I am not a professional, but what hits me first are the two large expanses of brick between the windows on the two portions that stick out on your house. Seems like some varying landscape and some color would help soften the exterior.

IMO the first thing is to remove about 60% of the paving it looks like a duplex in a shopping mall

Yes too much paving....remove some of the paving and add trees, trees always add value to a house and may lower cooling costs if you create shade on the house.

I would imagine if better photos were supplied, better feedback could be given. As it is, I'd suggest a revamped foundation planting. It's needs some tree foliage but we can't see where there is to locate some trees. Presently, the house is surrounded by a hedge of uniform height but all broken up by individually trimmed shrubs. I think it'd be better to add some differentiation by coordinating with the windows and corners. Bring some color into the entryway, and some interest along its blank, brick wall.

You are missing colors. Which grow zone? You might be able to grow a rose rambler called Mme Alfred Carrie, a beautiful rose, it could climb on both sides of the wall next to the entrance.

I don’t know about grow zone, but we live in Nashville, Tn, if that helps.

Here’s a few more pics. Thanks for the help!

The excessive paving is distracting. I would only have pavement leading to the side entry garage and eliminate all of it in the front of the house. As others have shown planting colorful annuals and perennials will add appeal.

The driveway is centered on the house. Two parking spots to the left and then the area that allows access to the side entry garage on the right. In person, the driveway doesn’t seem offensive. I don’t know that the benefit would outweigh the cost.

As many have pointed out, I think the issue might be solved by a good landscaper....to bring some color and height to the front and entryway. Also, think I should break up the large area between the windows.

I like the dark trim that RL Relocation LLC suggested and the landscaping suggestions. How about a pergola to frame the front door?

Not an expert but here are my two cents. The first thing I thought was “That’s a lot of wall” and then “That’s a lot of driveway.” Especially from the original angle. Somehow, you need to demarcate the archway as the entrance. You might take that for granted but my initial impression was of two homes sharing a driveway and if I walked through that archway, I would expect to see two separate entrances.

Maybe do some research about courtyards and entries with gates...somehow, such homes draw your eyes and then your feet inevitably follow.

As mentioned above, colorful planting and a good landscape design would help.

Does anyone else have any new ideas? This has been so helpful.

Do those two "parking spots" get used very often? I'm wondering if the concrete could be cut to create more of a circular drive with the main driveway to the garage and then you could create a nice planting area to the left. As it is, everything is hyper-symmetric to a fault.

These spots do get used at least once a week, maybe more. Since it’s a two car garage, I expect our now 3-year old will eventually use them, too.

This visual was very helpful though as I couldn’t picture the previous suggestions to reduce the driveway. Thank you!

You could line the edge of the driveway courtyard with shrubs, evergreens, flowers to add interest and color thru the seasons.

Not sure exactly how much space there is but If it were my house I would add a large 1.5-2 ft tall stone or brick raised bed in a square or large circular shape in the center of the paved area and plant some kind of dwarf/semi dwarf tree with flowers along the edge to be an accent and add interest/color in the middle of the giant paved area.

I like yardvaark’s addition of plantings near the house and trees at the sides. I think that even more trees if there is enough space would make the house look better.

I like yardvaark’s addition of plantings near the house and trees at the sides. I think that even more trees if there is enough space would make the house look better.

Shutters are added to windows when it looks as if they could actually close over them as originally intended.

Yes

Yes

No

No

MB, Shudders or shutters?

I don't know how large your court yard is, but personally would put a large fountain in middle of the court yard to draw your eye back to the entrance. It would be pretty to have the fountain lighted at night. I would also put large urns with flowers on each side of the walkway back to the courtyard.

The courtyard is pretty large.

It currently has a birdbath in it, but the existing fountain has deteriorated and collapsed.

FYI, your pictures are just too small to be of much use. They need to be 400% larger & without black bands.

Can you post a picture or plan from above? (Go to Google Maps, find your address, take a screenshot, and crop it down to just your lot. Or go to your county's GIS site.)

It's hard to tell from the photos exactly where the driveway is in relation to the house, the lot, and the street, but a site plan will make it all clear.

(Oh, and don't do it from your phone. Use your computer. :-) )

Thanks Bryan! I’ll get the aerial view tonight.

Can you move your driveway? It seems like you've got a really tight turn to go around the front of the house and into the garage. Something like this would give you an easier access, those two exterior parking spaces, and a more called-out front entrance, without the Sea of Brown Pavement dominating the front facade:

Edited to add: Actually, skip the walkway to the street. I missed that your neighborhood has no sidewalks and therefore no foot traffic.

I’d LOVE it if we didn’t have to do a 3-point turn to get in the garage!

We have a fire hydrant where the drive would have to go and I think I’d have a hard time convincing the hubs this was the best use of our money. He likes the drawing though! Thank you.

Version 2, less pavement modification (with schematic plantings):

Something to think about for future improvements, anyway.

some ideas:

Riddle me this, do you need a birck/gated court yard? you could loose that wall and gate and really open that space up.

