Most people who own a home concentrate on the inside of the home when looking to do improvements. They might remodel their kitchen or bathroom, replace fixtures or slap on a new coat of paint. Many homeowners, though, don’t even think about the importance of exterior home improvements unless they are forced to because of damage. That’s a shame, because exterior improvements are often some of the best you can make to improve the value of your home. When thinking of exterior improvements, extensive expensive ones, like replacing windows or painting the exterior may be the first that come to mind. However, there are plenty of affordable exterior home improvements you can do that don’t involve a ton of work.

One of the easiest and best exterior improvements you can make is to improve your landscape and hardscape. Landscape improvements can improve your home’s value by as much as 12% and such improvements can provide a return on investment of as much as 150%. That’s nearly double what many common interior home projects provide you. So what should you do to your landscape? That depends. You might do something as simple as trimming trees or filling in bare spots in your lawn. Adding plantings is a good idea. You can find plants and shrubs for sale at home improvement stores, hardware stores and even grocery and warehouse stores. Along with plants and shrubs for sale you might want to consider planting trees as well. Not only will trees improve you landscape, the right ones can block out 60-90% of the sun in the summer, which can help lower your cooling bills. Other landscape improvements can include adding retaining walls and rock features.

Another good exterior improvement that doesn’t cost a lot of money but brings you a great return on investment is replacing exterior doors. Whether it’s an entry door or your garage door, these improvements tend to improve your home’s value by more than you spend.

Don’t want to paint your whole house? Some touch-up painting can do the trick. Painting your trim or a porch also can be a good project. And if you have siding, repairing or replacing damaged parts can give you a big boost when it comes to curb appeal.

There are a number of exterior projects you can do to your home that will raise the value and boost your enjoyment. The key is to make sure to do it right, whether that’s choosing the right plants and shrubs for sale or the right type of paint. If you don’t mind the expense and aren’t really a do-it-yourselfer, you might want to consider hiring a professional landscaper or other company that specializes in exterior home improvements.