WWHGD: House needs curb appeal. PIP

[tarheels]

Um, red geraniums on the steps to pick up the American flag?

Truly, that's one of the most attractive versions of that type house I've seen on here. I'm really not a fan of that style of house, but yours looks quite nice in photos. The mature landscaping isn't overgrown, though sure, you could add a few red impatiens (shade) or petunias (sun) at the edges of your bed if you felt so inclined. The height and shape of the two conical bushes is actually pretty perfect. Unless you just love to garden, I can't see getting rid of nice, full, relatively maintenance-free beds to install fussy new plants. The paint, while plain, is classic and evokes a Tudor style. I give it a thumbs up overall.

If you really want to do a wild exterior makeover, I might call in a color consultant. Generally for $200 or so, they'll give you a choice of color schemes guaranteed to work on your house and satisfy whatever look you're fishing for. Same price for a landscape consultant to do up a plan to tell you what plants to install.

[Deleted]

I like the house too but am not a huge fan of shrubs. I would put something like hydrangeas or double knockouts roses and then layer with smaller plants in front of those. Then maybe a small lilac tree on the corner and line the walkway that leads to the back with smaller hostas.

[steenbean18]

I agree with lining the walkway. I'd also consider painting the front steps a lighter color. They kind of blend in with the porch as is and make the home look very dark/ heavy on the first floor.

[gingerlecoeur]

I agree with Tarheels. This looks really nice from the photos. I actually think the shrubs work really well for this space.
If you really want to go crazy, painting the house to lighten up the front would be great, but like Tarheels said, I would hire a color specialist. The house is style specific and the current colors really work with that style.
I might change the small flower pots on the step to something larger and put a pop of color in them.
Are there other homes in your neighborhood that are a similar style that you like? A walk around the neighborhood might be helpful for inspiration. (Or at least let you know what you don't want...)

[treedimensional]

TOO MUCH LAWN. It needs more foliage; it lacks texture and color.
I agree with Tarheels that it doesn't need to be ripped out, it needs to be fleshed out and modernized. Everything here now is over clipped and strict, and the uniformity of texture and color makes the design flat and boring.
I never 'line' walkways with a flower border. It's not a runway or a focal point and there is no reason to highlight it. It's not creative; it's an announcement that you've run out of ideas.

[auntie]

Not a whole lot.

It looks pretty good. I might enlarge the beds a bit and perhaps add another layer of plants for interest. I would probably start by pulling out the lone shrub on the right of the steps and adding a small bed there- maybe a dwarf tree and ground cover. One of my friends has lamium under her trees which kind of brightens up the dark area underneath. I could even see a vine of some sort on the right side of the house.

I would use larger pots of bright annuals on the sides of the steps or even one pot on each step assuming there's room to walk. You might consider painting the risers a different color than the treads.

I have a friend who has a similar house along the river. She has flower boxes on her 2nd and 3rd floor windows. This year she has dark red ivy geraniums, purple wave petunias, sweet potato vine and a tiny licorise with dusty little leaves.

[FoxInFiji]

I agree with TD a curvy flowerbed in front of those evergreens (or if you want a more formal look a straight flowerbed) would add a lot of interest and give you a place for color. Some flowerbeds along the sides of the house would be good too. Don't line the sidewalk that is boring. If you want a whole plan laid out with plant selections and everything you might want to hire a landscape designer. They don't cost a lot $200 or so and give you a complete plan for what to do and you can take your time doing it.

If money wasn't a factor I'd move the satellite dish so it's not as visible from the front, paint the house different historically accurate colors, add accent colors to the porch and/or steps to make it more of a focal point, and replace the stair railing with something a little more substantial looking. Looks like you'll need some touch up paint on the upper side of the house anyway since it's peeling off.

A very nice looking house!

[vanillahip]

So I really suck at photoshop and the like, but I tried..... I would repaint the stucco (is that stucco on the top half?) so the trim looks more substantial, and to be a little easier on the eyes. I'd also replace the metal porch stair rail with a thicker wood one, paint the spindles to match the trim and the handrail to match the porch (or a couple shades lighter?)

I just effed around with this in the SW color visualizer, soooo, it sucks, sorry!



ETA- I'd definitely rip out some of the lawn and extend the beds a few feet, if you do that and make it a curvy, less formal bed you can kind of hug the walkways with plants on either side without resorting to lining them

[vanillahip]

Jul 4, 2012 11:45:10 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

Jul 4, 2012 10:45:36 GMT -5 vanillahip said:

So I really suck at photoshop and the like, but I tried..... I would repaint the stucco (is that stucco on the top half?) so the trim looks more substantial, and to be a little easier on the eyes. I'd also replace the metal porch stair rail with a thicker wood one, paint the spindles to match the trim and the handrail to match the porch (or a couple shades lighter?)

I just effed around with this in the SW color visualizer, soooo, it sucks, sorry!



ETA- I'd definitely rip out some of the lawn and extend the beds a few feet, if you do that and make it a curvy, less formal bed you can kind of hug the walkways with plants on either side without resorting to lining them

What do you think about a dark green trim instead of the brown? Something almost evergreen like.

www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/huntergreen

Mmmm.... ehh, I actually really like the brown on that house, and that green is very similar to that "standard" hunter green that all pre-made plastic/ painted house items come in (like the shutters, exterior lights, window boxes and mail box on our current home when I bought it. My 1st project outdoors was repainting ALL of it black, it was so fug IMO, sorry!) I personally would stick with the landscaping to add color- window boxes on the 3rd story and all around the porch, extending and varying the front beds, etc etc.

[simpsongal]

Jul 4, 2012 7:15:49 GMT -5 treedimensional said:

TOO MUCH LAWN. It needs more foliage; it lacks texture and color.
I agree with Tarheels that it doesn't need to be ripped out, it needs to be fleshed out and modernized. Everything here now is over clipped and strict, and the uniformity of texture and color makes the design flat and boring.
I never 'line' walkways with a flower border. It's not a runway or a focal point and there is no reason to highlight it. It's not creative; it's an announcement that you've run out of ideas.

Our walkway is lined w/flowers - is that really a bad look? I think our walkway is a bit more of a focal point than this house though - it's longer, center, and there's a lamp post at the end. Our walkway used to be lined w/huge boxwoods ala the 1970s. We ripped out the boxwoods and sodded the 6 ft strips on the sides of the walkway, but we left about a foot for flowers (plus we didn't feel like buying or laying more sod). I figured I could always expand the walkway w/brick edging.

[perhapsprincess]

*Wry* We just bought a house with flowers, etc. And I want to rip them out and plant shrubs!

[ringstrue]

I'd paint the whole darn thing, but I can't say what colors. Maybe a light trim with a tan or gray main color?

The shrubs look silly and basic, imo, but I hate to suggest those because finding something that weathers well for an area/neighborhood is a challenge. It looks like there isn't much area so any sort of pre-designed grouping of shrubs/perennials would probably be fine. Though I agree with possibly making the beds deeper. Let's get real, you aren't hanging out of the front lawn at that sort of house, kwim?