Clodine Manyozo Home and Garden Writer

What catches the attention of a home is how well it is kept on the outside, because first impressions matter, and this is one of the few times we do what we were all told not to do growing up — not to judge a book by its cover.

One’s yard can be covered in a driveway, concrete slab or maybe a lawn, but before anyone can lay their eyes on the yard, the home owner’s personality and taste can be evident from the house’s outside appearance.

Creativity is what is needed at one`s place for it to be on point with outstanding designs.

There are houses where passers-by can be awe-struck and have their eyes longingly glued to it in admiration.

It is not the beauty and creativity of a place that makes people notice, but the scruffiness of a place can also leave people in utter disgust with the curiosity of wanting to know the owner to maybe proffer some advice.

In an interview with The Herald on Saturday, a fellow home lover Talent Mandizvidza, said looking at a house before you get in can give you some impressions.

“Just looking at the outside appearance of any house you can get to see the financial status of the owner,” she said

“Some people are just smart and can keep their place neat even if they are not that rich, it just shows the personality of the people who stray there.”

Be it a fence, dura-wall or hedge, it just needs to be kept in good shape and in an attractive way so as to give a better picture to visitors and people alike before they step into the yard.

The beauty of one`s place must start from outside the gate before it gets to the driveway.

The design of the dura-wall can go as far as conveying the home owner’s personality and warmth.

It is not the dura-wall only that makes a house to fabulous but some people add some different accessories to it.

Some people like some nature and vegetation on their places and they plant palm trees outside the gate.

Amos Muchemwa a gardener from Avondale said he plants some palm trees for the sake of beauty and security.

“I design other people`s houses with palm trees or some hedge to add some green colour to their houses and some want it as a way of adding more privacy to the place,” Muchemwa said.

Lawns are so common in most houses and Muchemwa said he spends most of his time maintaining lawns from a lot of houses.

“Most of the houses I work from have lawns and they are needed because they add some flavouring to the beauty of any house,” he said.

“Keeping it moist, short and maintaining a nice shade of green on it can make people get attracted to the lawn and it makes me get a number of new clients.”

Flowers are a seasoning which is needed for many houses and they add some colour.

“A lot of my clients like flowers on their homes as they surround the lawn,” said Muchemwa. “Some do prefer to have shrubs on the centre of the lawn as well.”

Tiles, bricks, floor or bottles can be placed around the lawn as a way of guarding it and also making it look nice.

It is not everyone that likes some nature and colouring from the lawn and flowers at their houses but instead they live it without any.

In some houses one can find a statue of an animal.

Some people feel honoured if they have their animal totem displayed at the gate and they put statues showing the outside the gate and nothing more.

Chipo Kachembere, a house owner from Eastview, said she always made sure that her house looks on point from outside and she put a tall dura-wall for privacy.

“I always make sure that my house looks good from outside so that people will get attracted to it although I have a tall dura-wall for privacy,” she said.

“I love my privacy and that is why I had to build the dura-wall first before the house.”

Kachembere said tall walls could give a surprise to the people who visit.

“When people see the dura-wall they what is inside and when they enter it is always a clear surprise to them and I like the way they react after laying their eyes on my house,” she said.

Intercoms are for communication, but they can also be designed as a form of attraction and for beauty purposes.

The intercom can have a pillar around it to make it match with the dura-wall or the gate.

The gate can be put in any shape or design depending on the likes of the owner.

Some gates are designed in unique shapes like squares and rectangles.

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