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Exterior home ideas are just as important as interior decorating. It is a glorious excuse to get out, breathe the fresh air and relax! But in order to relax you must plan your surroundings in order to enjoy them. Front yard design is a good place to start. It is the first thing people see when they drive buy, besides the house, of course. A little extra attention in this area will really get the oohs and ahhs from passersby.

You can spend as much or as little as you like on exterior home ideas. Your home’s exterior itself is probably not the best place to skimp when thinking about exterior home ideas. But, there are places it won’t hurt the eyes or the pocket book a bit if you do. Here are a few tips if you find yourself regularly left with more month than money.

1. Instead of paving a driveway, use pea gravel. Here in the Midwest we can get a large dump truck full for about $300.

2. If you need a walkway through the garden or from the house to the garage, use circular concrete stepping stones. You can purchase them for around a dollar each in the garden area of most home improvement stores.

3. Another of the many exterior home ideas is to buy large bags of cypress mulch and scatter generously around trees, bushes and flower beds. Cypress is quite inexpensive and it does wonders for keeping those annoying weeds down. It makes it much easier to trim the grass too. Sometimes you can find free mulch at your local brush facility. You may have to load it yourself, but what's better than free?

4. Mosquito netting is a great exterior home decorating idea. It is a see-through fabric and comes in rolls or you can use a precut umbrella mosquito netYou can trim to size, sew a pocket and hang from curtain rods that have already been attached to your patio roof. It’s a good way to extend your living space out onto your patio without all the bugs!

You can find more ideas on decorating a patio here.

5. Draw a sketch of your exterior home ideas. Choose the best drawing or combine them all. Plan every detail from color to heights of plants. The more you plan, the less you will spend on miscellaneous stuff you just don’t need. Go shopping with a list and stick to it. A good place to research flowers and other plantings is GardenWeb : Gardening Community

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6. Be sure not to cut the crass too short. When done mowing the grass should be finger length. “I’ll have to mow more often,” you sigh. Unfortunately that’s the price to pay for green grass. This will avoid the browning in late August that you see, at least here in the Midwest.

7. Let the kid in you loose. Allow the path to the back yard to wind a bit. Create nooks along the pathway sheltered on all sides by bushes or trees. Hang a hammockin one nook. Place ain another. Inspire the feeling of a secret hideout.

8. Apartment living is great time to experiment with window flower boxes. At my first apartment I bought flower boxes that come with brackets you can hook over a deck railing, etc. I received my first lesson in gardening when the snap dragons I planted grew up and not down. Needless to say, I recommend a more cascading type of flower. Petuinas are an excellent choice, low maintenance and very colorful!

9. When decorating for a patio party place numerous jar candles outside in unusual places for an exotic way to greet your guests. Place them on fence posts, on each stair rung and along garden pathways or sidewalks.

10. In early August keep your eyes peeled for trees and perennial flowers to be heavily discounted. Stores will be clearing inventory and making room for fall and winter items. I landscaped my whole front yard for under $200 with inexpensive plants and shrubs!

Whatever your exterior home ideas , you can add your own touch of fantasy to make your home’s exterior one of a kind!