e minimalist garden
A messy front garden is the undoing
of many homes when it comes time to
sell. he good news is you don’t need
a green thumb to whip it into shape,
and less is deinitely more when it
comes to landscaping.
‘Overgrown gardens with lots of
weeds look like they’re going to take a
lot of time and efort to ix, so make sure
you cut back trees and plants,’ says Jo.
‘Interestingly, if you have a manicured
garden that actually takes a lot of upkeep,
it won’t look high-maintenance as long
as it’s kept very tidy. People just think it
looks nice.’
When preparing her client’s western
Sydney property for sale, Cathy removed
shrubs that looked old-fashioned and
obscured the windows. She also planted
a few hardy shrubs from Bunnings and
illed in the garden beds with bark.
‘Pick a bark colour that contrasts
nicely with the colour of the house,’
says Cathy.
‘We went with a deep red that looked
great against the charcoal and grey.’ ▶e odd jobs
All our experts agree: try not to cut
corners on the odd jobs, as these are
often the details and irst impressions
that people notice.
‘A nice letterbox is so important,’
says Cathy. ‘And make sure the letterbox
numbers match the style of the home,
too. Don’t have a cast iron scroll on a
modern home, for example.’
Steve Jovcevski, who owns a number
of investment properties, likes to make
his mark with a colourful front door.
‘It works well if you can paint the
door in a contrasting colour. Just make
sure it’s not too over the top,’ he says.
‘his works well on terrace homes, as
well as modern properties.’
If you own a classic Aussie brick
home and don’t want to go through the
hassle (and expense) of a full render, you
can always just render the front.
‘Or if the home is already in good
condition, you can just do a brick clean,’
says Steve.
Tired and worn concrete driveways
can be easily painted.
‘If the property is a lighter colour,
then go for a darker colour to contrast,’
says Steve. ‘It will cost you a couple of
hundred dollars max, and looks great.’BeforeBeforeAfter
Paving and pruning created a
whole new aspect on this property.After
Inexpensive paving and planting
turned this jungle into garden.Handyman.net.au JULY 2018 75PICTURES
3 PEA’S PROPERTY STYLING
DECORATE