Landscape/curb appeal: new home, blank slate...and ugly!
We purchased this house recently and there is zero landscaping or curb appeal. The three browns don't go together. We are thinking of extending the stairs to the rights to make a porch and getting a nice storm door. I'm up for a color on the white door and a dark brown stain on the porch...but not sure what would go best. The homes in the area are arts and crafts style. We will probably do a rock garden on the other side. It's so blank and mis-matched I don't know where to start! Help!
Comments (6)
jonio
5 years ago
katinparadise
5 years agoCute house! Capes are one of my favorite styles. Unless you plan on sitting on a porch out front, I'd spend my money on a landscaping plan. If you take a picture of your house to a good nursery, they can help you work up a plan. Some will do it for free if you buy plants from them, some will charge a small fee to come out and help you put together a plan that you can work on over time.
You could stain the stairs and railing with a semi-transparent wood stain to something closer to the roof color.
I don't care for a storm door since they cover up so much of the front door so I would avoid it if you don't have to have one. If you really want one, do a full lite storm door that's painted the same color as the front door.
I tried on some front door colors for you.
Related Discussions
Really Ugly Duplex Needs Curb Appeal Help!
Comments (18)I have seen complete refacing of homes like yours. Pricey so you have to decide if you have money to burn in that way. I think a lot would depend on how much you paid for the house and how long you plan on staying. Edited to add if you're only buying half of the duplex, then you can't redo the whole outsidey. It would also limit what you could do from a landscaping perspective. Unless you and the people on the other side are on the same page. But it looks like the second home is on the second story? Would you be the owners of the whole thing?...See MoreNeed help with curb appeal for my new home
Comments (14)Not sure how much you want to spend on this but if you are re teracing the yard and stairs, consider curving or angling them toward the driveway. it would add convenience and visual interest. I would cover the cinderblock wall with a stone veneer or a faux stone paint job and let vines grow all down it. You could even add cast stone tracery and grow ivy over the wall to fake castle walls or paint a mural :-) For safety I would keep the lampoles (sprayed hammer black metal ) or replace with lights on the stair walls to illuminate the steps. I would also spray the stair rail black and maybe add black shutters a classic red brick, white trim and black shutters. Then a couple black urns with bright flowers could flank entry steps. (Those Rustoleum textured metal spray paints work magic on cheap plastic pots as well as metal light fixtures) If you want a awning or a small gable over the front door add post to stair rails to support a metal roof. You have a nice house with intersting design challenges just clean and add some colorful plants while you plan any big structural changes to the wall....See MoreNew brown brick colonial home needs curb appeal boost!
Comments (11)Beautiful home. Budget and building codes permitting, consider first changing what you can for actual wood with wood finish: first your front door; then shutters; and then your garage door. Wood with natural finish (rather than paint) can go a long way toward transforming the look of a home. IF you are going to repaint what is painted ... and this is a matter of personal opinion, of course -- putting off whites with white can make the off whites seem dingy by comparison. If you don't want true white (trim and fascia and shutters porches, etc.), you could choose a truly dark brown or, at the very least, if you choose an "off white" by any name, use the same off white color for all those painted parts of your home. Exception: Black shutters could also work with a brick home with a brown roof and white elsewhere. Just a note: If you're considering changing the landscaping, that usually has the potential to make a lot of difference toward curb appeal. One issue to consider is how much maintenance are you willing to do (or have done) and how much maintenance would any changes contemplated require....See MoreNew home needs curb appeal
Comments (31)Some general guidlines: widen the front walk. It looks like only for emergency utility use, not for guests & not for size of house. Limb up the trees so that a view of the house can be maintained from the street. The beds circling the tree trunks are vastly undersized relative to the tree size. Since grass won't grow well under them, install a uniform mass of solid groundcover below. (ferns, Liriope muscari, etc.) Plant seasonal color to flank the entrance, shrubs below window and long flowering perennials around the house corners. A large shrub could go in front of the blank wall....See MoreKay Addis
5 years agosuezbell
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoRaiKai
5 years ago
chiflipper