The white trim is too stark against the darker colored home and dark roof. A warm light tan would still give you contrast, but not be so contrasty. It's difficult to see exactly what color the house is in the pic. It looks dark brown. If you really want to get more curb appeal, then I'd reverse the colors of the home. A warm light tan for the home, and a dark brown for the trim. As it is, the roof is too close in color value to the house color and it all blends in too much and nothing stands out but the stark white of the windows. If you want people to notice you home, then go with a lighter color that you can actually notice.

The shrubs have to go. They're not left to grow natural enough to have a nice individual shrub form, and they're not trimmed well enough into a precise hedge to work as as pruned shrubbery. Yes, it's not going to be an easy job, but their height also doesn't work with your home. You need some new plantings. Not just a line of the same plant all the way across. If you can, increase the size of the bed, even if that means annexing some of the lawn on the other side of the walkway. Add some evergreens with height, some low evergreens in varying textures and colors, and plenty of fresh mulch. Fill in with some annuals for a color punch. If you'd go to your state specific garden forum or maybe one of the other plant specific forums, you're sure to get a lot of help with suggestions. Don't venture into the landscape forum unless you have a thick hide and are willing to take real constructive criticism from very gifted pros who don't really "do" "foundation plantings" but real landscapes.

I agree about the white trim, but other than that all I would do would be to remove the basketball hoop, try to green up that patch of dead looking lawn and edge it nicely, if you don't have a lawn edger then you can use a spade. The only other thing may be some nice bright/cheerful looking flowering plants around the light to add a splash of colour. Your home looks neat and well cared for to me.

For a fast, inexpensive, & relatively easy spruce up to your curb appeal...I would suggest you reseal the driveway. The temp needs to be warm so it might have to wait a couple months. You can do it yourself...ask at Home Depot. The fresh seal on the driveway would give the house an immediate look of "well cared for". Also, I'd overseed the dead grass as soon as spring arrives in your area. Put in fresh flowers around the post. I would not suggest you remove the entire hedge because it is a lot of work & will result in a "disturbed" look even if you replant. But, I would prune it down about a foot...do this early spring.

I'm a Master Gardener with the Cooperative Extension. Folks on the gardening side can be blunt but they also offer very good advice.

Tricia

PS...I also wouldn't change the house colors unless the painting is in real need of repainting anyway.

If you are looking at getting your home on the market in the next month or two, it is really too late to take on a major landscaping project, such as ripping out the evergreens.

I would work on putting things on the porch that make it look homey - a couple chairs and area rug, some flowering plants in pots.

Be careful about pruning. Find out what those plants are and when to best prune them. Bushes generally have leaves only at the tips and go through an ugly phase before they leaf out again. You don't want them to be in the ugly stage when you are showing the house.

Your house looks a bit like it's peering over that hedge; not an attractive look, and I agree on pruning the hedge about a foot down if there's time to let it releaf before you put your house on the market. I'd perhaps have it trimmed professionally, and in any case make sure it's all the same height. The hedge gives your landscaping a more structured look, so I'd make sure it's perfectly done; that will say "well cared for and shipshape" to buyers. Bright flowers around the lamp post (and make sure the lamp and post are clean and shiny). I agree that the dead grass needs reseeding and the edge should be done. If there's a front porch you could put a pot or two of bright flowers there also, but be sure to keep them trimmed and watered. I think the colors on the house are fine.

I agree with all of the above. Removing the shrubs can be hard back breaking work depending how deep the roots are. A landscaper will charge plenty to remove them. I never recovered the money I paid my landscaper. I should have gotten more quotes.

Also removing the shrubs may reveal cosmetic defects that the foundation may have and will look even more unsightly if left exposed.

If the shrubs can be cut down 2 inches, the bottom of your windows will show and the house will not look buried. The trick is NOT to cut too much off the shrub growth as you will have twigs showing which looks worse. It will grow back but will take too much time.

Edge that driveway!

I'm in the minority here. I'd rip out the hedge and sod that area and the area along the driveway. Re-seal the driveway. Presto! You can see the house clearly beyond a field of green. Put clusters of potted plants on the porch/stoop -- after they can be SEEN from the street.

I, too, would leave the hedge alone unless you REALLY know what you're doing or if you have the money to replace it with mature plants.
Even a light trim may only leave you with brown wood for quite some time. And removing the hedge and replacing it with new plantings will take until next year to stop looking like a newly-dug bed.
Buyers who don't like the hedge might appreciate having it gone so that they can start fresh with plantings of their choice - but unless they see this picture won't know how much work they avoided :)

Overseeding in early spring is probably a better idea than resodding - newly sodded grass, IMHO, tends to look, well, newly-sodded for at least a season.

Planters with bright flowers will make anything look more cheerful but I'd avoid those cheap-looking white plastic planters unless they're covered by draping plants.

Edging the driveway is not a huge chore but do it early so that things don't look so raw.

I would take out at least the front part/half of that hedge and plant something else. It would open up your house. If you're going to repaint, I would go with a non-white color and paint the trim and garage door that color. I can't tell anything about your front door. I would paint it a color to make it stand out from the trim and the house.

