{"id":2597,"date":"2016-03-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/?guid=13cc6759f73b26da04f433b5af7169a7"},"modified":"2016-03-31T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-03-31T00:00:00","slug":"create-a-wow-worthy-home-entry-using-fun-and-free-online-design-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/create-a-wow-worthy-home-entry-using-fun-and-free-online-design-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Create a &#8216;wow-worthy&#8217; home entry using fun and free online design tools"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><meta name=\"Googlebot-News\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\"\/><\/p>\n<p>(BPT) &#8211; Entire TV shows are dedicated to it, and real estate agents say it is essential when selling your home. So what is &#8220;curb appeal?&#8221; More importantly, how do you create it for your home?<o:p><\/o:p><\/p>\n<p>Even if you&#8217;re not planning to sell your home any time soon, some simple steps to boost the attractiveness of your home from the street (so called &#8220;curb appeal&#8221;) can make it feel more appealing to you and your guests.<o:p><\/o:p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Start with the front door<\/strong><o:p><\/o:p><\/p>\n<p>From TV to magazines to popular websites, many home improvement experts call out the front door as one of the most important aspects for creating curb appeal. &#8220;While curb appeal depends on many factors &#8211; landscaping and siding, lighting and lawn care &#8211; the front door, the focal point of the facade, trumps the others in terms of importance,&#8221; says Donna Boyle Schwartz, a home furnishing writer and editor. Schwartz and other experts offer a range of tips for enlivening your front door.<o:p><\/o:p><\/p>\n<p>At the most basic level, a new coat of paint for the front door is a simple and inexpensive update that only takes a few hours to complete. More homeowners are experimenting with bold primary colors on their doors to make the front of their home pop. But if you&#8217;re worried that a bright yellow or red might be too much for your tastes, several paint manufacturers offer free online color visualization tools. With a few clicks, you can see how any hue will look next to the color of your home&#8217;s siding and trim.<o:p><\/o:p><\/p>\n<p>Other ways to perk-up your front door include new handles and locksets. A quick visit to Pinterest.com, Houzz.com or other no-cost to access online resources will show you the range of creative options available.<o:p><\/o:p><\/p>\n<p>For many homeowners, the ultimate way to perk-up their front entry is by replacing the door. &#8220;Not only does replacing your front entry door kick up your curb appeal, it&#8217;s a solid investment with a decent payback,&#8221; explains home improvement journalist Karin Beuerlein on HouseLogic.com. A new door provides opportunities to personalize the home&#8217;s entry to best suit your current tastes. Whether it&#8217;s a major style change like a switch from Colonial to contemporary, a different type of decorative glass or your favorite wood species, manufacturers offer many ways to make a front door truly your own.<o:p><\/o:p><\/p>\n<p>As with paint, many homeowners find it difficult to picture how different door styles would look on their homes. &#8220;To make the process of finding a door simple and fun, we&#8217;ve created a range of free online design tools,&#8221; notes Brad Loveless, product development and marketing manager for Simpson Door Company. &#8220;Called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.simpsondoor.com\/doormagination-design-tools\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Doormagination<\/a>, these tools include a &#8216;test drive,&#8217; in which you can upload a photo of your home and compare different door designs.&#8221; Such tools allow people to quickly explore the range of options and to see what their personalized door will look like before they order it.<o:p><\/o:p><\/p>\n<p>You don&#8217;t have to be a design guru to add curb appeal to your home. Paint and door manufacturers, even some local landscape companies, now offer fun and easy-to-use tools to create a &#8220;wow-worthy&#8221; home entry.<o:p><\/o:p><\/p>\n<p><img src='http:\/\/www.brandpointcontent.com\/printsite\/ImageWriter.ashx?articleid=23332&#038;memberid=89323' border='0' width='1' height='1' \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(BPT) &#8211; Entire TV shows are dedicated to it, and real estate agents say it is essential when selling your home. So what is &#8220;curb appeal?&#8221; More importantly, how do you create it for your home?Even if you&#8217;re not planning to sell your home any time soon, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diy","category-home-improvement-blogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2597\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}