Well, given that you can't count on recouping the costs of curb appeal, I wouldn't spend a fortune. Cheaper things to do could include:

- replacing the front door light with something that will catch the light (brass? white?); maybe something a little bigger than what's there now. That will draw the eye that way.
- color, color, color. You don't say where you're located, but if you're someplace where you can plant now, find some colorful perennials or even annuals and run them along the front of the house. You also could consider a lighter-colored mulch for that planting area.
- for the walkway, you could consider low-voltage lighting. You could even consider those solar-powered lights, though my experience is that they don't provide much light at all -- their main value would be as a marker and as something to look at in the daytime, so find a contrasting color (again, white or something bright). If there isn't much snow and it isn't removed mechanically, consider maybe a little picket with some additional flowering plants along the picket.

It took me a while to figure out where the front door was so you are onto something with needing to define it. Sound like you made some nice changes already. Instead of a front porch how about adding a little fence and frame in the area with that and put maybe a bench or a little bistro table and chairs next to it. Make it seem like a front porch, but not actually have one. You could do this with a few pavers as the area doesn't seem to be very large and then extend the pavers out for a little walk way to the door from the driveway.

I think everyone would agree the most important thing is to highlight where the door is. I noticed there is already a brick wall along there. Adding on with some wood railings would help a lot. The landscaping issue is harder, it can add up quickly. On the other hand, spending $200-400 on the landscaping may make the sale, so many folk pre-judge a house before they even enter, so it may be worth doing all that just to make the sale.

{{!gwi}}