Curb Appeal Ideas: Try a New Door, Planters and Flower Beds on Your House
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Curb appeal is how your house looks from the street, and the cheapest changes are a front door color, plants and small details by the entrance. Upload a photo of your house below to see them on it, then see what home guides suggest and two before and after examples.
Front door colorsBefore and after examples
Example images are AI-generated: both the sample houses and their redesigns. Results change from render to render, so treat them as concepts, not exact product matches.
Before
After
Before
AfterWhat the AI can and cannot do
It can show a front door color, planters, flower beds, a wreath or lights on your photo, so you can pick a combination before you buy plants or paint.
It cannot tell you what grows in your climate, how big the plants will get, or how much the work costs. Treat the plants as a layout idea, not a planting plan.
What curb appeal guides suggest
These points come from curb appeal guides by Redfin, Zillow, Kin and HousingWire. They are real estate and insurance company blog posts, so the table is our own summary and the ideas are opinions, not rules.
| Idea | Summary |
|---|---|
| Front door | Painting or replacing the door is called the cheapest big change, and a color that contrasts with the shutters and trim stands out. |
| Plants | A tidy lawn, fresh mulch, trimmed edges and seasonal flowers, plus potted plants by the door, are the low-effort ideas. |
| Lighting | Path lights, spotlights and solar lights show off the house and make the entry safer. |
| Small details | House numbers, a mailbox, a wreath, a doormat and matching planters make the entry look planned. |
| Clean up | Power washing, clean windows and moving bins and toys out of sight cost little. |
| Order of work | One guide says to do the free fixes first, then get quotes on bigger items like siding or a roof. |
Which curb appeal change first
Door color and plants are the two you can judge best on a photo, and they are also the cheapest to change. For door color choices, see front door colors. For bigger changes such as new siding or a new porch, see exterior remodel ideas.
Two curb appeal ideas to try
The examples were run directly on an image model, not through the tool above, so your results will look different.
- A red door with planters. Example 1 paints the door red and puts a black planter on each side.
- Flower beds and a wreath. Example 2 adds beds along a bare front wall and a wreath on the door.
How to try it on your house
- Photograph the front in daylight, straight on, from far enough back that the whole front, the roof and the gate or driveway fit in the frame.
- Upload it in the tool at the top of this page, or open the exterior designer, and name what you want changed and the parts it goes on.
- Say what stays. List the parts you are keeping, such as the roof, the windows and the camera angle, as the prompts below do.
- Check the whole image. Look at the door, the trim and the edges of the roof, since the model sometimes changes a part you did not name, and run it again if something is off.
The exact prompts behind the examples
These are the edit prompts used for the examples, word for word. The examples were run directly on an image model, not through the tool above, so your results will look different. Change the colors and the list of what stays to suit your house.
Prompt 1: a red front door and two planters
Paint the front door bright red, add two large black planters with green shrubs on both sides of the door and a black lantern light on each side. Keep everything else unchanged: the roof, every window position, the sky and the camera angle.
Prompt 2: flower beds and a wreath on a bare front
Add a flower bed with small green shrubs and white flowers along the front wall, black house numbers beside the door and a wreath on the door. Keep the path, the roof, every window position, the sky and the camera angle.
Who this is for
Owners getting ready to sell or just tired of a plain front, who want to compare a door color and a few plants on their own photo first.
More exterior ideas
See front door colors, exterior remodel ideas, home exterior design app, exterior paint color combinations, and the exterior paint visualizer.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest curb appeal idea?
The guides we read name painting the front door, adding potted plants and cleaning up as the cheapest changes.
Can the AI show plants and a door color on my house?
Yes. Upload a photo of your front and name the door color and where the planters go. The result is a picture of the idea.
Will it show lights and house numbers?
Not always. In our two examples the lanterns and the new house numbers did not show up, so name them clearly and check the result.
Does it tell me which plants grow in my area?
No. It draws a layout idea. Ask a local nursery which plants suit your climate.
Is this tool free to try?
Signing up is free. Free renders carry an AiExterior watermark, and paid plans on the pricing page remove it.
Try it on your own house
Upload your house photoFree sign-up with email or Google. Free renders are watermarked. Paid plans on the pricing page remove the watermark.