You might want to post this on the regular forum, so that it will be seen. This area is the gallery which does not get as much traffic and can get lost and not be seen by those who do the photoshopping. You have a very nice and pretty kitchen.

Your house is sooo beautiful. I love it!!! One of my favorite looks for a stucco home is ivory with white trim and then uh oh! The black door! Kilim would look nice on your house too but it's very similar to what you have now, maybe a little lighter but I would like it with a light trim white or cream. Good luck! You couldn't do anything that would make your house look bad. Let us know what you decide and if you can post a picture of the new paint. Wish I could help you with the photo shop! One of these days I am going to learn how to do that!

Lyfia-Thanks so much for your feedback. I like the way a full porch with big columns looks but you are probably right that my house may not be able to pull that off because of the jut in front. So if I consider a portico and landing, what style? I think squirrelheaven did a great job photoshopping that porch for me. Anyone have other ideas they think I should consider? Thanks all!

zipdee: I'm late to this thread, but love what you've done so far--the steps, the original door, etc. I also have a Northern Exposure and heavy shade tree in front and had some similar problems. We relandscaped last fall after our remodel and I'm really happy how it turned out and get lots of compliments from our neighbors. I drew everything out on graph paper ahead of time to better visualize how it would all look together taking into consideration walkways, planter beds, drainage and lighting--plants were last. Some things we did which you might want to consider were to curve the walkway and extend it to the side of the house where we added a gate and bike shed to store the kids' bikes (noticed you had several on your side porch) and also curve and widen the front planter beds. I was really nervous about the wider beds at first in case they did not look good, but I find it allows for tiered plantings and also brings the front part of the beds into more sun so I have more planting options. I also tried for advice on the landscaping forum and concur what has already been said above. What we ended up doing was working with the owner of a nursery and she was very helpful with plant selection and even made a home visit to help with placement. I find that using proper soil ammendments, plant food and Vitamin B1 directly after planting make a huge difference. I learned so much from her, just watching her work and now I feel more confident to do my own selection and placement. I just finished my spring overhaul (taking out what didn't survive the winter and filling in the blank spots). What I've learned is that good gardens (like good decor) do not happen overnight--it's an evolutionary process so don't be afraid to experiment and that is how you will find what plants look good and grown well in your space. Hardscape, drainage, lighting, etc. are more expensive and permanent, though, so it pays to think carefully what your needs are. I do think azaleas with a good acidic soil ammendment are pretty fool proof, though. Her fee was something like $200 and money well spent, though the landscaping forum will make you think you need a landscape architect or you'll mess up. Some of the plants that do well in our shady area are: azaleas, camellias, mother fern, Japanese maple, violas (spring/summer), cyclamens (winter) and purple palace; though your best bet is to go around your neighborhood and see what plants work well in your neighbors' yards since climate varies. I also used a bit of strategically placed ornamental stone. It looks like you are off to a very good start.