by Kristen West
how straightforward changes can shape a home’s first impression
YOU’VE EXPERIENCED IT before—you turn down a street and slow without thinking because a single house holds presence. It feels warm and welcoming, even if you can’t immediately say why. That’s curb appeal.
For Ron Burstein, principal emeritus and senior architect of Studio Southwest Architects, that feeling is exactly the point.
“Curb appeal is how people react to the building or the house that makes them want to come in,” he says. “You’re trying to highlight the entrance of the building with landscaping and the building design, while making it feel welcoming.”
At its best, curb appeal is a combination of clarity and warmth. It’s a readable path to the front door and a sense of contrast that helps the entry stand out. It’s lighting that guides you in and landscaping that highlights features without blocking them. And above all, it’s a feeling of balance—where no single element overwhelms the rest.
And while curb appeal is often treated as an exterior finishing touch, design research suggests it holds more importance— outdoor improvements rank among the most impactful ways to influence both buyer perception and resale performance.
For Burstein, curb appeal isn’t only about financial return. It’s about creating a sense of calm that holds up every time you come home. Achieving that comes down to architecture, landscaping and lighting working together as a single system.
So where do you start?
“Start with the constraints and work your way from there,” Burstein suggests.
For example, color restrictions in New Mexico often point toward natural hues and may be limited to low-reflective finishes. Some materials, such as metal panels or mirrored glass, are banned in certain areas, and landscaping is guided by water-conservation and xeriscape principles.
But following the rules doesn’t take the fun out of the design; it just provides a starting point.
Burstein’s own home offers a clear example. The 1960s-era house, still grounded in its original red brick, had become visually impacted by overgrown landscaping that obscured the entry. Rather than reinventing it, he worked with what was already there while considering water consumption and color options. The results opened views to the front door and created contrast through color and light.
“We had to take down a couple of trees that were shading the solar panels or hanging over the house,” he says. “But we improved the watering on the others, reduced the turf area and added planters by the front door for a pop of color to pull people towards the entrance.” Burstein chose a gray aggregate to contrast with the red brick and a larger red rock to complement it.
Choosing to preserve the sturdy red brick exterior of the house rather than repainting it avoided regular retouching and maintained the home’s historic roots. To sharpen contrast and modernize it, he added white trim, black window framing and layered lighting. A light gray roof balances the home’s palette with energy efficiency. “It reflects a lot of the heat back into the atmosphere,” he says.
Garage doors, often visually dominant, are a frequent point of debate in residential design. In some neighborhoods, glass garage doors are used as architectural statements. In others, restraint is the goal. At his own home, Burstein chose flush-panel garage doors with glass inserts on one side, aligning them with the rhythm of the home’s windows so they support the composition rather than compete with it.
The concept of balance arises often when considering first impressions.
“I like balance,” Burstein says. “And then a pop.” That pop—a front door color, a cluster of flowers or accent lighting—is a great place to start for homeowners looking for small but impactful changes. For bigger changes or new home builds, working with a professional architect is key. They can interpret your needs, provide options and highlight any local parameters.
At its best, curb appeal comes down to clarity and warmth—the feeling that a home knows how to receive you. Or as Burstein puts it, more simply: It’s what makes you want to come in.
