Designers Predict These Will Be the Biggest Curb Appeal Trends of 2026

 Make a glowing first impression with these eye-catching (and often easy) updates.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” the old idiom recommends. But potential home buyers and neighbors almost always do just that, the designers and architects we spoke to agree.

Since the rooms inside your home are the spaces you actually live in, we are never going to discount the importance of decorating decisions that speak to your soul. Still, your home’s exterior makes the first impression, both to others and yourself, adds James B. Laughlin, a Birmingham, Alabama-based architectural designer specializing in classic and edited residences and renovations: “Curb appeal inherently increases the value of a home and should ultimately make you happy each time you approach your house.”

Plus, the exterior is like an introduction to a home, explains Laurin White, interior designer and founder of Cambridge Row in Birmingham, Alabama.

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“Consider a movie trailer. If you’re not drawn to the first 30-second pitch of a film, odds are, you won’t invest your time and energy into the rest. The same holds true for your home. Your front lawn and a home’s facade set the scene for everything that lies within,” White adds.

Set the stage for a positive—and potentially more profitable—first impression by taking a cue from these curb appeal trends for 2026.

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Pops of Color

Pascal Chevallier

Just like certain interior paint shades can boost the value of your home, so too can exterior hues. Of course, a brick or white house is beautiful and crowd-pleasing. But when it comes to the accents, “people are no longer scared of the use of color,” Laughlin says. “Colorful doors, shutters, and planters are on the rise.”

A few coats of red paint on your front door or a pastel planter is an easy and low-risk way “to add panache and style to the curb appeal of a house,” Laughlin adds.

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Instead of blindly searching for favorite colors, consider referencing historic hues, which are available in nearly all paint lines (and will be easy to touch up when the time comes to invest in more paint). As you consider your options, keep in mind that these exterior paint colors can make your house look cheap.

Thoughtful Historical Touches

Becky Luigart-Stayner for VERANDA

Speaking of going back in time, Laughlin says that “now more than ever, people are gravitating toward traditional design and making decisions rooted in history.”

Perhaps these details speak to the era in which your home was built. Or maybe they nod to a design era you really dig (say, Art Deco).

“The architecture and the site should inform design decisions so there is not a conflict of styles,” Laughlin explains. An easy way to dip your toe into this trend is by “dressing up an entry and the front door,” he adds. “A new wood door with solid unlacquered brass hardware is impactful and will never go out of style.”

By Karla Walsh

Photo by

Pascal Chevallier