Although I have NO photoshop talent -- I can tell you that I believe that a set of thin shutters (painted black) on either side of your front door (nice change BTW!) would help to create an illusion of a better visual balance.

And bigger outdoor lights or lanterns (in black) on each side would help too!

Plus -- the simple addition of a large knocker (all jokes aside LOL!) would help to draw the viewers eye into the center of the door.

Just some quick thoughts! Hope this helps a little .... hope you don't mind! :)

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

I definitely think that you need to beef up those columns. Not too hard if you just build a box around the existing ones with a cap at the top and footing at the bottom. I think that will make a world of difference for you. Larger lights would work, too, or a large pendant/lantern light as Jan suggested.

I actually think the real problem is that the porch is too low over the door. Jan put her finger on this nicely with the idea about the knocker. In this regard I am not sure the darker door with the high focal point was the right direction to go. And then the task is not so much about the columns but rather about making the doorway look more open or distracting the eye from trying to peer in to see what is under the porch roof.

Problem-identification and problem-solving are two different skills and I'm better at the former than at the latter... but maybe the idea is to draw the eye lower: things like hanging the mailbox lower, putting in that knocker, changing the porch planters to something more eye-catching than the wood. Maybe even painting the door lighter? I'm really not sure that thickening the pillars would help as such, but maybe pinstriping them or adding corner moulding to accentuate their vertical dimension?

When it comes to the effect of paint I'm really out of my depth, but I'm wondering if something like painting the portico and pillars dark and the door light would create a better balance (ceiling of porch white, though). Maybe if the highlight colour (shutters) on the house were something other than black, this would work.

I actually think the house has nice proportions and the curved front walk is a really nice touch. Nothing homely about it, as far as I can see.

KarinL

Thank you all!

Teacats--I absolutely don't mind--I am here for help! So funny that you said that about the shutters--I am sure that before the porch was added, shutters were already there--there are traces of paint on the bricks from them being painted.

I am kicking myself about the light fixtures because they are the ones *I* chose, replacing tiny brass ones present when I moved in. I can paint them blacker, but I don't know if I can justify replacing them. Hopefully, having them be blacker will give them more presence.

I don't know how to install a knocker on this kind of door (fiberglass?) as I've always had heavy wood doors before. Someone told me drilling into these doors can ruin them, and I should have ordered it pre-drilled. So then I was scared to try. I'll look into it, though, since I do like knockers!

CYn427, what you're describing is what my carpenter suggested. My hope with the photoshopping is that I can see whether it will be "enough" of an improvement or if I will just be frustrated and want to go ahead and do something about the porch anyway.

KarinL, your reply is a perfect example of why it's great to come here for help. I've been staring at that porch trying to figure out why it's so weird since we bought the house. I blamed the roof size:pedestal size ratio, the spindly posts, etc., but never noticed how low the porch is relative to the top of the door, and you are absolutely right. I do want to replace the wood planters, and have been looking for something black and a bit taller. I can certainly lower the mailbox myself and I will.

Keep the suggestions coming! I know I need help!

The shutters were teal when we bought the house, and I wanted them and the door to be black to eliminate some of the visual chaos. Previous owners had very chaotic plantings that I am still in process of resolving, and it kind of made me break out in hives just to look at the front when there was so much going on visually. I like the brick walkway but the wide curving beds around the other side of the door are way too large and I don't know if I have the patience to wait for them to fill in. I really wish they were half the size.

Oh my. I agree that Karin is right! I wasn't even looking at that! Any chance your carpenter could raise the porch AND beef up the columns?

Try to be patient with the beds. I think they will look just wonderful, but you have time. You don't have to fix everything at once! Put in a shrub or two and some annuals for this year. Come fall you can plant bulbs and more shrubs for next spring.

I'm sure my carpenter would be happy to do all of the above, as soon as I win the lottery ;-) No money for major overhauls at this time in our lives--we are heading into 14 years of having kids in college. I am pretty sure if I want the porch redone, I'll have to arrange for a tree to fall on it. Pretend you didn't read that!

I'm glad that helped, though I'm not sure I would have gotten it without Jan's comment. Better plant that tree soon :-)

With respect to the landscaping, I seem to keep sending people over to the LD forum, because although I have been hanging out there for years, I still can't solve landscape dilemmas all by my lonesome any more than I can solve house issues without putting my thoughts together with someone else's.

But it seems to me that the theme you want to pursue off the porch as well as on it is to create a feeling of openness. For that, I think I would want your foundation beds to remain as big as they are (thin ones rarely look good) but I would keep the plantings flat beside and in front of the porch and only have taller plants as you get to the end of the windows. I don't know which way the house faces, but potentially some flat-growing junipers (there are wonderful gold and blue varieties that really hug the ground) interspersed with low-growing perennials for summer. If it's shady, consider Microbiota, which does grow big but can be kept in check or replaced periodically.

