Oh Squirrel, what a sight to wake up to. Thanks so much. Glad you added the rockers, as there will definitely be rockers. I also invisioned hanging fern so I see you added some. I can't wait to show DH, he'll be so tickled to see what it will actually look like one day.

OK DH just saw it and was quite amazed and of course he noticed, what I forgot, the shutters. Can you add some? We are going to have simple Z shutters. I'm not sure what they are called, that's what I call them. He also noticed the birds. LOL

Thanks again, it is so pretty.

Ooops, forgot the color of the shutters, they will be a very dark green, almost black.

I'm heading out the door on vacation but just HAD to post real quick. Squirrel....we miss you...what gorgeous "shopping" as always!

squirrel-I have to say that you did an amazing job! Love that last pic and the birds, very cute!

Squirrel, What an amazing job you did. You sure have a gift for detail and knowing what looks great as well as your talent for making these amazing changes and sharing them.

Squirrel, amazing work! It's not just your photoshopping skill it's knowing how to put it all together.

Brutuses, is there room for shutters on those windows? My perception could be off. I actually like them without.

A new show idea for HGTV: Curb Appeal Star.

We all know who the first winner and champion-to-beat would be...

WOW. What an amazing job. It's breathtaking to see such a marriage of technical and artistic skill.

Beautiful job, Squirrel, and a gorgeous home.

AMAZING !!! Squirrel...
brutuses, your house is so nice. I like it with the brick stairs. I also understand the need for a circular drive. If that is a busy street it makes things safer for getting out.

natal, yes, there is room for shutters. Living where we do, we want to put workable shutters for those pesky hurricanes, know what I mean? LOL

lyban, yes, it's the main street through the subdivision so it's very busy. I've just always wanted a circular drive and now that I have the room. It's like the kitchen windown and bedroom french door. All things I "had" to have just because it's my first and only dream home and I only have one shot. LOL

Wow, such a response! And aw shucks, ladies :)) It is a beauty, Brutuses : ) Your dh must be so proud. He's done a beautiful and meticulous job.

So, where does the circular drive start and end?

Duh, on the shutters. I was going to put them in but it didn't look like enough room and those shutter police were out and about! -- but New Orleans! where one actually needs them. Sorry, just wasn't thinking : ) I had put the fern all the way across, but it first struck me as too busy and blocked so much of the windows. Maybe with the shutters, also, it will fill out better. Don't know what Z shutters are??

wow, that was easy -- they are called Z shutters -- the board & batton ones with the diagonal piece!

That's so funny. They are called Z shutters? I didn't know that, it just made sense they should be. LOL You can tell I'm a real pro at this stuff. NOT!!

The drive will start just to the right where you have the pretty tree and plantings and come around and end the same equal distance. Does that make sense? Just center a 1/2 circle drive and you'll have it.

I'll tell DH what you said. Yes, he is very proud. Couldn't be prouder if he'd given birth to it. LOL

He did give birth to it!

No circular drive yet, but here are the shutters, although the detail doesn't show. Brick to the porch floor, where the floor is now a light gray. I've tucked the rockers on the more private side -- although sounds like the tree is going. Along with a fountain to cover some road noise. So you have a little garden oasis over there to enjoy while chatting with some iced tea : )

The tree and some other landscaping will help absorb some of the road noise. I have a terribly ugly, mangy looking tree during winter, but the tree man said removing it would make a great difference with the amount of noise.

I've tucked a Japanese Pieris to the right of the garage now. Pretty, silhouette and lovely clusters of little white bell flowers early, early Spring (over here). They come in dwarf sizes, too, but are verrry slow growers.

Still not sure how it all fits together, with the garage and walk. Can you draw a pic, maybe even on top of a photo? Then just scan and post it.

OMG Squirrel, the shutters look great. DH will be so tickled to see them up. He'll also wish they could get built and put up as fast as you did it. LOL

I adore the hanging baskets, they are so pretty.

Sorry, my scanner is dead. Let me see if I can explain the cement. The drive will be connected to the cement that goes to the double drive in front of the garage. Then we are cementing (sorry you tree has to go), to the side entrance. That way people can come up that walk to the side door without having to walk up the front stairs and we are cementing because it's less maintenance and permanent.

On the left side of the garage out to the street is a large expanse of ground that is also our front yard. It's not in the photo. We intend on making that area our seasonal holiday decoration space. You know nativity scene at Christmas, for Halloween, some graves, etc. Right now the porta potty occupies that space. Now you know why I don't photograph it!!

Please, don't worry about the circular drive if you can't figure it out. What you've done is spectacular and makes us so happy to see it so pretty. I think I should mail this to the city tax department and tell them, see it will look like this one day and we will be paying taxes. LOL They keep sending us bills asking "when are you moving in?" We keep telling them, soon, soon, we promise, real soon.

Here's a more red/orange brick, just changing the color of what's already on there (mixed blend). And the online palette. I think I used Full Range on the others, with the grays in there.

{{!gwi}}

Our brick is closest to the New Orleans Red Range. However, the brick you put up there is also pretty.

You know how uncreative we are. We played it safe and went with something that would come close to matching the porch color.

