How can we improve curb appeal?

[Bonita]

I am super excited about our new house because it has pretty much everything that we were looking for, the only thing is that it's not exactly the style of house/architecture we originally planned on.

I feel like the house could maybe use a little something for curb appeal though?  I guess I'm not sure about the color of the front porch area, so I'm curious what everyone thinks?

Would you change the color of front porch, or would you do anything else to improve the curb appeal?

Here is one of the photos (for some reason the colors are a little off in this one):

**poof**

Here is another photo that's maybe not quite as good as the first one, but maybe has a little more true color:

**poof**

[emoflamingo]

I would probably do something else under the tree if I could, because that seems like a lot of work and mess, but I love the pathway with the bushes!

Gorgeous house!

[nessness]

Great house! I would probably paint the porch area white -- the cream looks a little off to me with the windows and mailbox being bright white.

[stephm0188]

It needs color. Flowers, maybe a new color for the front door to make it stand out. It's pretty good already though. I prefer a softer, curvier look for beds around walkways and such. The shrubs in a straight line don't do much for me.

[hbomdiggity]

Oh wow - its gorgeous ! I just love the boxwood lined walkway.

That said... I would consider painting the brick. I know I know, sacrilege, whatever. and I'm not saying I would go through with it, just that I would consider it.

[Blueper]

How into gardening are you? I would be all over that front lawn putting in a funky potager on both sides of the sidewalk.

ETA:  I'm also normally not a fan of messing with brick, but the house would look more elegant if it were white-washed.

[auntie]

First thing. Ditch the little old lady concrete family under the tree. I'd probably loose the flag pole, too.

Consider replacing the preformed scallop edging along the walk and curb, it's a little too DIY looking.

I kind of like the idea of a white washed brick. The current brick is sort of dated/festive.

If you don't want to take that on, consider a brighter color on the shutters and entry door. When the time comes, a darker roof might help update it as well.

Planting trellised vines or espaliered trees along the front near the garage and porch would soften the squareness of the house.

You could/should repaint that porch. Ideally some of the trim should match the color the windows are capped in. Is that white or Anderson white? You could add a color to the vertical siding within the trim to make it "pop" from the street.

[Marmee]

Itsvery nice. Congrats! If money was no object I'd replace the roof with dark gray, paint the brick (I'm partial to white houses), paint the trim on the porch white to match windows (looks off white now) & then add an accent color to porch &/or door. Add some flowers & colorful accents/porch decor.

[Marmee]

I'd also paint or get a black or colored mailbox and plant a nice ground cover under your shade trees.

[Deleted]

That's lovely!!! I agree with just adding some color. A flower bed near the street and maybe some potted plants on the porch. Consider yourself lucky to have inherited that boxwood lined walkway - it's so pretty and boxwoods are not cheap.

[candreco]

Paint the front door a brighter color. Our house is light gray siding, black shutters, white trim, and light peachy-red brick. I painted our front door bright blue from factory white this weekend, and it made a huge difference.

Beautiful house!

[candreco]

dup

[Bonita]

Sorry for posting and running last night, but THANK YOU for all of the responses!

I totally agree that the house would have looked way better with a different colored roof, but the previous owner just replaced the roof 2 years ago...so it has a long way to go

I do LOVE to garden, so I definitely plan on adding a little color and maybe trying some other things as time permits. We're in Zone 8, so I think there is a lot that I can do that will really look nice - I just have to figure out what that is, lol

I'm still on the fence about the brick...I can't decide...I keep going back and forth about this

I do think I will try to find out if we can add mullions/muntins(which one is it?) to the windows because I do think that is one of the things that is missing!!! tarheels - 1979 is the year, you're close!

[auntie]

I'm not sure if grilles will add much. I have a 1986 colonial, it's something we debated. Have you considered adding trim pieces to the outdoor lower story windows?

Crossheads could add some real interest.

www.architecturaldepot.com/crossheads.html

[Bonita]

May 7, 2013 18:57:19 GMT -5 auntie said:

I'm not sure if grilles will add much. I have a 1986 colonial, it's something we debated. Have you considered adding trim pieces to the outdoor lower story windows?

Crossheads could add some real interest.

www.architecturaldepot.com/crossheads.html

Yes!  I have thought about this too - there is another house we were looking at that had those and I loved the way it looked.  I'm fairly horrible at visualizing stuff like this, so I really struggle with what will look the best.

[housegeek]

I love love love the brick! It has character. I'd island out the front trees, mulch and add some flowers.