If any of the antenna's or satellites are not being used, remove them.

The house looks to me like it's brick. If so, whatever you do, don't paint it.

I'd leave the hedges alone. But reseed the dead grass, or dig it out and put in a flower bed.

I just want to second housenewbie. When we bought our current house, which we knew we would resell soon, I asked our realtor about painting the brick front. He said never, never, never do that; people will really shy away from a house with painted brick. He's been in the business 30 years very successfully, so I think his advice is good. Also nix on any plastic planters, no matter what the color. You can often find pots at secondhand shops like Goodwill, I think.

I say not to remove the hedges, but give them a really nice, even trim. The house looks like brick and should not be painted.

I don't mind the white window trim and I'm surprised no one mentioned the garage door. I think you can get away with painting the garage door white to match the window trim.

It's also hard to see your door in the picture, as only the posts are visible. You may want to paint the front door as well.

I'm with the others in re-seeding the dead grass and placing fresh new flowers around the post. A nice, colourful perennial would be a good idea.

Take out the hedges in from of the window/door at a minimum. Taking down the entire hedge would be preferable. The lawn needs to be reseeded or re-sod, so you have lawn work to do. Edge the lawn. If the flowers under the lamppost are not perennials colorful annuals when the weather permits will add color to the landscape.

Take down the basketball net, antenna and dish as well as the dead planter. Take down whatever the do-dads are by the window and front door.

If the windows are not vinyl, painting a cream, ivory or whatever light hue is in your roof would soften the look.

Resurfacing the driveway is an excellent idea.

I really have to agree that ideally, the hedges should go. Given your time frame though, trimming them might be the best you can do.

I agree that the garage door could be painted a lighter color (beige, not white) as well as the window trim. Shutters around the windows would dress up the house also (also in a lighter color). Right now you have a lot of dark color going, with the brick, dark brown door, and dark reddish shingles.

Whatever plantings are around the lightpost seem too high and not tended-looking (I realize they are dead and it's off season) but I would go with some bright color annuals (red and white geraniums?) that would add a splash of needed color. Then, when you get the grass growing again and edge the driveway, these things should really dress up the front of the house.

My first thought was to paint your garage door white. I love a red brick and white-trimmed house. They're all over here. If you have fascia boards (look brown like door), paint those the same new color. I like the white windows.

I'd also not attempt the hedge, but try to add some color in other places...maybe in front of the hedge if there's room in the bed.

Home Depot has shutters for not very much money, can't remember how much; we considered them for the back of our house, which faces a road, but couldn't use them because our windows are too close together. If you look on various websites of paint companies you can find pix of color schemes. A big white garage door seems a little much to me, and it would get dirty so quickly, but I'd paint the fascia, garage door, and window trim if you can all the same color. If you can't paint the window frames, then maybe white is the answer. If you inquire a little at a paint store, you may be able to find someone who's been trained in paint color schemes; we found one like that at a Home Depot for the house we're currently selling.

I forgot to mention the TV antenna. That absolutely should be removed. Seeing an old TV antenna on the roof of a home I would potentially buy would scream out of date to me and that the home was not cable/satellite wired.

The TV antenna should be no big deal. Just let people know you have cable/satellite.

We have a new house in a rural area with a TV antenna on the roof. We have satellite TV in seven different areas of the house, but in this particular area, to get 'local' coverage you had to use an antenna until just a few months ago. I don't think the antenna on the roof should automatically signify anything.

Seriously? I thought antennas were a thing of the past. I can't remember when I last saw them.

Hard to see what lighter colors are in the brick, but I think I spy some mocha. I would repaint the garage door & the window trim that lighter mocha.

Hedges - we had them here they aren't that bad to pull if you know what you're doing. Once you cut all of the branches off, try to find the roots. They shouldn't be too deep, as long as you have a new loper, (Walmarts $15) and garden saw, you'll be fine.

The grass patch - is there a reason why it died there or is it weather related? We never had grass due to the sugar sand. What I've been doing is throwing garden dirt on the bare patches, it's worked well. If it was me, I could see a nice planting, that starts in the dead patch of grass, winding up to where the bushes are. I think it would make a nice border. More inviting.

What I would plant depends on where you are. A Japanese Maple, one that has green trimmed with maroon leaves. Iris and daylilies are always nice. Some kind of ornamental bush with purple berries, with mostly short grasses, but a larger grass where the evergreen is on the right.

Can you pull it off? Sure. Put a tarp down where you're working to catch branches. Move any dirt with a wheelbarrow, don't throw it on the grass. You could pull everything out in a day or 2, then do the new garden cutting the next weekend, with the planting either that weekend or the next.

I'd like to offer a different opinion about painting the garage door. In my opinion, garage doors should blend with the rest of the house, which is what yours does not. I think that painting the garage a lighter color will make it the focal point, whereas your house should be the focal point.

Can you paint the front door a light color so that it draws attention?

I hope that you can at least trim the hedges a bit. If you can't remove them, can you also plant some bright flowers (red geraniums?) in front of it?

