Kerb Appeal Through Time

Annette Dawson
Apr 19, 2022
5 min read

Every home can have kerb appeal, so when stepping back in time, a property’s kerb appeal was an essential consideration, and even today first impressions

still count.

Photo by Johnson Johnson on Unsplash

Thinking of selling your home, then having a greater kerb appeal can significantly help to welcome buyers, who are ready to buy a new home. Considering that most estate agencies use images of the exterior of a property, to advertise and attract buyers, kerb appeal has never been more important.

Looking back through the decades, what were the first impressions on giving a home kerb appeal? These were some of the advancements seen to increase property ‘s kerb appeal through the years.

In the Fascinating 1950’s

After the Second World War, life transformed for many people in Britain. Low-cost housing was introduced around the country and so was the opportunity for a lot of people to move into new homes, that came with indoors toilets!

It was less common for married women to work, and many took on the childcare and housework, while their husbands went to work. During the 1950’s, the cost of a new house was on average £1,891 (worth £65,224 today).

Credit Daily Mail

The entrance to the home, sets a precedent for the rest of the property, so stepped terraces were swept and kept tidy, while the children played in the street.

The Swinging 1960’s

In the 1960’s, people seemed to be much more adventurous, demanding more rights for women and the start of the civil rights movement, as a result much of society changed as a whole.

Families were less disciplined as teenagers were given more freedom.

The birth control pill and contraceptives were introduced, making it possible for women and men to plan careers and, have children in their own time. Life seemed less restricted and people in general were able to enjoy more leisure time.

House prices continued to rise; with the average home cost around £2,530 (worth £55,784 today) and were equipped with electricity, a fridge, a cooker, and some even had a TV. People seemed happier in their own homes, a neat and tidy front garden was important to increasing kerb appeal. Gardens were mowed, hedges were trimmed, and a few spring bulbs added for colour especially in the summer months. However, there were very few driveways, despite more people beginning to own cars and more being on the road.

Surviving the 1970’s

By the time it was the 1970’s people’s lifestyle was starting to have choice, especially for women with an equal pay act and, the assumption that they should receive some pay and benefits as men.

With increased living standards, there was also more convenience, as the washing machine and domestic microwave cooker was introduced in 1974.

Also, colour televisions also became common. By 1979 67% of households had a colour TV.

Along with a must-have avocado bathroom suit, the kerb appeal was essential for homeowners. Recognising that there was more revenue to be gained, often a stone or pebble driveway was seen as a feasible DIY project.

As a home improvement, driveways ‘popped up’ as materials were inexpensive and offered a low-maintain solution. Surprisingly many people still wanted to maintain the perfect vegetable patch in their own back garden and many council houses had hedges as kerb appeal and not fences.

Moving Swiftly into the 1980’s

During the 1980’s, life just seemed to get busier and often more stressful for some, Britain was changing rapidly. With two recessions within the decade, there were some fundamental changes within families, both parents often worked.

Cooking and cleaning were no longer seen as an essential, as the introduction of more gadgets, such as the fan heater, kettle, hair dryer, toaster and microwave were ideal for the working Mother.

Continuing from the end of the 1970’s, people now were very aware of the right to buy their council home, with an average house costing £20,268 in 1980, raising to an average of £29,143 in 1988. This was the age of more, and most definitely all about technology.

Computers like the Apple and Sinclair arrived, and the first mobile phones were seen as ‘bricks’ in films, even sky dishes started popping up towards the end of 1980’s. Would this be considered kerb appeal today?

Moving with the Times During the 1990’s

Within the 1990’s lifestyle had completely changed. The housing crash at the start of this decade, as a result of soaring interest rates, resulting in property prices being reduce by 20%. An average home was still £58,153 – double the value just 5 years earlier.

By 1995, house prices slowly increased with the average being £59,939 and for the first time loft and cavity wall insulation were introduced into the home as well as double glazing. New houses were built, with traditional features such as timber framing, rendered walls and conservatories all very much adding to the kerb appeal desired by buyers.

Fast forward to 2022

Reaching the millennium the average house was £30,000, 20 years later the average property price is valued at £250, 772. Buying a home has always been difficult, today it can be considered even harder, especially with the cost of living in the UK surged by 5.1% in the 12 months to November - the highest increase in 10 years - Office for National Statistics data showed.

If you have managed to pay your mortgage off in full, then over the past few decades you may have acquired a reasonable equity within your property.

Some people choose to do release funds to help with new home improvements such as a new kitchen.

Other people will choose a beautiful modern front door, driveways for 3 cars, have the odd electric charging point and prefer to extend their space with a home office in the back garden, once again adding to that all important kerb appeal.

So what’s 2030 Kerb appeal going to look like?

Sometimes you only get one chance to make that good impression, but what will the homes have to offer in the future. With the various natural materials and design to meet the environmental and ‘go-green’ consideration, and readily available technologies and equipment to be implemented throughout a house, here’s how kerb appeal will look in the future:

4 storey houses being the normal
Smaller windows that do not open
As heating homes economically will use different technology

In general, a house is built for one purpose to protect us from the outdoor elements, so let’s hope that the building and designing of house will still have some sort of kerb appeal that we have all grown to love through the years.

Final question… What you think about the future of kerb appeal?