Your house is not hideous. I would think about painting (I'm sure someone else will have color suggestions), a brighter more visible door color and working on the grass...I don't think you would be happy with wood chips or gravel or ???. The bit of landscaping under the windows needs to be a little bit bigger - but not too big and more colorful.

The house is cute. It has a bit of a Swiss chalet vibe, which the previous owners apparently understood.

I'd get rid of the lamppost bunker. A tree would be nice about where the white dot is on the photo. I'd paint the garage door something neutral, possibly brown. What to do about the grass depends on where you are.

Shana, the house is far from hideous...really! With your roof color, think about a sage green for the siding. Much better than brown. Sage will look nice with your brick, too. The garage door needs to be the same color as the siding. That will take focus away from it. You want to bring more focus to the front door area. A soft white trim with sage siding would ne nice. I like your brick...including the lamp post. I agree a tree where the white dot is would be nice, along with some other landscaping. Better plantings under the big window along with maybe something in front of the wall to the right.

Personally, I don't like wood chips or gravel. Do you know what type of grass is there?

Where are you located? We're in Southern CA and it looks like a possibility for you...?

Grass just needs to be watered, at this point, to green up. If there is a thatch buildup etc. those are separate issues, that can be identified and addressed in their turn. If you don't want to add to your water bill or there are watering restrictions there when it starts raining again the grass will also green up at that time, on its own. Where I am in the Seattle area brown lawns are kind of a norm each year, with only a percentage of them being watered enough to stray green - the rest of them always come back in November, when the heavy Pacific storms return. And due to supply of water being finite people are being encouraged - even required, in some regions - not to pour tons of it onto the decorative landscape.

Hire a garden designer and pay them for a plan that addresses your objectives, then go about installing the scheme as budget and time allow.

We really need to know where you are and what direction the house faces. Agreed w/chloebud that all one color would be better, with a light &/or bright front door. I know nothing about CA or such places, but I cannot imagine that all gravel or, worse, all mulch, would be a desirable replacement for grass. If indeed you need a Mediterranean or desert landscape, would it be possible to install in stages, beginning with a generous foundation planting and the small bed between the walk and the garage? A larger hardscape at entrance, before the actual stoop, would help focus on the entrance and give a more generous area for welcoming guests. That could also extend down the driveway toward the lamppost, creating a comfortable path for guests who park in drive.

@Embothrium, the grass may be brown at times, but Seattle is beautiful! One of my favorite spots to be in the summer. :-)

Right, where are you and what is your budget? Your house isn't hideous. Fix that thought pattern immediately before you do anything else!!!

I think your house is really cute! It looks like it's in pretty good shape--you don't need a roof and nothing is breaking off or rotting and its not anywhere close to being the neighborhood eye-sore! Paint and gardening to make it more "you" are the "fun" stuff--well, intimidating, but not a life or death situation in any case and we all need to remember that. I myself ended up painting my house white because I couldn't decide on another color--it gave me anxiety-- and it looks great! It isn't a race and you can take a little time figuring out what you like. Based on your idea books you gravitate toward lighter, neutral wall colors with a bit of spunk (like the black walls and bright orange desk). Look around your neighborhood and see if there are a few houses or thriving plantings that really catch your eye. Even bits and pieces of houses--easy to copy once you figure out your own priorities. It's paint and plants, and you live in one of the best areas of the world for a pretty yard. It's going to be one thing at a time. You can do this!

Your house is cute! The trick to no brown lawn is water water water and fertilize in early Spring. You might want to paint the house to spruce it up. Add some flowers to the yard. Maybe a tree here and there.

Here is an olive I liked from Behr.

BEHR Premium Plus 8 oz. #390F-6 Tate Olive Interior/Exterior Paint Sample-390F-6 · More Info

BEHR Premium Plus 8 oz. #ICC-77 Sage Green Interior/Exterior Paint Sample-ICC-77 · More Info

Give us a better picture of your entry area and door. Thx

Are you okay with green? The second pic from jansgirl looks like the sage green I had in mind when I mentioned it for the siding color. I think you should start with bringing more life to the house with paint. It could look awesome with white trim.

How often are you watering the grass?

The way your house is painted makes it look off-balance. The eye is drawn to the garage and to the area under the front window. I'm not surprised you don't like it.

Paint the house, or at least the front of it, all the same color, including the garage and the area under the front window. It's hard to tell colors on screen, but your roof looks like a reddish brown so you need a color that looks good with that.

Then paint your front door a color that contrasts with the house color, to draw the eye to the front door and give a welcoming feeling. Repeat the door color in something else such as a spray painted flower pot, flowers in a hanging basket, a chair or small bench by the door.

One option is to paint the front of your house the same light color (is it white?) as the sides. Then any non-white door color would stand out.

Cute house, just needs a paint job.

The built-in planter is too narrow for anything but groundcover/annuals. At the corner, I'd add a small tree and circular bed below, in front of the built-in planter, leaving it in place but more or less ignoring it. The bed would also extend in front of the side of house running toward the back yard. If there is not some good looking lawn substitute that is easy to grow, I have no suggestions for the lawn other than what others have recommended insofar as more water.

Editing because I forgot to mention ... if you need the yard light, change it to a taller post 10' or more, & upgrade the unit to something better looking. Also, add a beefier masonry cap to the pier. Alternatively, add the beefier cap and change the light to a pathlight (aims down toward the drive, lighting the path but where you don't see the light source ... just the effect.)

Paint out the brown so you have an all white house. If you don't like that then have it all brown. Otherwise you will have to paint the entire house.

I'd add a walk to the door from the street.

Yardvaark gave you a perfect example for landscaping.

For a "quick" fix & to lift your spirits some paint the front all white (same as sides of house) as was mentioned above. Choose a dark charcoal or Chadwick that Beth suggested for the trim around the windows, around and above the garage door. Lime green for the door. It will make a huge impact. (PS I wouldn't put in a 10' light pole. It looks odd.)

THEN deal w landscaping!

I was thinking sage green for the house, khaki trim,and a red door. I also love the colors that Beth H. suggested.

Shana, the biggest bang for the buck is going to be paint. You already have some ideas on colors from others. Whatever color you decide to paint I would also paint the garage door the same color so it isn't as "in your face" as it is now. Landscaping would be the next step.

If you're interested in seeing some virtual makeovers check out my web site, Creative Visual Concepts.

I don't think it matters what color you paint the house, but with so much contrast between the brown and white those parts of the house just stand out as big blobs because of the contrast. Either paint the house lighter or the garage doors darker or paint both another set of less contrasting colors. That will have the biggest impact.

If the house is in Long Beach, I wouldn't waste water on a tree far away from the house, instead plant one where it can provide you with some shade at the house or where you will be when you are outside.

Painting the brown out to a nice pale blue would look great with the red brick. You could even get some brick veneers and have them applied to that white section underneath the windows.

For the lawn, remember that there are options other than grass! Dutch white clover is a great alternative to grass, requires less maintenance as it grows low, and is more drought resistant.

http://www.finegardening.com/low-maintenance-alternatives-lawns

paint, new windows , highlight front door, landscaping, hard scape, new garage door

I bought a house that has 3/4 acre and is basically a blank slate. Aside from the in- ground pool that has a massive white vinyl fence around it that really does remind me of a cheap plastic play pen. Almost nothing pleasing to look at just this big white thing surrounding the pool.

After tons of research trying to figure out how to deal with it (while thinking it was completely ugly) and basically getting nowhere but frustrated, I started to research ways to use it as a "positive" element that will add to the garden rather than take away.

Going that route helped me get new better ideas that solved the problem.

Best,

Mike