How to Give a Brown House Curb Appeal

Study books on home decor and landscaping to get ideas for improving your home's curb appeal. Search specifically for houses in shades of brown. Look at their exteriors to see what might work for your brown home. Drive around your neighborhood. Take note of houses similar to yours in style and color. Pay attention to the landscaping and exterior touches on those that appear most appealing on the outside.

Clean up your lawn. Mow the grass. Seed brown and empty spots. Sod in places where the lawn is badly damaged. Edge and weed-whack for a neat appearance around trees, decks, walkways and flower beds. Rake the leaves in the fall or use your leaf blower to clear the yard. Water to keep the grass green and healthy. Prune your trees of dead and scraggly branches. Trim your hedges and weed your flower beds. Add mulch if needed. Choose a deep brown to blend with the house so that the flowers and shrubs are the stars. Replace dead or diseased plants with healthy ones. Choose flowering shrubs and flowers that will complement the brown color of your house. Purple flowers such as rhododendron and lilac look well with a chocolate-brown home, while bright red geraniums, tulips and lilies add punch to the landscape of a house painted in a lighter brown or beige. Border the sidewalk to your front door with yellow and gold marigolds or bright green hosta.

Replace hardware. Take down exterior lights that are worn, rusted or the wrong color. Black lamps will fade into the front of a deep brown house, while white lamps will stand out too much. Replace them with burnished copper or gold fixtures. Add matching house numbers and a front door handle and lock set.

Paint steps, porch railings, trim and shutters with colors designed to make your house pop from the curb. Freshen up the trim around your front door with a shade of yellow or gold that will stand out against the brown of the house. Carry these shades over onto the shutters. You could also paint your front door colonial blue, trim it in white and add blue shutters. Choose a deep red for the front door, trim it in white and paint the porch steps and floor a lighter shade of brown than the house. The door will draw the eye, while the light brown will contrast with the deep brown of the house.

Stage the porch or entry way. Hang fresh, healthy plants in colors that complement the shrubbery and flowers you have chosen for your landscaping. Flank the door with potted mums in yellow, light purple and rust colors in the fall. Complete the look with a simple grapevine wreath sporting an orange ribbon. Dress the door with greenery highlighted in gold, green and red for the winter holidays. Choose pinks and yellows to dress up the house in the spring. Arrange wicker rockers around a small wicker table highlighted with a bouquet of sunflowers.