"She's a brick house..." Curb appeal advice needed!
This is a 60's Brick Ranch that needs some sprucing up! Hoping someone may have some great ideas to share on how I can DIY and make small changes to update the front of the house. I am not looking to do any major reno just yet (maybe in a couple years).
My initial thought was to add low hedge bushes to the right hand side of the front of the house (right under the windows) and perhaps navy or black shutters. Any advice?
Comments (16)
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sidesplit landscape/curb appeal advice needed!
Comments (17)As mentioned, by nature of the architecture, there are few places to put plants against the house at this front face. The overhang plus the lower windows does not invite foundation planting at that area. A large planter could go in front of the wall just right of the large window set. A shrub at left of the left house corner could help establish a better setting so one's view doesn't run directly off the house to what's across the street. (Maybe there are some plantings at the left side of house that can help with this, too.) Other than that, some large, circular beds around the two major trees could help give some fullness to the overall look and a sense of the patio space being more protected from the public space. The height of that groundcover could be as much as 3'+ to as little as 8", with the taller giving a more protected look. There is some opportunity for colorful seasonal blooming depending on what plants you use. My suggestions are for layout and arrangement. Plants have to be chosen from what works well in your locale. I got rid of the tall evergreen left of the door. It seems overwhelming to the porch/entrance space, IMO. To clean up the overall picture more, I'd get rid of large-tree foliage that hangs low enough to shroud the roof. This might mean hanging limbs/branches, or removing some lower branches entirely. (It is apparent at the tree at the left that some branches should have been removed way back when the tree was young ... before these turned into a major part of the trunk system and are not hard to remove without removing a lot of canopy with them.) The grass looks pretty healthy in spite of the shade. It's hard to tell if there is enough hill to warrant complaints by the grass-cutter. If it's tolerable, I'd leave as grass. Later though, since there are more trees on the way, shade could become too much and warrant conversion of those areas to groundcover. I like the house colors and think they are well suited so wouldn't change anything there....See MoreCurb Appeal Emergency! Advice Needed
Comments (12)What a charming house! And so much potential! If this were my house, I'd make the exterior work more of a restoration. I love the buttery yellow with white trim, it's lovely. I'd replace the siding with the same soft yellow, install bigger white trim on windows, doors, corners and at the roof line, replace the roof with a charcoal roof (love the scalloped shingle idea) and replace with scalloped siding trim white board & batten or shake siding. And I would fill all of the 3 gables with the white board & batten or shake siding. So the yellow siding would be minimal across the front of the house. Are the posts on your covered balcony area all different sizes? If they are, I would address that and make them all the same. I would also remove the triangular gable vent and install a round gable vent. The gardens look overgrown so I would pull most of that out and plant new. The stonework will look better with a powerwash. You have a lovely house and will be a stunner when done....See MoreHelp needed with facade and curb appeal. Thanks for any advice.
Comments (3)Nice little cottage. I would play up that aspect. Right now the entire house looks sort of washed out. I would paint the main body of the house a deeper color, blue, gray, etc., the windows white and take the railing down and beef up the columns. Then paint the door a bright color to draw the eye. Finish up with some landscaping and you're done. If you're interested in seeing some virtual makeovers of your home check out my website, Creative Visual Concepts....See MoreNeed Curb Appeal Advice
Comments (1)I like a lot about the proposal. I like the new windows very much. I like that the gable brackets are gone. I like the second gable over the one car bay and that the gable siding look like shakes. What I would eliminate is the second gable on the left. That has to have a hefty price on it. Although the roof over the front door and the lower windows looks good, it could be eliminated. Maybe just do a shed portico over the entry. The doors should be updated. You could leave the stone. With a lighter color on the bricks, it will blend in nicely. Even if you just update the windows and change the color of the brick, I think it will look a lot better. This mock-up is very crude, but it visualizes what I'm thinking....See More
housegal200
5 years agoThe white trim is too stark. Go for a trim taken from the brick grout color. Then add a bright door.
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Denita
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoAll the other comments are spot on. As mentioned, no shutters.
Create a wide bed under those windows to the right. No hedges. Make a nice sized front entry porch - not necessarily covered (especially now), but larger than what shows in your current pic. What is to the left of the front door?
You don't mention your plant hardiness zone so the pic below is just for concept. Your local plant nursery can be invaluable for coming up with a good landscape plan to implement over time as your budget allows.
Paver Walkways · More InfoKLee thanked Denita
freedomplace1
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoLove the brick.
I like white trim on brick houses. But with your house, if it were mine, I think I might go darker on the trim.
landscape lighting, also lights up front of house.
KLee thanked freedomplace1
groveraxle
5 years ago
PRODig Doug's Designs
5 years ago
PROYardvaark
5 years agoIf there is the thought of doing something major in a couple of years, what you PLAN now for the yard should take that into account. Without a doubt the stoop and sidewalk are killer for the landscape so that'd be something at the top of the list to redo. The stoop needs to be enlarged, the walk widened and pulled away from the house so that there is sufficient room for plantings.
Rather than a hedge across a portion of the house, I'd settle for a dome-shaped shrub (you prune) that fits and coordinates with the window features. This is enough to give presence without smothering and leaves plenty of space for other plant interest .... flowering perennial & annuals and groundcover.
Try to remove neglect and disfiguring of trees the best you can by pruning off lopsidedness and raising canopy bottoms so they permit your entire first floor to show without significant foliage obstruction.
If there is an island around a tree, it should be reasonably proportionate to the spread of the canopy. Pretend that the island represents a container that the tree is growing in. Could a tree grow in a flower pot the size it is in the first picture? I think not! It needs to be enlarged substantially. Also, It would be better to have a clean looking trench edge, or a flush mowing strip rather than a raised edging (unless you're going to invest in perfect, professionally installed hardscape.
KLee thanked Yardvaarklaceyvail 6A, WV
5 years ago
Dig Doug's Designs