Hi, GWers,

I haven't posted here before but I have lurked and have appreciated all the good advice shared by GW members.

Now I'm hoping several of you will have excellent advice on this house rehab~~of course, I am on a limited budget and want the most 'bang for my buck'! This house is north-facing, was built in 1951, and is about 1000 square feet on a half acre lot in a Cincinnati suburb. There are many very similar ranch homes on the street.

Plans so far include: The tree men are coming to take out the large evergreen on the left and to limb up the oak(?) in front and trim out the weeping cherry. The new front door will be a 'golden oak' wood with glass windows (along the lines of a craftsmen style)with antiqued pewter door hardware.

The painters are coming next week and will want to know the colors. I have chosen a very pale light green for the base color, white for trim, and a sage green for the shutters and other accents. My main question is which paint colors would you use where on the facade.

Also, do you think a modest front porch along the center section would tie things together and be fun to use or would it just be an extra useless expense? What would it look like? And what about exterior lights? And surrounding plants and shrubs?

This is a house we purchased for my sister and her three young daughters to live in. While I want it to be special and nice for them, I don't want to over-do and not be able to recover much of the costs when it's time to sell in 3 to 5 years.

Thanks for any advice.

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