.
For those of us who want eco-friendly solutions, pavers offer an additional advantage. They are eco-friendly and let the rainwater seep into the earth. Otherwise, this water would run into storm drains.
#2: Fire Features
Fire features like a fireplace or a firepit are valuable additions to any house. Unlike other home décor investments, including fire features,provide a great return on investment. Plus, the ambiance and coziness it yields to the place are unbeatable.
Whatever be the purpose, a gathering, family’s night outside, or date under the starry sky, a fireplace sets the perfect mood for it. Let’s see the benefits of a fireplace or a fire pit:
1. Increased Property Price:
First of all, since you are planning to sell off your home, an increased property price is an essential factor. Any buyer interested in having some gala nights beside the fire will surely be interested in these fire features. Thus, a cozy and beautiful fireplace can help crack the deal and that too at a better price.
2. Provides Warmth And Comfort:
Now for the most obvious factor. Fire features provide warmth and help you host parties in the open much earlier in the year. So, all those who love spending their winter nights with a sweater, fire, and roasted marshmallows will find this feature alluring.
3. Uplifts The Aesthetics:
Whether you kindle fire or not, a fireplace or a fire pit looks stunning with all the stonework done. It can make an otherwise dull yard look more attractive. Compliment it with suitable seating arrangements and a coffee table, and you are good to go.
4. Great for gatherings and date nights:
A fireplace or a fire pit livens the atmosphere and makes a perfect setting for jolly gatherings and romantic dates.
5. Outdoor Cooking:
The last reason you should incorporate the fire feature is that you can use it for cooking. You need not be a star chef to cook on the fire. It instantly takes you to the nostalgic bonfire memories. You can do anything from roasting marshmallows to grilling dinner.
Thus, with so many benefits, you can rest assured that fire features will improve the chances of a sale and increase investment return.
#3: Landscape Lighting
The play of lights and shadow in your garden is mysterious as well as fascinating. It makes your nighttime strolls a thing to look forward to.
Calgary landscaping is never complete without some good landscape lighting. Indeed well lit outdoors has many benefits. First of all, it increases the curb appeal of your house. Secondly, it makes your home way more secure. And thirdly, it increases your property value because of the previous two reasons. Let’s see these benefits in a bit more detail:
- You can extend your living space from inside to outside. Your garden or backyard is the perfect place to chill after a tough day at work. If perfectly lit, your patio or garden can be your family time, friends time, or spouse time—whatever you wish it to be.
- Landscape lighting can help highlight your landscaping features. It can light up the walkway, mark property lines, highlight water features and beautiful trees. You can also light up your garden bed. Lighting up the staircase becomes a necessity, and the list goes on.
- Outdoor lighting can highlight the striking architectural features of your house. This way, lighting can further increase your curb appeal.
- Lighting in and around the house will make sure people do not fall or trip on your property. This precaution will reduce the risk of people suing you for injuries. For example, uneven places and stairs must be well lit.
- Lastly, since the house is well lit, the possibility of a crime occurring on the scene also reduces.
Outdoor nighttime parties are no fun without proper lighting. Thus, being a Calgary landscaping company, we advise that a decent amount of lighting is a must-have in your home. So, here are a few steps to consider while planning your landscape lighting:
Step 1: Identify which areas to highlight
The first step is to identify which aesthetics and textures will look good in a certain light type. Also, ask yourself which part of the house needs security lighting. Think which features to highlight? Or which parts of the house would you need after dark? Such questions will render you with a list of places you want the lighting on.
Step 2: Install a central control lighting system
Though you can use both unified or independent lighting controls, unified is always a better option as it is easy to operate and scale-up.
Another tip you can use is the use of LED lights. Nowadays, they are available in all hues and intensities. We suggest them as they are cost-effective, low maintenance, and last long.
#4: Planting
Calgary landscaping is all about beautiful and strategic planting. But do you know that proper planting can increase your home’s value from anywhere between 5-20%? The more mature the landscape is, the more is the value increment.
Planting trees in the south and west sides of your house can help lower the temperatures by many degrees in your attic. And these low home temperatures can result in savings on power bills. Place them strategically so that they will even look good and well placed.
But there is a greenery alert too. Too much effort in planting may result in a very high maintenance lawn. This part may not go well with many buyers. So, try to keep the property a bit low maintenance. Use drought-tolerant and native plants. Both of these are easy to maintain and come cheap too.
Also, start putting in fertilizers and caring for the lawn by mowing and raking from springtime. About a year of caretaking will yield a garden that your neighbours will be jealous of. It can also give you better returns because of the increased curb appeal.
Lastly, a good tip would be to take the photographs of your property during summertime. The lawn looks pretty during this time, and it can be used to convert impressed clients.
Conclusion
So, this was all about Calgary landscaping tips that will help you sell off your house at a good price. Landscape features like paving the patios and walkways, building fire features, outdoor lighting, and planting are all long term investments. They increase the value of your house as the time goes by.
We hope you liked the article and that it was informative. If you have any doubt about anything related to landscaping, drop it in the comments below. And if you would like us to help you out with your landscaping, contact us for a free consultation. Calgary landscaping is our forte, and we have been making visions come true for more than two decades.