You might even consider something in the way of a courtyard, or as someone recently called it on LD, a meet and greet area. A bench or table to put groceries down while you open the door adds to its functionality.

Your house is symmetrical so lends itself to a fairly regular, even mathematical arrangement of plants but I wouldn't overdo that... the arrangement can morph from regular spacing to more casual groupings as the sidewalk ends and foundation beds begin. Also, a nice crisp edging to the bed would dress the whole thing up. I would reshape the bed on the right, though, so that it makes a more graceful curve from the sidewalk edging in towards the window and then out again as it approaches the downpipe.

But the LD forum might have better ideas.

KarinL
PS in lieu of photoshopping, you could always print out your picture and colour on it :-)

I think beefing up the columns as well as larger lanterns will help a great deal. I don't think painting the lanterns black is going to do enough as they are quite small for the size of the entry. I've seen some really nice lanterns at HD for a reasonable amount of $$. If you can find a way to replace the lanterns, I would definitely go with black. I think part of the problem with the current lanterns is not only that they are too small, but they are set very far apart which makes them appear even smaller.

Not a homely home at all, it is lovely. Great job on replacing the door. I like jan's idea of adding a door knocker.

until you get new planters, you can paint them black for balance and then for plants in them I would go rounded and tall. Yes, Unfortunately I DO see the problem with the porch being so low, but I think the advice of beefing up the columns in some way makes sense, because that will balanace things out as they seem small in proportion, plus there are a lot of straight lines and this would emphasize something rounded, But if you are really motivated, and it is in your budget, start cruising around in your car and take some photos of front porches and doors. I mean maybe you will end up tearing the whole thing off. I think to frame out your door would be nice too, but putting shutters there might be overkill, IMHO, trimming it out would look fabulous. PS. Your brick is gorgeous and I hope you never consider painting it. It is the perfect color.

Is your porch large enough to accommodate a rocker? I am seeing a black rocker on the left side. Maybe a nice big urn with a fern on the other side to balance it out.

Oopsie, it's not in the budget to tear off the porch or modify it in any significant way, unfortunately. Driving home today I saw that another flat-faced split foyer three blocks away has a crew out front putting on a front porch, and I found myself crossing my fingers that they got a better design that this one! And you're right about painting the wood planters.

Nancyvh, no, it's not big enough for a rocker. I'd thought about putting a chair or a pair of chairs. I do like the fern idea. They always look so cooling here in summers.

Well, I'm not much good at photoshop, but I tried to beef up the posts a bit... What about a little railing?

bigger posts
{{!gwi}}

original posts but with railing
{{!gwi}}

Love your landscaping :-)

Tricia, thank you so much! I do think the fatter posts look better. I thought about a railing, too, and I like the way it looks but I'm afraid it wouldn't last long with my kids sitting on it.

And thanks for your kind words about the landscaping. Those photos were taken last summer, our first summer in this house, and I've rearranged things even more since then.

I'm still planning to paint the light fixtures blacker!

You do realize that the original meaning of Homely, was in fact, home-like, which your home, really is--warm and welcoming, imo, and not homely in the way that we think of it in today's world. Having said that, the windows that look the most inviting to me are the ones w/ curtains, not shades. It makes me want to see what's inside (now that might not be a great thing, but it does make it look more homey, I think).

I likish the bigger posts, but I really like the railing that Tricia added. How about a couple of small chairs, if there's room? That would make me want to sit on the porch and maybe keep the kiddos off the railing.

I would agree that whatever you're doing to the walk w/ the plantings really does make it look homey. Honestly, other than something to sit on on the porch, I don't think you need to "do" anything to make it homey, just my opinion....

What about wood columns?

And I think I would paint trim/porch a nice warm tan.

First off.....your home is lovely not homely at all.

I, too, like the beefier columns & you could box in your current ones with 1x4's.
I wonder what it would look like to add a half column on the brick behind the current columns - just to box in the porch a little bit.

Then you could get some large urns & put a tall boxwood or evergreen in it to help fill up the space. Let colorful annuals spill out of the bottom. A nice welcome mat.

Smiles:)

I agree the posts could be beefed up. Also, have you considered painting the porch? I think the white looks a little off in your setting. I think a medium to dark grey would look nice.

Thanks, all. It's nice to hear some folks don't think the house is that ugly. There are so many really attractive, more traditional and classically styled homes in my neighborhood, I feel like mine stands out in a bad way.

Here is a photo taken today that shows my clematis vine doing her best to beef up one of the columns while we wait for the funds to have the carpenter out...

I do want to change the paint color...eventually--it's not white in real life, or even close to white, it's a taupe, but I don't like that much contrast either, and would prefer a more mid-range color. The paint job is only three years old, though, and involves the garage door, wood siding on the top story of the back of the house, etc., in addition to the porch posts and gable, so it's not going to happen any time soon.