Your driveway is such a bummer. It's quite odd to drive straight toward the middle of a house like this. I think a circular drive would have been a much better layout both for function and to make your home look it's best. We put in a semi circular driveway about a year and a half ago and it's SO nice to be able to just drive through. IIRC it's 21'wide with a 35' radius, but that could be wrong. I know it's a big expense, but I wouldn't change anything in the front yard and just save up to improve the drive first.

I think people are being too harsh about the driveway. I don't think it's the "disaster" it's being made out to be. We can only get our facts from photos, but the first 4 perspective view photos, besides being too small & blurry, do not give a realistic overall impression about the property, or provide sufficient detail. Later, we see from the aerial photos that there are nearby trees, but no one gets that impression from the first photos. I think that in order to relay the correct information, the OP needs to start over and really introduce this property properly. (If it were me, I'd just start a new thread so as to clear the slate.) To begin with, use a decent camera. It won't work to have a small picture with 50% of the information devoted to solid black bands. Begin with a "headline" view of the whole property ... what a person would see if they're standing at the entrance to the drive. This requires more than just what's directly in front of the building. It requires, a full span panoramic view from lot line to line, as taken from the central (driveway) point of view. This is impossible to capture in a single picture so the photographer must pan the camera from left to right taking slightly overlapping pictures. The camera CANNOT change position between these pictures or it will be impossible for viewers to make sense of the scene, as in a panorama. Neither can a computer generated panorama be used as it would be too small, distorted and without detail. Given that the house is set far back from the road, a second set of pictures done in the same manner would be required in order to show the foundation planting area, including the background at each side (ends of house) all the way from one side lot line to the other. These latter pictures should be likewise taken from the central viewpoint (in line with the entrance) and from halfway between mouth of drive and face of house. Every picture taken should be taken under reasonably good lighting conditions. If we can't see things properly, it would be just as valuable to get one's landscape information from the palm reading forum.

I now know why the realtor pictures look the way they do. It’s a really wide area to capture and the slope of the driveway makes it just about impossible to get with my camera.

Thanks for all the help! I definitely got some good ideas from you all

It's fine to drop it if you wish, but difficulty of taking pictures cannot be the reason. The only time that happens is when there is so much foliage in the way that nothing but jungle can be seen. I gave directions on how a wide view can be captured regardless of the width. Even a 360* view can be captured. It's just a matter of taking sequential pictures that slightly overlap with one another. If elevation is the problem (the camera position is too low because of slope) two relatively easy solutions are photographing while standing in the bed of a pickup truck or on a stepladder. If you decide to pursue this in the future, consider starting a new thread and showing the property clearly right at the onset. I'd also include the aerial view as it lets everyone know the layout.

I agree the drive way is a lot, but it has purpose, it needs to be refined, or defined. Softening the edges is the goal here .

I tried painting the windows dark. Should I paint them back?

I like it. Don't paint it back.

IMO you currently have no way for a visitor to distinguish where the entry is. The large sea of paving created by the drive and turn around or parking spaces vs. the narrow entry tucked between the two building wings gives no clear message of where a visior should enter. The narrow path and archway to the courtyard says to me that it is private space, akin to walking into someone’s back yard uninvited. I would likely follow the drive around the house if I were looking for the front door, assuming that the house was spun 90 degrees with the entry facing right.

Bryan Lovely’s second drawing solves this with problem with a clear pathway from the driveway to the entrance, an entry patio, and bright plantings that bring attention to the home entry. While his planting layout doesn’t do much for me, and I think the path should be wider, at least 6’ wide, this general scheme will improve the front entry and make the house far more welcoming than its current front facade. Tiny changes like window trim don’t solve the largest issue of how a first time visitor find the entrance to a home that presents a barricaded appearance.

I think the dark window trim suits the house well.

Also, I think the impression the first pictures give, about the sea of concrete driveway, is misleading and has a lot to do with the picture-taking itself.

I would add color and height in landscaping to bring focus to the entrance.

I like RL Relocations idea of simply busting down that arched wall. There are some nice plantings already in the courtyard area that could be supplemented with color. Even removing the gate which, as someone said, seems to indicate a private space of some kind would help. And Bryan's version 2 looks like a great option for the driveway. Following to see how it all comes out!

Begin to define an overall style for the home. Now it just looks like two boxes with a big swath of drive and a long trek to the front door Landscaping is key. Since you already have the little low hedges, have them modified into ball shapes and go for a formal European look. Add an espalier between the front windows to fill that gap. You could repeat that on the interior walls and on the arch wall for interest as one approaches the arch and gate. Replace your broken down fountain and add some benches in the courtyard so it can be enjoyed. The two conical trees on the inside don't look too healthy. Have a pro check them out for health. I think you could replace them with a pair of Japanese maples or other ornamental trees.

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Sorry, can't get this one to delete - too casual a look if you formalize what you have.

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