Good Grief! Here she goes again!!! These are the MOST fun posts ever! Nice looking house,Brutus, with much potential, as we see with our talented, squirell on board...good to see you back here of late!. Hmmm, the garage keeps bothering me. How about a tall narrow tree between the house and garage (Birch?)..maybe need to be a bit in front... to sort of bridge the gap and/ or disguise the difference in roof heights. Also thought of a tall staggered height fence or trellis between porch and garage , moving up like a staircase with a climbing something over. As for the walk and driveway : here's just an idea. Boxwood hedge down walkway to driveway, but before reaching that corner, curve it in a medium- large swooing C out to the street ( the "swoop" resembling a soft C shape.) Within that bed place a small dogwood type tree. Could fore- go tree and put in a lamppost. this curve would soften the straight lines of driveway . Picket fence somewhere here a possibility?

Here's the New Orleans Red:

hehe, Leahcate : ) Waiting on the drive configuration ...

ok, still confused and surely this isn't correct, but I'm sure you, or someone else, can extrapolate something useful from it : )

I'm thinking you could still do a tree : ) Most of the plantings pretty well take care of themselves, I think, without too much gardening effort.

You put Brutus on the porch. That's hysterical. Wait till DH sees that. I see you've really dressed me up now. Let me ask you, are you going to pay the guys who take care of this gorgeous yard? LOL

The drive needs to come up closer to the steps. They'll be maybe 2 ft. between the drive and the first step. Maybe the depth of one of those stepping stones.

The red brick is perfect. Thanks so much, it looks fabulous.

I don't know why I can't understand this. I've got a walk from the drive going all along the front over to the side door (on the right of the house?). How does the walk fit in?

Minimizing the expanse of concrete with plants : ) It looks low maintenance to me! Just a few flowers to worry about in the yard. And some watering.

is that a Harry Potter fly by????? love the house by the way. I've always wanted a porch.

Oh Squirrel, don't frustrate yourself with this, please. I don't expect it to be perfect down to the last blade of grass. Let me see if I can explain. If you take the circular drive and just move it up closer to the house and put more of a curve on the left side so that end of the drive runs into the street like the right side. That side of the circular drive will run up against the cement drive to the garage. If this doesn't make any sense, please forget about it. I don't want to give you an ulcer over this. I already have enough of those for both of us!!

Like i said, I don't expect you to give me an exact rendering. What you've done so far is so amazing. Just seeing bricks, shuters, rockers and some flowers in the front of the house is so heartwarming. You just don't know how much I appreciate you doing just that. Of course adding Brutus was too much!! LOL

After I get all the cement poured I'll post again. That will make it much easier for you to see all the cement and what size the beds will be. Thanks again.

You're welcome : ) Maybe it will click in at some point, lol.

ok, more like this, though I think you'd said it was about half the size of the house.

That's almost it. It just has to be brought out a little bit more to the right so it looks like it's centered on the house. I don't know if the software will let you get that precise.

I just can't get over how pretty you've made my house.

What's really amazing is that you have Brutus actually lying on the porch pretending to be a well behaved dog. LOL We know that's not the case. He and Girl are going to adore sitting out and watching the world go by. There are lots of people who exercise/walk around there.

Beautiful house! (and beautiful photoshopping!)

Do you really need the circular drive? All that concrete wil be hot, hot, hot in the summer! If you put a cypress tree in the circle, you will block that gorgeous front door as well.

Unless you need it for safety on a busy street, or to have more off-street parking, please reconsider the driveway. Do you need to park right in front of your door for health reasons?

(You could pay a gardener for a long time for the cost of all that extra concete.)

Again, you have a fabulous home and I'd hate to see your eyes drawn straight to the driveway instead of the porch.

Forgot about the cypress -- big conical evergreen? Here's something low, to soften the hard surfaces from some angles. You need some beautiful sounding wind chimes out there : )

Thanks Squirrel, looks great.

Cal dreamer, thanks for your comments. The thing is the drive looks like it takes up most of the yard, but in real life it doesn't. It would be difficult for Squirrel to draw it exactly to scale like it is in real life.

In our golden years, which are like around the corner, we will need that easy access to get to the house, that is one reason for the drive. Also, when we have company of more than 4-6 cars we'll need additonal parking. The street is very busy and parking on it could prove hazardous.

The reason for the cypress is because cypress with moss hanging from it, is what is growing throughout that neighborhood as it goes with the feel of the neighborhood which is bayou country. There are some more modern houses out there with palms and other types of tress, and frankly they look out of place. I understand what you're saying about it blocking the view of the porch, but in real life, it gives the front of the house charm. I'm going to try to take some photo's of other houses out there that have mature cypress with moss hanging from them. They are gorgeous. I actually have a couple of huge cypress on the property, out of camera shot. One is in the back yard and one in the side yard.

Thanks again squirrel for your hard work, I really do appreciate it.

Looks like I am utterly confused. A picture is worth a thousand words! Looking at the other house pic above, the side entrance you are referring to is probably on the left between the garage and house? Still steps to do, though. So the walk doesn't go across the front to the right side.

