Is there anyone who can help me out with a question about my house? Maybe with photoshop or something? My house is very plain on the front and I want to do something to pretty it up, add some curb appeal. I was thinking of adding a portico, but the existing slab and steps is pretty small, and there is a bay window on the front of the house. I am not sure if it would look right. I hope so, cuz it needs something!! I just bought the house and have done nothing with the landscaping either, so I know that will help. Anyone out there who can help me see what a portico would look ike if I post a pic of my house?

Don't give up, mahlgold! If you look at the boxed out lower windows, the trim on the sides and bottom of the windows is stepped back from the upper piece - there's a name for that piece and it escapes me at the moment - anyway, it creates a very nice shadow line. That's really key - shadow lines are wonderful at adding depth and interest. As for the shutters, if you have more substantial trim, properly placed shutters would sit so that they are at the window edge, basically covering most of the side trim - and I can hear you saying 'then why add the trim???' Because it will show a bit from certain angles and the look it creates is not something you can fudge. If it's not there the shutters would be sitting flat on the house (as they are now) not angled back a bit. In an ideal world the shutter size would be so that if they were closed, they would meet in the middle of the window. In the real world, we can't always do that, but we get as close as possible and let the eye imagery do the rest. If you get reasonably close to half window width, it will look fine. I think a black door would look wonderful with Fairview Taupe or any of the earthy historic colors. However.....with your recessed door you might lose some of the detail and it might look like a hole. I love your brass handset - maybe consider a larger, more important looking door knocker as another way to brighten a black door. And if your handset is the forever brass that doesn't tarnish, make sure your door knocker is the same.

The bushes do not need to just be pruned down. They need to be pared down such that they do not look like a freighter ready to steam off toward the left. And end undercutting so lower foliage could be kept. They could be dome, not a ball. It could be difficult to recreate into a nice form without a hole or scar as some at left side need to be entirely removed. "I plan landscaping the sides of the sidewalk with something low maintenance." Well, that in and of itself is not a low maintenance idea. At this point we don't know what the "something" is, but if it has much of any height, it's going to make the entry experience substantially less appealing, and the drive by experience less appetizing. Lining the walk with Liriope would be an example of adding negativity. It would be creating a raised edge that shrinks the apparent walk size and divides it from the larger path (lawn) with a trip hazard.

I like the homes houssaon shows but your roof ratio is pretty low, so I don't think you can achieve any of those looks. I don't think you want the addition to take on a different roof angle than the main house. Here are shed dormer additions on lower roofed homes. You could do one of them on the front and back sides of the addition to get more height/head room.