Need entry/ curb appeal help

8 years ago

Expaned a small two bedroom cape by expanding the garage out and adding a mud room/entry and second floor above.

The result created two front doors in close proximity.

looking for low maintenance landscape ideas to add curb appeal and bring focus to the door with sidelights as the main entrance.

the driveway has been redone, but at a loss for area in front of doors/walkway. The door has also been painted red. Sidelights and trim still white.

(region: upstate ny)

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Comments (3)

daylily
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Wondering whether you might post the same question in the Home Decorating forum as they often have good ideas for curb appeal? If I understand correctly, your new front door where you will welcome guests is the larger one with the two side lights.

One thing you could do that might? help is to increase the size of the mouldings surrounding the new front door, move/add appropriate size lighting on either side of the new front door and paint the door to something that would stand out. Not black necessarily, but a more prominent colour. So the door with two lights would look something like:

Secondly, I think (but I'm not sure) that painting the secondary door red just makes it stand out, so somehow I think (but not sure) that you don't want to draw attention to it. So I'd think it shouldn't be red. Maybe go back to the original white, or blend it in with the sidings. Or check with others who are a bit more experienced than myself.

In terms of landscaping, it is a bit difficult to see - but does the driveway come right up to, or close to, the new front door? It would probably help a bit if you extended your stone walkway all the way in front of the new front door to ensure that it is clear that that is the door. And perhaps put two urns on either side like in the above picture. It doesn't look like you can add any more garden plantings in the landscape as the driveway is there? Or maybe I misunderstand the pictures.

For curb appeal, some people might suggest putting shutters on either side of the upstairs windows because there is so much space in between each window, for example:

[https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-surprise-traditional-exterior-boston-phvw-vp~41278[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-surprise-traditional-exterior-boston-phvw-vp~41278)
emmarene9
8 years ago
It looks like there is not much that can be done in the entrance area because I do not see any open earth. I think most people would accept the new door as the primary entrance simply because they reach it first. If you have not put out a doormat then do so now.
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You do have alot of shade. Well you can research what would grow best in shade but these come to mind right away: hostas, camellias, hydrangeas, azaleas. I think the long narrow bed is too narrow, not deep enough. The porch is so pretty and the white trim really looks good with the shady setting. What I am going to suggest that you consider is widening that bed and maybe even including some of the trees into the bed. Make it curvy and grab a tree into the bed if it is close enough. I also like what is called island beds. And I have some where you make a big bed around a tree (don't go too deep with soil becoz of the tree roots) or connect two trees into one larger island. The National Wildlife Federation says that wildlife (like birds) like and feel safe in these islands. What about a brick path down the yard, I couldn't see where there was an entry onto the patio but a path would really connect the porch, long bed, and yard. I think you have a lovely setting there, if you're like me your only real problem is money!
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-I would also limb up the tree to allow one to see the front of the house to the eaves. -Decide what you are interested in as far as a garden (if anything) including how much work you want to do. Typically at least some evergreen shrubs, but you may also want some flowering shrubs or flowering perennials. In this case less is more, a few larger blocks rather than one of each kind of plant. Choose shrubs that will remain small enough so that you won’t need to do a lot of trimming to keep them below the height of the windows. Edge can be straight or a long sweeping curve, but not something that wiggles. -Do something to draw attention to your door. It could be as simple as painting a walkway onto your driveway or as complex as adding a roof over the entry to mark out the position of the door. -I would paint the downspouts to match the siding and likely add properly sloped swales to provide drainage away from the house for the downspouts. I don’t find the long tails on the gutters attractive.
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Missing still are large chunks of the view that are important to the yard. You are not capturing the problem with steps in the photos. (They look like some kind of stained, textured concrete.) I would not have necessarily added them like that. But they are there so I wouldn't necessarily remove them. If your drive is too steep to walk on comfortably, the steps are probably actually useful. If they need a handrail is better judged on site, as photos can be very misleading about grade. It looks like the grass could stand being fertilized, watered and mowed regularly.
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While it will shrink your side yard, you might consider planting a couple of rows of cedar trees or other evergreen trees or shrubs )that keep their leaves year round) to create a "green fence" between the railroad track and your home. Not sure it would help with the sound but it certainly wouldn't hurt. After you plant the first row, plant the second row with those trees/shrubs blocking the view of any space between that first row.
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ch7133
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks
There isnt any open earth right now- the walkway does extend between both doors and up to the house, but that was the original walkway and can be undone.

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Need entry/ curb appeal help

Comments (3)

daylily

emmarene9

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ch7133
Original Author

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Need entry/ curb appeal help

Comments (3)

daylily

emmarene9

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ch7133Original Author

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ch7133
Original Author