If I don't have houseguests this weekend I am going to paint the light fixtures blacker so they'll stand out more. I like the fern--he keeps me company when I sit out there in the morning drinking coffee and encouraging the rest of the new landscaping to grow :-)

{{!gwi}}

I don't normally hang out here, but do pop in to lurk occasionally. I hesitate to make an offering, but here's what I'd do. Instead of trying to ''beef up'' the columns, I add two more columns of the same size as those you already have, on each side to create an angle. This way, instead of one column, you have three. Your current column is too far to the inside of your porch roof, so by adding another further out, you create balance without adding bulk. Look at the edge of the roof line and the trim on the gable end to see where it should center. The columns you add need to come out to the center point between the trim and the edge on the gable end. (I think it will be obvious when you look at it that way.) I'd also add a light trellis (even a ladder rung effect between the columns, so you have a place to grow your vine around the porch, which will also add more interest while creating the visual ''weight'' you're looking for in the design.

Also, move the gutter to the backside of the outer column on the right side, so the visual balance is the same on both sides.

Does that make sense?

I might also add (after looking at your landscaping), that if you pulled out the shrubs in front of the window on the right hand side, and planted more of the low spire white flowers that are en masse on the other side, your balance would also be better, not to mention how pretty the view would be out the window from the inside.

I love the fern on your porch and see why you do.

The black door is making your doorway recede, which is why you notice the roof-line as being too low. If you left your accents black (tall urns, shutters, furniture) and painted your front door a vivid brick red, it would probably fool the eye enough to stand out in a welcoming way, making the entry more visually accessible.

These are JMHO, I hope you don't mind! I think you have a good start, and don't need a whole lot of $$ to get the balance you're looking for.

If you would download FREE photo scape 3.5 you can straighten as well as many other nice features to your pic., I've straightened yours for you..

Thanks, Claire. Unfortunately, we can't add columns outside the existing ones--that was one of my original ideas since a house down the street has double posts that look nice. The porch floor doesn't extend out further than the existing columns, so there isn't any way to make up for the out-of-proportion overhang without replacing the brick patio, which is not in the budget.

About the door, I am leaving it black. I am not a red person, although I am a redhead!

A good concrete guy could easily build a form and pour an edge around the sides of your existing porch floor. Adding a complementary brick would be very doable and a fraction of the cost of replacing the brick patio. Think of it in terms of trim or edging. That would also give you the support you need to add extra columns.

I think it's a handsome home, leafy. Beautiful brick, and I like the new door and the gardening you've done.

I think your instincts are correct: beefier columns would be more in scale. And then, not much else is needed, though I've added bigger porch lights as Jan suggested just for visual ideas. If it were mine, I'd add a concrete bird bath or bench in the garden somewhere just for something with medium height. Those look nice with your kind of brick.

Slightly wider columns, bigger lights:

Thanks, awm03. I have been thinking about a bird bath, too. We have three cats, though, and I was worried about luring birds to their doom. The cats wear bells, but one of them is a successful hunter despite the bells and an extra five pounds :(

Of course, I could put it there just for looks and not put any water in it!

LOL! Extra five pounds & a hunter :) We have one of those. Some people have tabby cats, we have a tubby cat.

Then perhaps a gazing globe or a sundial.

Susie, thanks for mentioning the photoscape program. I downloaded it and it looks like it has tons of great features.

I faced a similar problem. I enlarged my posts to 6x6. There were 3 and it looked off balance so I moved the middle one and added another.

What I wanted to show you is my front door surround. I designed it and had my son build it for under $100. Something similar could be added to your door, if you like it. (Please excuse the dirty appearance, my arthritis hasn't allowed me access to clean the porch)

I also placed a plaque under the lamps and over the surround to give them more importance.

My my! That door surround really does look great and beefs up the door area. What a great idea Calirose. I do also like the beefier columns, but after seeing calirose's door, that might actually do the trick and it sounds like it was a lot simpler !

I think you need a wider door. How about shutters on either side?

What if you put white trellises on the inside of each of the columns already there - from the floor of the porch to the ceiling - maybe on the other side of each of the columns around the corners, as well? They would frame the doorway, "beef up" the look as you are wanting to do. You could grow clematis or roses up the trellises.

I can't photo shop. But considering 14 years of college tuition ahead of me, I'd try something simple like that!

I really like the start you have on your landscaping. It takes time to fill in but you've got a nice start.

seagrass

I was wondering about building out your columns so they are round. The square shape seems too severe. Then I too was thinking some ivy on the poles. I think your home is beautiful and some simple changes will really give it curb appeal.

Do you have any inspiration photos?
I like doing curb appeal sketches and ideas for fun and would be happy to do one for your home if I could get some idea of what you are looking for.

Here are a couple of examples of other ideas I have put together.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg0500101915136.html?7

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/design/msg121734042663.html?30

Thanks. I pretty much just wanted to see how the porch posts would look if they were built out, and a few people have been kind enough to alter the photo to show that. I do think they look better thicker and having the carpenter who suggested that as a solution come out to build them out is now on my to-do list :-)