This is the time of year that we all start to make plans for visiting friends, relatives, and company outings. So it is a good opportunity to take a hard look at your home’s exterior and see what message it is really sending. First impressions count and you only get one chance! Read on for the first in a two-part series on quick and effective pointers on making a good one.

Fix it! Take a good look at what needs to be fixed. Are you guilty of using the garage door entry so never look at the front? Are there crumbling steps? Is there a walkway in need of a pressure wash? Are there broken light fixtures or burned out bulbs? Is your hardware tarnished and pitted? Any unsightly peeling or chipping paint? Now is the time to get it all in order, don’t put it off.

Dead stuff! I know you may be amazed but those planters you put at the front door a couple of months ago and forgot to water haven’t gotten any livelier with time. Dead plants do not make an inviting entrance. Get rid of them, just as having people coming to your home and having to wrestle with a jungle of overgrown vines, ivy, evergreens and more to get there is not effective either. Prune it. Weed it. Replace it.

Add color! Color creates interest and attracts attention. It should be in keeping with the style of your home. For example, I have a lot of stone facing on the front and a more Arts and Crafts feeling. This lends itself to an autumn palette of spicy reds and golds, rich ambers and burgundies. Pinks and purples aren’t going to make sense. On the other hand if I had a country cottage with a white picket fence, I can create a garden of pink, purple and orange asters, electric lemons, and much more. Your color can be in your landscaping and/or on the house itself. There are some wonderful inspirations in the exterior palettes available at any do-it-yourself super center or your favorite paint store. Plant now for the fall season.

Make Hardware Shine! Okay now it doesn’t have to be brass, but it does need to have a gleam, be inviting to the touch, and make a statement about the house and its owners. The choices are myriad, from brushed nickel, to bright brass, from oil-rubbed bronze, to hammered copper. You can invest a little or a lot. Be sure to consider door knockers, kick plates, and your doorbell housing at the same time. This is a simple, quick, and astoundingly effective fix, particularly if you repaint your door or restain and reseal.

Check back next month for even more ideas on dressing up the outside just in time.

2nd Chance, James Patterson
Lieutenant Lindsey Boxer is back with her fearless gal pals in a tale of murder and mayhem. With the gang symbol of a chimera, part lion, goat, and snake tattooed, the bad guy is really bad but still presents a rather tragic image of a childhood gone wrong and the adult that emerged irreparably damaged. This was a two week, just before sleep, read with just enough intrigue to keep me coming back, but not enough gore to keep me awake! The underlying theme was of personal interest about the influence of Fathers both lost and found, and how profound that can be even if we don’t realize it. Deep for a light mystery, and worth the read.

The Comforts of Home: Creating Relaxed Rooms with a Romantic Feel, Atlanta Bartlett
Well, this is relaxing as it should be with titled chapters Relaxed Look, Relaxed Simplicity, Relaxed Romantic and so on. All is slouchy, soft, faded, muted tones that bring your inside out and your outside in. Touted as the guide to help you create “a haven that is restorative for all the senses,” this is another take on shabby chic. With so many design books on the market, sometimes I don’t always see the difference.