Need Ideas to give front of house the Wow factor.
Matt D
8 years ago
Need ideas for front of the house remodel so it stands out more. The only thing I came up with was extending porch and front balcony to left side. I don't think it will give that much of a wow factor. Any other suggestions?
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capeeliz
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Wow Factor
Comments (20)While I certainly agree with paigect that "A Well Tended Garden" is a fabulous book on my way to the dentist needing a book that would allow my mind to drift away to a better place I grabbed Jill Billingtons "Architectural Foliage" from my book case. This book printed in the 1990s is a design book that the non-pro can really embrace. Unlike most books written on this topic she includes specific plant choices and groupings with her discussion of plant shape, form and texture. In a chapter titled "Prima Donnas" she discusses what I have called WOW plants and breaks down those plants into the following categories; Large Leaves, Exotics, Small Trees, Ferns, Spikes and Prickles, Hostas, Bamboos, Grasses, Silver-Greys, and Climbers. She concluded this chapter with the following; "The planting around the prima donnas should be non-competitive and retiring. There is a need for sensitively related foliage patterns which will act as a subordinate background. Should other of these stiking prima donna plants be seen within the same view there must be a linking theme, for example some exotic shapes like palms, bamboos, grasses and fatsia will all look well together. On the whole these plants are better treated as specimens where attention focuses upon them. Other plants can provide a backcloth like yew, portugues laurel, viburnums and so forth, or act as relatively anonymous fillers such as spiraea, ribes, or day lilies....See MoreWhat can I do to give this red brick house the “wow factor”
Comments (8)Some things you could do are ... Widen the walk and especially the entrance landing. (The skimpy walk seriously cheapens the whole home, especially since the entrance is far from the drive.) If you redo the whole thing, consider if it needs to be a bit farther away from the garage -- at least 6' I think. Remove the center tree. It gives a goofy look to the garage wall. Hang a piece of outdoor art on the blank wall if it bothers you. Or, a wall mounted flag. Plant below windows as if it's a flower box .... color and annuals. With windows so low to the ground, it's not practical to have the typical shrub situation. Instead, some evergreen shrubs can go near corners of the garage. Incorporate a bed of groundcover in order to knit everything together. It is much more luxurious looking than a bed of mulch. Plant some medium height (3-4') colorful perennials to wrap the far corner. Limb up the front yard trees such that they do not impede view of first floor from the street. Limb up the small trees at the garage so they clear the window tops. Since they are very formal elements, keep their tops shaped and height in the vicinity of the eaves. There are probably other things you could do fore of the space that is shown. I see what I think is a mulch bed below the tree at left. This could be a sumptuous, lush bed of groundcover instead of a dry, flat, brown space....See MoreMissing the WOW factor on the exterior... advice?
Comments (12)Really nice home. Like your landscaping efforts on the left but there is still a lot of concrete. If you could move the fence on the right side of the garage (that is now even with and continuing the same line as the front exterior wall of your garage) or replace it with another, preferably natural wood finish fence set back several feet from its current location, then you could create a green planting area in front of it. That could help offset so much concrete -- especially if you could use a few visible treated posts for supporting that fence -- posts to which you could add brackets for hanging pots of blooming plants. Budget permitting, perhaps you could add a forward facing gable roof on the left side of the house … left of and extending a few feet beyond the front exterior wall of the garage. Doing this could both create a usable front porch left of your existing steps overlooking your garden/landscaping and it would add curb appeal by making your front entrance more prominent -- more the focal point of your home -- rather than your garage. From a porch on the left, you'd have only a couple of steps down (or ramp) to stand on the top of the slope and the beginning of a walk path path near/alongside the tall shrubs on the left of your home (along the same path as your white edging) through your front yard garden/landscaping. Adding a simple concrete bird bath to any landscaping can add interest. Make sure the bowl is wider at the top so if the water in it ever freezes, the water will be able to expand without breaking the bowl. If decide to build the porch: If your porch is supported by posts with a natural wood finish you could link it to the garage by adding an arbor over both garage doors in the same finish, keeping your current garage doors and having them painted the same color as the siding or replacing one or both of them with a wooden door with window above....See MoreLandscaping Ideas for this MCM house? Front yard needs some control
Comments (10)Oh wow… what a house. I would hire a landscape architect with experience with MCMs, even if you do the labor yourself. We have a sloping small backyard (in LA), but had someone draw up some plans based on our rough ideas. He also let us know what we could and could not afford on our budget. I thought we could afford a deck using certain material (i looked at material pricing plus estimated labor), and he said that is NOT in your budget, hahaha. He was also very helpful in designing it for us to add stuff later easily, whether underground or above ground....See More
Stacey
8 years ago
Cynthia Melborne
8 years agotoriat
8 years agoMatt D
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8 years ago- PRO
Ellen Kryger Interiors
8 years ago kathleen MK
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8 years agoMatt D
8 years agomrskain1
8 years ago
PROARIMA
8 years ago
Bette P
8 years agoBette P
8 years agoNote the railings in the first 3 photos.
Note the homes with brick but a cleaner, contemporary style.
Note the sectional color blocking, your upper level and roofline is made for it.
Love the front door, garage door, clean lighting in the last photo. The garage door would help bring the window shapes on your 2nd storey down to the first level.
I agree with others, remove the shutters, remove the brick wall, careful landscaping, fewer types of perennials but mass planted would help.
Try pulling out the darkest color from your brick and choose a paint strip that shows you the lightest to the darkest to work with. Are your window frames metal? Bronze color or black?
Start collecting Houzz photos to create an ideabook. You'll start to see a common theme for things that appeal to you.
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flopsycat1
8 years ago
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