You're not confused, you have the walk across the front of the house correct. The side steps are between the garage and house. You can see them in the second photo I posted. I didn't expect you to draw them in. I just wanted to get an idea of how the front will look with life in it and you've exceeded my expectations.

As always....Amazing Squirrel

So, we'll look at it both ways : ) Changed the perspective of the drive to not show so much, more grass, maybe more accurate.

Don't have any meandering Cypress around, but the tree on the right has some of that New Orleans atmosphere. I'd imagined a Magnolia I'm familiar with that has a similar, artistic silhouette, and not too big, but just can't seem to find a pic of it or find out which one it is.

You're welcome : ) -- ok, I'm outta here.

Brutuses, I totally agree with you re: palm trees. We had a pre-Katrina neighbor who had several palms brought in and planted all over the place in his tiny yard. (Looked like a scene out of Miami Vice rather than Long Beach, MS!)

The large trees on the right that squirrel so beautifully placed looked like crape myrtles to me, especially the bark, and they would be a lovely addition to your yard. We have a new yard, too, and planted the Little Gem Magnolias, sweet olive, crape myrtles, camellias, pittsoporum (sp?), and the old standby, Indian Hawthorne. I know you are more than familiar with all of those. One that I wasn't familiar with was the vitex/chaste tree. He planted 3 of them and I absolutely love them, especially the bright blue flowers in the spring/summer. Even though they are deciduous, their trunks/bark remind me of a miniature crape myrtle.

I'm so happy and excited for you. Keep posting the pictures, isn't it about time for some more interior shots?!

hi wodka, I love crape myrtle's, I just hate the mess they leave behind. Before Katrina we had one in our front yard at this house and when those flowers got to dropping and blowing all over, the front door stoop was always a mess. That's my only problem with the little buggers. There are a lot of them on my new street, and planted all along the median or as we know it, neutral ground. I like them where they can't mess up walk-ways and that sort of thing.

I'm going to check out the ones you mentioned. I'm familiar with some, but haven't heard of the vitex/chaste tree. What a name, huh?

DH is getting ready to finish some of the moldings around the bead board and finish the fireplace, I think. I say I think because the kitchen cabinets are coming in tomorrow and he may decide to switch gears and start on them. I can't keep up with him. LOL He has his schedule in his head and sometimes he shares and then he changes his mind.

Here's some info on the vitex/chaste tree - very interesting!

Here is a link that might be useful: msucares

Yeah, what is it with all the palm trees down here, lol? They look so out of place, but you see them everywhere. Commercial construction is the worst.

I love Vitex! It reminds me a little of lilacs, something the doesn't grow here in the deep south. Bloom time is late May. You can get a few additional blooms later in the summer if you deadhead. And, the tree grows amazingly fast!

I have one that I keep pruned into a shrub and another (a cutting from the first) that's growing as a tree. I keep debating whether to limb it up or not.

{{gwi:704856}}

natal, your vitex is beautiful!

Oh that's a beautiful specimen. Reading about it, I'm sure I'd be glad to have a couple of those. I love the fact that it is fragrant. It has so many qualities and in looking at yours Natal it appears very hardy. How large was yours when you purchased it? I'm assuming you purchased it locally. What about you Wodka, same questions.

Nice to know it grows from a cutting also.

One of the things I want to do is plant fragrant vines and plants by the doors as I love that when I'm entering and exiting. Right now I have to walk around my neighborhood smelling all the neighbor's fragrant flowers. LOL

Thanks for the information and photo's.

brutuses, the landscaper bought and planted our vitex trees, but I think they're fairly easy to find, so you shouldn't have a problem. They are very hardy and fast growing. No pests to speak of. I experimented today and trimmed some of my limbs on one to make it look more tree-like, only because agapanthus are planted beneath it and their blooms were hitting against the lower limbs. Hope it survives my chopping!

Brutuses - This is my first time on this forum and I love your house! (Usually hang out in kitchen forum) It certainly looks like it belongs in LA or MS. From the post, it sounds like maybe you are a Katrina survivor. I'm finally moving back to N.O. and I'm in the middle of renovating. Good luck with the new house!

jagl, thanks so much. What part of N.O. are you coming back to? If you don't mind me asking.

Brutuses - We used to live in Lakeview, but this house is Uptown, about 4 blocks from Audubon Park. We should be moving in by the end of July if all goes well. We've been in Dutchtown (outside of Baton Rouge) for the last 3 years. My husband has been commuting to work, so he can't wait to get back to N.O. I'm excited, too! Where are you building?

Brutus and squirrel...house is looking so beautiful! Guess it's just me, but I am bothered by the separation of garage and house. I keep looking for a breezeway with a door into the garage and steps up to house, or a trellis hiding the gap or something? Silly me?

The doors to the garage are in the back of the garage. The side steps are a little further back. If you look at the 2nd. photo I originally posted you'll see the temporary steps. We won't be parking in our garage so we didn't need access out the side. Because our security fence will be at the back end of the garage we are more secure having the doors in the back of the garage. Our garage will be a work shop for my DH and shelter for our outdoor cats.

How does it look repeating the home shutter detail on the garage and maybe a breezeway or pergola to connect?