Very nice ranch house. Don't know about cost but I would remove the bushes put a slightly winding walkway from 3/4 down the driveway up to the front door no matter the cost. This will create the "come in and see me big boy" feeling for purchasers. Paint front door red. (I can't even see an entrance to the house but for the garage door. Paint garage door (not sure about color). I think the white is fine. Edge drive with cheap interloc bricks that you will use for walkway.

There's a kind soul on the home decorating forum that is wonderful at photoshopping paint colors, landscaping, etc. on house pictures. Post this pic on home decorating and title it "photoshop help please". Mention that you'd like some advice on curb appeal and you'll get plenty of help.

Good luck!

Shrubs have to go as they are doing nothing for your house. You can cut them off at ground level as a quick fix. I'd also suggest you edge the drive where the grass meets the pavement. Someone mentioned sealing the driveway and I think that is a great idea.

Shrubs have to go. Can't see your house for the hedges. It's work, but you can cut them down yourself or hire some young men in the neighborhood to dig them out. Usually the roots are shallow enough.

Even for safety reasons, they should go. Go out and put some nice low flowers in the beds created by removing the bushes.

You guys are awesome! I finally got back here today to see if anyone responded and I couldn't believe the number of people who were willing to help. I love the ideas. I'll have to talk to my dh about the shrubs. I like the idea of hiring a professional to trim.

The t.v. antennae was actually removed a couple of weeks ago, so I'll have to give my dh a high five for that one!

The front door is painted red, but could use a new coat. The house is brick, so we will not paint it, but we have always thought that a lighter trim color might help. The windows are vinyl, so there's nothing we can do there. The entire side of the house (both sides) has a dark wood vertical siding - not sure what that's called). We should probably paint that a lighter tan?

The flowers around the lightpost were the ones that were there when we bought the house. Last summer, I changed those to pansies, I believe. There is a nice selling point to this house - our back yard was beautifully landscaped by the former owners. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to landscaping or taking care of plants, but I am going to try really hard this spring to get the back yard ready. It has a water feature that I'm also clueless about. I may need to get some help with that.

I'll attach a picture of our back yard, so you can see our true selling point. The pictures taken in August were taken on move-in day, thus the van in the back yard. Any pictures taken last summer would not be suitable for viewing since I was due for baby #4 in September - not a lot was done to the back yard! Some occasional weeding - that was about it. The rest of my energy was used up on the vegetable garden. Phew!

Thank you again!
Caryn

Here is a link that might be useful: back yard

caryn, what a gorgeous back yard! For the right family this will sell your house. Our back yard and the tip-top condition of our house were what sold our house in 6 days. I'd pay a professional to get everything in perfect order, or if you're on a tight budget enlist your kids as weed-pullers at least. One other thing when you list it, I'd maintain control of the pix your realtor takes of your house and yard. Some realtor pix just don't do a house justice, and don't help the sale. What a wonderful yard!

Have to agree on the back yard - awesome! I bet you can go out there, relax and enjoy it. I would take the same plantings from the back, out into the front, the grasses, black eyed Susan, Sedum even the hosta.

I'd consider using your own photos of the back. I doubt a realtor could capture it any better.

Do you have a closer photo of the brick?

Some of your plants are shade plants, though, aren't they --hosta, for example -- and might not do well in the front, which looks sunnier. I think you said you're not a gardener; and I'm not either; I may be remembering wrongly that hosta like shade. You might need some expert advice on the front.

hosta do like shade but can survive in the sun here in zone 6

caryn, I have to second the love for your backyard! It is absolutely stunning!

The only picture from the back that I think needs a different angle is the one of the house. The white extension doesn't seem to match with the rest of the brick house. It also doesn't showcase what looks like a beautiful patio on the right. Having that center view draws attention to a bare area of landscaping when your patio would be a much better selling feature.

Oh, good point about that last picture. That was a picture I took about a month after we moved in. It was sent to my mother as a desperate call for help. Like, HELP! Look what we've done to the landscaping after only a month!!! My kids were obsessed with the water feature as it had several gold fish and a huge number of tree frogs. They were constantly out there trying to catch frogs and the landscaping paid the price for that! I think I will check into getting some professional help. Would that just be under landscaping in the phonebook? Or would it be a different type of professional. We have friends that have a landscaping business, but I asuumed that meant lawn care and landscaping material rather than design and upkeep of perrenials and other plantings.

Thanks again for your help.
Caryn

In my experience most landscaping businesses also do design and repair. I'd sure ask your friends if I were you; if they can't do it they can probably recommend someone. Good luck!

You could put some nice stepping stones in the bare area and then surround it with low shrub bushes or plants.

I think sealing the driveway is going to give you the biggest bang for your buck. It also needs to be edged a lot better.

Those two things alone will make the front look much fresher. I think I would take out all the stones and flowers around the lamppost. I think it's distracting in such a big front yard with no other ornamentation. And they draw attention to the poor condition of the grass in that area.

I'd either sod or try really hard to get the strip of grass along the driveway to look better.

I have no strong feelings about the hedges. They don't look great, but I think that dealing with them would be expensive and time consuming. There are other areas where your money and time would be better spent.