Hi Erin - There are a couple of quick things you can do to improve the curb appeal. A fresh coat of paint on the front door and adding some colorful plants to garden beds (including a flower pot by the front door) can help. "Greening up" the lawn can also make a big difference. A few other things to consider -- you can upgrade to a paver driveway and walkway and create a courtyard towards the entry (to open up the space a bit). Hope that helps!

how wide is the space between the garage wall and the front addition?

Hi there. There a few things that I would definitely do with such kind of exterior. I recommend you to go with modern mid-century style. Firstly, whitewash the brick, re-paint siding to charcoal or dark grey. Leave window frames white or make them stain wood and paint the roof to a darker color, change the door to golden oak front door. Add some colorful plants, a pot of flower near the door sidelight, maybe I would add modern looking outdoor lamps by the garage door sides.

The very first thing I would do is pressure wash the driveway and walkway.

Is there a planter on the right side of the walkway as you enter the access way to the house? If so, I would remove it.

Change the front door. It is the wrong style door for your home. If you want to go MCM, then go in that direction for your door. A bright color will bring the focus to your front door as much as possible considering it is recessed into the two wings of the house.

8ft. Pulse Ari door · More Info

Paint the garage door a color that blends with the siding so it recedes visually.

Change/augment your landscaping. Consult with a landscape designer. There are some excellent people in the landscape sub-forum here on Houzz that can give you guidance and even some photo-shopped ideas. Landscaping is one of the most important features for the exterior and so many people forget to finish the landscaping. You will be surprised at the changes with new landscaping.

No way to build a front porch, and obviously the view you want to face is the water and not the road. The recessed front door would be a deal breaker for me. That door is recessed 20 feet and when it rains, if you have a clogged gutter, that area will be a human car wash.

Obvious that the room with the arched window is an addition. The way the roof of the addition ties into the original structure looks like a recipe for disaster. Out of scale; looks tacked on; messes up the entryway.

I can't imagine how you can put a front porch on the house without removing the addition.

IOW's, I would take a pass on this property.

Ugh, the addition dominates the house. No, worse, it's completely unrelated to the house. It looks like a tornado picked it up a few miles away and dropped it into the front yard. It strikes me as tasteless, and I'm not even close to being a decorator.

You never get your money back when you tack an addition onto your house. In this case, not only will the owners not get back what they spent on it, IMO they've actually managed to diminish the value of the house.

Maybe you could strip the brick facing on the addition, and replace it with siding that would match the rest of the house. You could replace that ludicrous window with 2 or 3 smaller, subtler ones. Then you might add a nice bright brick sidewalk that leads to the front door.

And even after spending all that money, you'd still have a monstrosity, if a mitigated one.

I'm with Ci. I'd walk away, and leave this mess for someone else who's less discriminating. And I'm not even that fussy.

You might be able to relocate the front door to the addition. $$$$$

Match the front window to the style of those on the right side, and get rid of the Victorian oval style front door. Landscaping without mushroom and conical bushes will help a great deal. Remove any paved areas you can in favor of flower beds and a professional planting plan you can install over time.

Hmmm...does it have lake access? It'll never be totally gorgeous without expensive surgery but it can be made nice with landscaping and maybe a few adjustments like suggested above. Let's be realistic--most houses aren't perfect and this one has a great location and a large front yard. Good hardscaping and plantings can make the recessed entry intriguing (and make the middle chunk less obnoxious). It isn't going to be open whatever you do, but it can be cozy.

Do you smoke in bed?

The reason that I would pass on the property before we even get to aesthetics is because of the roof.

Three planes of water and two roof valleys converging with fascia mired in the flood. Looks like that portion of the roof has been repaired relatively recently. But whatever; it's a bandaid on a wound that will never heal and for which there is no cure (other than removing the butt-end double-wide looking addition that's super-glued onto the front of the house.)

**Edited to add that if the house is located in snow country, the intersection of roof planes is going to be the Mecca of Ice Dams. Triple Trouble.