Here's the current status of the project. I need to make a decision regarding the material asap.

You could use the brick pavers you just removed for the front door landing, walkways, stair risers and sides of retaining wall, and use roughcut limestone for the treads and retaining wall caps.

I was going to suggest Pennsylvania bluestone (which you still could do, I suppose) but then I saw the limestone over the windows.

BTW: In what year was your house built? It's a great looking property. :)

Thanks for the thoughtful response, Sammy. The house was built in 1905. The lintels above the window are actually made of Seneca sandstone, which is no longer available :(

The limestone isn't a bad idea.

This looks like a house in the city. There is nothing you can ever do to give it curb appeal. No yard, buildings are glued right next to each other. If you have a garage it probably leads to an alley....ect. It could just be me but I have never liked houses in the city, and I've seen muti million dollar homes. They all look the same to me and are hideous.

Eesh to the previous comment.

I wouldn't try anything even remotely close to your brick color for the walkway. The bluestone or limestone Sammy suggested would both look really nice. The windows stand out as being very white. Can they be painted? Either the color of the roof trim or something the color of your mortar (hard to see in these photos). If your municipality will allow it, consider painting your utility meters the color of the brick so they disappear.

@ SML, LOL. Ok I'll give you my 2 cents. I agree with others that you should put a contrasting sidewalk. The white windows, I probably would just embrace them. Put white window shutters on them like your neighbor does. This should also cut down on all the red. Yes paint the meters if you can. Can you remove the prison bars on the window? I see one side has them and the other doesn't. So do you need them? Is your neighborhood really that bad?

Thanks for the comment, Yaardvark. I considered doing some form of aggregate concrete for the entire stretch from the front door of my home all the way to the sidewalk/street. What are your thoughts on that? I've also considered using brick all the way up to the stoop and leaving the stoop/steps as regular concrete (which will be set inside the cheek walls).

Will you be replacing the missing corbels (can't think of the right word at the moment)? Also, what was used on the lintels, mortar and maybe the brick to get that red color? It doesn't look like paint. I'm just wondering what you'd need to do to achieve a look like this:

I'm digging the contrast, which I think is what your house needs to separate itself from the pack.

Landscaping. Cover up that chain link fence. You can do almost anything, from espaliering a small fruit tree to prairie style grasses. A simple scheme would be everblooming roses, lavender and a low-growing daisies.

If you want evergreen, pick an evergreen rhodo (make sure it won't grow to big), mt laurel or azalea underplanted with something feathery, like coreopsis or wormwood. Explore grasses. If you can grow pink Muhly, that would be gorgeous.

The great thing about the city is you will probably not have a lot of bugs, deer, groundhogs or rabbits munching on you garden. Plus, since it is small, you won't need a fortune to fill it up with plants. I don't garden in the city, so I know little about root issues, but you should pay attention to them.

"Will you be replacing the missing corbels (can't think of the right word at the moment)? Also, what was used on the lintels, mortar and maybe the brick to get that red color? It doesn't look like paint."

Not sure what corbels are, but I don't think the house ever had them. The lintels are made of red sandstone that was quarried at a site near the Potomac River in Maryland.

I plan on replacing the windows with black or dark blue wood windows.

I never knew naturally red sandstone existed. Perhaps I shouldn't have switched from geology to astronomy to fulfill my science requirement in college. :)

Not sure what you mean by "aggregate" concrete, since all concrete is aggregate.

My vote is for NOT brick walk, since the whole house is brick. A contrasting material would present a more interesting overall picture.

Something like this, Yardvaark.

Well done exposed aggregate can look very nice. The pointillist appearance simulates the look of stone. It could go well with a brick structure.

A comment here from someone who knows this house has wonderful potential but doesn't know how to "make it right". Contrary to Tony above, I think this simple city "row house" has the potential to be a stunner. The windows seem to need some help, but what really detracts is the whole porch and lower level. Again, I'm not sure what to do to fix these things, but it causes me great pain to see. Here is a question: Should it be within the poster's budget, would a different handrail be of benefit?

Also, there is no need to have "prison" bars as someone called them. There are many beautiful patterns of security bars. In my book, one should never. ever. never. under no circumstances... put vertical bars on one's home windows. (I've lived in the city and had wonderful, horizontal bars, done in a simple, but elegant design, on my kitchen window and loved them.) In the case here, though, where they're already in place, maybe just obscure them with some attractive foliage?

