Some good things to think about. You're both making sense and possibly even getting through to me. So this fall/spring I'll split all the fescue again and really try to get a solid border and maybe a bit of mass. I might come out with the left end of the border some more. I wish I could say I like the idea of white but it's my least favorite color out front. There's already white trim and white porch railings and the neighbor has plenty of white vinyl fencing.... I feel like it's pointless to add white flowers (I actually dug up and removed a clump of 'becky' that was out there). The yellow accents and blue might work out, but my wife just informed me she doesn't like the yellow :( So I've been messing around in paint and it seems just about everything has to go, even my beloved 'tiger eyes' sumac. There is a variegated red twig dogwood behind the sumac, but the red twigs always seemed pointless in front of the red house.... but maybe I'll take another look at it for the white variegation, that can be my my 'test white' in the area. I may split the catmint and get another bunch or two of that going. I think I'm still going to stand by the color guard yucca (spiky yellow to the right), I divided a piece of this spring and it's near the blue spruce, just too small to notice. It my make for a nice spot of yellow and not obvious enough for my wife to complain about. And I should really cut the evergreen down. I think it's a Chamaecyparis, it's not a juniper. Sounds like a plan? I'll try to update but it may be a while. Hopefully this time things will begin to look a little better :)

Thank you. We lived there just over 20 years before building/moving to our new home 7 years ago, which happens to be in a horse community. Ours uses the 4 board Kentucky fence in a dark stain. I'm not sure what you mean by "new surface under the windows" unless you are talking about the different material used on the addition. The house was antique brick, so it couldn't be matched. The shutters are all original to the house (1956) and were not changed. But we did add shutters to both ends and the back. Do you have any fencing with posts or columns at the street/driveway? What zone do you live in? Do you have a well to water? Would you like to get rid of some of the front grass and have islands of trees? Depending on your zone.

I’ve heard that it’s possible to replace just the laminate and keep the plywood underneath resulting in a much less expensive project than a complete tear out and replacement. Is there any way to know whether that would be possible short of having a countertop person come out to look? I know a person I plan to ask about it, but I don’t have access to the house right now to have them look and am curious about the difference in costs. And thanks for all the interest in the project! I would love to keep you all updated on it, and would also love feedback about other rooms. The living room is kind of a blank slate and I don’t want to use my current living room furniture, so I would especially love help with that. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of that room except the one above of my kids laying on a carpeted floor. But I will be back asking for more help soon, I am sure!

I will second that the look reminds me more of a 50s/60s ranch than a home from twenty years earlier. To me, it appears those two gabled roof areas are newer and not original to the home. I imagine the original roof line was only one straight run. A new walkway could do a lot here in addition to landscaping. Make it curved though to add some interest and contrast to all the straight lines of the brick and siding. Painting the door a jazzy color would help. House numbers on the side of the brick running vertically and in a modern font style in a black color to tie with the light is another option. It is a cute home and landscaping is going to bring it really alive. Congrats.