I love that house, and I like your ideas for what to replace your exterior lamps with. I don't immediately have a suggestion as to where to find good water-proof ones... You and I have another unwanted feature to our houses... I thought we'd gotten rid of that white stuff but yesterday we got another four inches...

I am so sorry! Your last sentence breaks my heart for you. :( I just wrote a detailed reply - just to have it deleted. Grr. I have looked into this a little (I am not a builder or anything - just through Google) and it seems that many houses have a small step up (2-4 inches) into their house. Apparently it is to help keep weather from entering when the door is open. You have a porch, so this wouldn't be much of an issue BUT the point is: there can be a "mini" step up without it being a tripping hazard. Our home ( we rent ) has this and I have never even thought about it! The fact that there is a door frame, and usually different flooring, gives our brain the info it needs to understand. Does that make sense? Someone suggested something similar earlier in this conversation: build a step that is the same rise as the others you have (are there others? I can't tell from your photo). Make it wider than your front door (it will look better this way). Then the last inch or so will just be part of the natural step into your home. If you are skeptical, you could build a temporary one out of wood (a couple 2x6s would work), and try it. :) Anyway, I am praying (hope that is okay!) that you will see one thing every day (even if it is little) that you love about living in your new home - to help offset your frustration. Sincerely, C.

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.

A follow up question... I put the Azek trim board, as you suggested, but ultimately the wife misses the tiles. I was originally planning on putting some tiles like this over the azek, but the tiles are 18mm deep and with the Azek on already, I only have 7mm of space left. If I remove the azek, I have 25mm, which is enough, but then I'm putting tiles directly on that Vycor that is covering the concrete. It seems like my choices are: Find some really thin tile Find a thinner piece of Azek (the current is 3/4, I see there are some 1/2 out there Remove the Azek entirely and adhere the tiles directly to the Vycor. No idea if that would work or not Something else I'm not thinking of. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!