You might post this in Gardenweb's Home Decorating and Design forum. A member there, Palimpsest, used to live in a Philadelphia rowhouse. He has an interior design degree and is very knowledgeable about period architecture and design. Curb appeal advice that involves walkways, porches, and architecture is often requested from that forum and there are several who can help you in addition to Pal.

Thanks, mayflowers. I will do that.

Put rowhouse in your title so the right people open your post.

What do you guys think about this type of paver?

https://www.houzz.com/photos/poolesville-md-front-entrance-remodel-traditional-landscape-dc-metro-phvw-vp~25243850

You could easily create a handsome finished product with those pavers. Rather than the contrasting color, edge stripe being set in a distance from the edge, you could just make it the edge and it could be a full 8" width stripe. With the charcoal grey, I also like the plain concrete color, which is much lighter, as the contrast stripe. It is a sharper contrast and looks dressy. Whatever colors you consider, get samples, enough to mock up a simulation which you can appraise from a distance with the house in the background, and base your selection on seeing it, rather than just guessing that it will be right.

I've seen steps made of mortared pavers that I didn't care for, especially if the tread is a brick laid flat. This is too thin and makes the steps look cheap. The exception, as I mentioned above, is if the paver has a bullnose end (which is often used for pool coping) and the riser is the same material/color. The the riser and tread reads as a solid unit with a decorative edge (the bullnose) like a molding applied to trim work. Notice in your picture of pavers how thin the step treads are -- like tile. This makes the steps look cheap.

I will reluctantly vote against those pavers. The steps in the photo look good, but the pavers don't match the authenticity of your home. Stretch your budget to remove the detracting factors (especially the chain link fencing) and use the highest quality materials you can manage. Solid stone looks better than modular pavers, if not solid stone, then maybe the aggregate concrete if the finish will be as shown in your example. A fine wrought iron railing and fence will be worth saving up for, or go modern with stainless steel, or a high quality wood.

I like your idea of black or dark blue for the window frames, especially with high-gloss paint. Maybe add some window boxes?

Delancey Place Townhouse · More Info

When you have such a small space to work with, you can create a perfect little jewel box of an entry garden. Everything can be under your control, and each element, whether a flower, a step, a railing, or a chair, is significant.

I really like the idea of exposed aggregate concrete for the stairs and walkway. And you can tie the walkway to the house by using the brick as an accent as well, similar to what is shown in the linked photo.

design elements · More Info

I lived in a row house for 12 years. Did a lot of gardening and loved it. Small yard, so everything was much less work and like little jewels to me. I have a big suburban yard to mow now, lots more work. Since I worked full time when I lived in the row house, I was glad not to have tons of yard to maintain.

I'm not sure if you are done or not, but nothing beats plain, well poured concrete. Lasts for years if properly installed and looks great. There's not one "look" for a row house, but lots of options. But I found that you do have to pick and chose. Not room for lots of options together, that can look junky. But one house in my neighborhood had all kinds of plants and little lawn ornaments around the front yard and a sign that read, "Pop's Garden." Obviously a labor of love for a man and his grandchildren.

Around the country Belgard has an "Old World" paver style in grays and charcoal tones. Always a good choice with red brick. Example:

[Old World Entrance walkway[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/tustin-driveway-front-steps-entrance-walkway-after-12-traditional-patio-los-angeles-phvw-vp~39638316)

I'm not done yet. Torrential rains this week have delayed the project.

The foreman informed me on Monday that they can't do new concrete steps unless they also take the landing. He says this would be prohibitively expensive. So it looks like the choice comes down to brick or stone.

I'm leaning towards Pennsylvania bluestone at the moment.

Pennsylvania Bluestone Walkway · More Info

I also like this idea.

Tarrytown Remodel · More Info

I went through the same thing with my backyard patio. Brick is so dang hard to match. I did grey brick, which looked merely tolerable. I should have done bluestone but I could not afford it for a patio. Here's a photo of my patio. Kind of a "what not to do" thing, although for my budget, it was as good as it was going to get. In my case, concrete would have cost about the same and looked better. I wanted something permeable to water but I think I over valued that feature. At least over time the white edgers faded to a matching grey.