Wow! Thanks! Well, right now I'm putting in a six foot cedar fence behind the house / between us and the neighbors, and there's a chain link fence there already that has to come out. While most of the posts are set in concrete in dirt (easy) some of them are set into concrete poured into holes jack-hammered out of a concrete pad that is there for some reason, possibly even the foundation for a structure that is no longer there. So, yeah, those posts are going to be difficult to deal with. I may just cut them off slightly below the pad surface and cover them with concrete. Come over any time, there's lots to do. :) I need to take some more pictures of some of the more interesting details of the property. There's a lot of walkways and retaining walls that are just completely buried in ivy and overgrowth. I appreciate the kind comments. I think we were very lucky to escape the banality of much of the more modern structures we looked at. Yes, I have a great deal of work ahead of me, including a radiant heating system install before next winter, but I'm enjoying every bit of it. Ok, tearing out chain link fence with 20 years of overgrowth entwined with and growing through it is a little painful. Satisfying, ultimately, but it hasn't been easy.

It's a precious house! You are spot on with making the awning and foundation shrub removal a priority. They are just eating the house alive. LOL. As said, try to retain the original windows if they are still in there. Not only for authenticity, but they'll outlast your new windows. Again , ask a reputable contractor about painting stucco. Our old house is brick. It had been stuccoed over in the 1930s and believe it or not, that stucco job lasted until six years ago! My husband had had it painted before I married him and although it may have seemed like a cheap fix in the short term, it cost us dearly in the long run when we had it re-stuccoed. We could not find a local company who did that type of work on two hundred year old, large homes. The stucco they applied is not the new stuff, but the same formula they'd have used in the 30s. The problem came because we'd painted. They said the new stucco would not adhere properly to the old because of the paint and it would eventually fail. So, the whole house was covered in what looked like chicken wire first. It added weeks to the job. And the whole crew of workers had to be transported almost two hours each way every day just to get here. Ouch. I think you are going to have a lot of fun figuring out how you want this house to look. It is so unique and is going to be an eye-popper.

if it were me, I would introduce myself to the neighbors so you can check out their houses. Someone in your neighborhood has to have good taste and those conversations would be invaluable. You would get to hear about what works and what doesn't work. You will be able to hire the designers and contractors who did work that you like. the second thing I would do is figure out which plants thrive and start with a handful, a small, medium and one or two large. again, take note which plants other people have that Thrive and in which exposures they do best in, north south east west. then I would just, live in your house for a while and the ideas will start to come together. One thing at a time or you will get overwhelmed for no reason.

Agree with Beth H to change out the front door. Even if you just replace the door with something better and not do the double door (for now). Anything would be better than the door you have now. Sorry, those 1990's doors just irritate me, I see them everywhere here and I'm in FL, not CA. I would also get rid of as many of the semi-circles as you can. For example, remove those plastic window inserts in the garage doors to eliminate those semi-circles. Strongly consider getting rid of the two semi-circle windows too. JMO. ETA: I would not add stone around the garage either. You are in an HOA. Do they have a list of approved colors? In my area many of the HOA's are highly restrictive when it comes to exterior changes/colors.