Looking for design ideas to restore/facelift our front house.
Jacob Schmieder
11 days ago
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Design Ideas for Front of House
Comments (33)mjlb, thanks for embedding the images that makes it easier to compare! Yes the portico that I would build wouldn't be as large as that first image so I wonder if I could get away without building support beams. However, if they are necessary I'm unsure of how the posts would look being placed on top of the concrete. I like the 2nd image where the posts are secured instead to the top of the landing. I would probably build steps coming down on both sides like the current steps, instead of only just one side. What do you think of building wood steps over the current concrete and raising everything so that there is a higher landing closer to the floor of the home and shorten the step height to incorporate 3 steps instead of 2? Probably would only do a dark stained wood on top and paint the vertical sides white to match the trim:...See MoreLooking for ideas and suggestions to get our front yard in shape
Comments (9)As for the lawn, knowing your zone is meaningless. Zone 5 runs from Maine to the Aleutians. We need the name of the town where you live. That tells us more about your soil and climate than the USDA zone does. I'm going to assume you're going to trim that tree up so people can walk under it and stand upright. It will still cast so much shade that only fescue will grow under it. You could have Kentucky bluegrass in the sunlight, but only fescue will work under that much shade. Now is not a good time to seed, but the alternative is weeds. I would encourage you to understand that seeding now is a waste of time, effort, money, and hope. If you spent the effort, you're going to be disappointed in July when it is all weeds, anyway. Suck it up for now. You can fix it right in August. Seeding in the fall gives the new grass time to mature before the summer heat. Fill any holes you have, but don't use too much soil. Don't topdress 1/4-inch just because the yard is doing poorly. Soil is easy to fix. Spot spray Weed-b-Gon NOW to take care of the dandelions and other broadleaf weeds. Two weeks ago would have been better, but now is the next best time. That gives you time to evaluate the effectiveness before the summer heat hits when it's too warm to spray. Set your mower to the highest setting for the rest of the season. Tall grass is much healthier than short grass. It also helps prevent weed invasions. I would fertilize now with an organic fertilizer. If you want to use a synthetic fertilizer like Scott's, then wait until Memorial Day - no earlier. Summer watering is most important. The deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. With a lawn on a slope like yours, it will have to be done slowly to prevent runoff. You can measure 1 inch by putting cat food or tuna cans around the yard. Then turn on the sprinklers and time how long it takes to fill all the cans. That will be your watering time from now on. As for frequency, with temps lower than 70, deep water once per month. Mother Nature usually takes care of that for you. With temps between 70 and 80, water once every 3 weeks. With temps between 80 and 90, water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 90s, water once per week. Use this schedule as a guide, not gospel. The important thing is DEEP watering and never water every day (or 2 or 3). Deep watering makes this all possible. My watering time with my oscillator sprinkler on full sweep is 8 hours. That is pretty slow, but runoff can still happen. The time depends on your water pressure, hoses, sprinklers, etc. If you get the watering and mowing right, it's going to look much better for the rest of the season. Come August, write back to the lawn forum for advice on reseeding....See MoreNeed ideas on refreshing the look of the outside (front) of our home
Comments (7)This brings back memories as I lived in the North Dallas area in the 60s. Your trees are wonderful. I would focus on making significant changes to the landscaping to update the exterior of your home. I do think getting a more MCM front door and painting it an accent color—teal or a bright green would be interesting and draw attention to it. Get rid of the wrought iron gate and put in one with cleaner lines. Get a new porch light in a rectangular shape. If you search this site for MCM exterior I’m sure you will find examples that appeal to your taste. Definitely get rid of the shutters! If the pole light in the yard isn’t functional and you don’t need it, I would remove it. Get rid of the ground cover under the large tree on the right side of the house. All of the landscaping is so mature it would be best to start over with a fresh design plan. You can work with one of the local nurseries to design and install new plantings. I think re-landscaping like some of the pictures Beth H shared would make a huge statement — just decide if you like the more structured looks or curving beds since either one would look fine with the house....See MoreNeed ideas to give front of house a facelift!
Comments (9)I agree that this is a landscaping issue, but would also suggest that the railing around the porch roof is not a positive feature, especially since it is obvious there is no access through that window. I would remove the railing detail. I would also remove the shutters from the double window upstairs on the right. Pop your front door with brass hardware and a brass kickplate. I don't see any lights on your porch. Can you remedy that? Replace the tan urns with larger ones in black or charcoal that stand on a foot like shown above but much larger. Fill with a bonsai twist evergreen covered with some tiny battery operated lights. For the season, surround the base of the urns with low pots of red poinsettias. IMO, your white trim is just a bit too bright and contrasting, but you can always change that next time you paint....See MoreJacob Schmieder
11 days agoJacob Schmieder
11 days agoJacob Schmieder
10 days agotracefloyd
10 days agolast modified: 10 days agoJacob Schmieder
10 days agotracefloyd
10 days agolast modified: 10 days ago
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