MAUMEE, Ohio — Fypon will launch the first-ever National Curb Appeal Month celebration in August of 2014. National Curb Appeal Month is dedicated to helping homeowners focus on ways to add value and design appeal to their home’s exterior. During August, Fypon will include daily curb-appeal tips on its Facebook and Twitter pages, along with detailed curb-appeal information and color advice from national color expert Kate Smith of Sensational Color on the Fypon website.

“Realtors tell us that potential home buyers make a ‘street decision’ in less than 12 seconds on whether or not to view a home that’s for sale,” said Niki Decker, senior manager of product and marketing for Fypon. “That’s a very short time to make a large impression, and it all relies on the curb appeal of the house.”

“Different curb appeal elements, such as well-maintained shrubbery, decorative millwork and trim, colorful plants and an appealing front entryway can have a fast, positive impact on home buyers,” she continued. “Even if your home is not for sale, curb appeal is important in setting a welcoming tone for your family and visitors.”

ROI on Curb Appeal

According to the 2014 Cost Versus Value Study conducted by Remodeling magazine^*, many products added to the home have a high return on investment at the time of a home sale. Adding energy-efficient vinyl windows as a mid-range project to a home can have a cost recoup value of 78.7 percent, while the addition of vinyl siding can have 78.2 percent recoup rate.

The same study reports that the replacement of an easy-care fiberglass entry door can have 70.8 percent of the cost recouped, while a new roof on the home has a 67.6 percent cost recoup. The study “What Today’s Home Buyers Really Want” from the National Association of Home Builders^** reports that the three most wanted outdoor features consumers desire for their home exteriors are lighting, a patio and a front porch.

“Whether you’re adding a new component to the home’s exterior or sprucing up existing elements, color plays a major role in creating curb appeal,” said Kate Smith, president of Sensational Color. “Adding color to the home exterior should be done in a top-down approach so there’s a unified flow that creates an overall pleasing impression.”

Smith, who has authored the e-books FRESH Home Exterior Colors and FRESH Color Schemes for Your Home Exterior, recommends that homeowners add “pops of color” to key home exterior elements.

“The front entry door, shutters and trim are the ideal locations for major color additions that complement the overall color palette of the home,” Smith said. “Imagine a polymer slate roof in a blend of castle gray flowing down to red brick siding. How do you enhance the home’s look? By adding a marine blue painted fiberglass front door along with low-maintenance shutters of charcoal gray, trim pieces and louvers painted in soft white.”

Synthetic Curb Appeal Pieces

Lightweight Fypon pieces are ideal for adding curb appeal to the home. The company specializes in the production of low-maintenance trim pieces including polyurethane window and door trim pieces, shutters, mouldings and decorative items. Porch posts, balustrade rail systems and louvers are also available. Fypon offers durable column wraps, trellis systems, trim, boards and sheets.

“An essential aspect of curb appeal is adding products to the home exterior that require minimal long-term care,” said Decker. “With synthetic Fypon products, homeowners get durable pieces that are visually appealing while resisting rot, decay, moisture and insects.”

Tips for Adding Curb Appeal

As part of National Curb Appeal Month, experts at Fypon offers their top five tips for enhancing the exterior of the home:

1. Make your entryway more welcoming with an elegant door surround. Start with fluted pilasters on either side of the door and then top the door with a decorative pediment — try a rams head, sunburst, acornor peaked cap style.

2. Replace a rotting wooden porch system with a new structural balustrade system which includes porch posts, top and bottom rails, balustersand all the other pieces essential to create a great, weather-resistant porch.

3. Trim out exterior windows. Use crossheads for over a window and top with a solid, decorative or recessed panel keystone accent piece. On the sides and below the window, use moulding pieces with plinth blocks in the corners to eliminate miter cuts.

4. Replace older, rotting wooden louvers with low-maintenance polyurethane louvers. Functional louvers have a noncorrosive fiberglass screen backing to keep insects out while allowing maximum airflow and ventilation to enter the attic.

5. Flank your windows with easy-care polyurethane shutters. Choose from a selection of white and woodgrain louvered solid panel and louvered slatted panel shutters or woodgrain timber plank panel shutters in two-plank, three-plank, elliptical top and arch top styles. Paint or stain the pre-primed shutters to complement any home exterior.

 For more information, visit www.fypon.com.