Tony, i would agree with you in principle that gardens and more garden space are important to people who like to garden, but we are not the majority in today's real estate market. I guess I am lucky in one respect to live in such a tightly regimented politically correct town such as the People's Republic of Berkeley, in that the zoning controls and design review ordinances are so tightly drawn that they mostly favor existing structures over new construction. Due to this fact, there are very few McMansions being built here, and although some tear downs do occur, they usually involve keeping 90% of the existing perimeter stud walls and footprint to avoid having to go before design review. As I work alot with contractors and developers, I know the drill when it comes to avoiding headaches here in Berkeley. On the other hand, there is absolutely no requirement to submit landscape plans for approval when doing such a quasi-teardown. I compare this situation to marvelous Marin County, which Michelle Dervis would always complain that you can't fart without getting a permit first. I relish the relative freedom to be creative without having to jump through all those hoops. I also agree with the poster about how difficult it would be to live within a planned unit development which spells out what color to paint your house, or what trees to plant. Just a little too rigid for my tastes, although I have certainly designed and have seen built enough such projects that I had a hand in. I would also greatly enjoy the luxury of not looking at my neighbor's house just 8 feet away, but such is life. Such close living forces one to become more creative about planting for density and screening for privacy, while not blocking one's or neighbor's sunlight. House remodeling to add double pane windows are a nice bonus to keeping outside noise outside, or Chaka Kahn at high volume from bothering the neighbors. I don't think I have ever lived anywhere, either here in California or overseas where I had the luxury of real space to garden, so I don't miss it. I would however, miss being able to enjoy being outside in the garden year round, and winters where nothing was actively growing or blooming. I should correct that last, I wouldn't really miss not having winters at all... What does all this blather have to do with the topic at hand? Just that population trends seem to agree with my personal situation, in that high density occurs where the climate is more pleasant year round, or where the cultural possibilities and scenery cause people to pick up and leave home to try living there, wherever "there" may be. Part of my personal mission is to make each client's "there" a little more like a private oasis or sanctuary, to compensate for the nonexistent elbow room between neighbors. My own backyard is such a jungle of vegetation from around the world, that I don't even see the adjoining two story apartment building anymore, although I do have to compete with these neighbors for on-street parking and all the public transit people who park in front of my house each weekday in order to take BART to the city. Still, it is still possible to park within a 100 yards of my house, as compared to living in San Francisco...

Brilliant ideas, gang. I love the look of concrete facing on the chimney, and it would make it fit the rest of the house so much better. The brick may be covering the original block chimney, it is not brick all the way to the basement. It is obvious there was a wood burning stove in the kitchen and maybe facing a fireplace in the living area when the house was built. no trace of either now. We will be getting a high efficiency boiler soon so the chimney will be non functional at that point. I love the idea of painting that front gable cement color as well. The door you see in the photo is the screen door. There is a solid wood door behind that, not visible since it is open in the photo. These photos were taken by the previous owner. The concrete "bricks" used for the porch and planter are very light pink in "real life" and really do not match the chimney at all. Awesome ideas about the metal posts and rails on the porch.. The idea of using metal pipe is outstanding too! Spouse and I discussed the idea of adding wrought iron details to the planting areas in front. I agree it needs depth and contrast, I think the former owners tore up the original foundation plantings because they were overgrown and getting ugly. I have red and white flower pots and am thinking just touches of red in the plantings and using the red pots might give me nice contrast with the greys. we have 4 metal rockers from the late 40's /early 50's. Two would look great on the front porch. They are painted green, but paint can change. Ideas are forming. dang I love this forum! thanks to everybody, your comments and compliments and your creative input are doing good for mental stimulation, feeding my psyche and my soul! This conversation is getting long, i'll find the previous owners interior pictures and put them in another post.

I don't have anything to add with respect to the house, but I'm attaching a link that may be useful for landscaping. It was put out by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (I live in Oakland). It's geared toward Northern California, but a lot of the plant recommendations will be appropriate for SoCal, too. Not all xeriscaping is cacti, and the book has some really fabulous alternatives--from California natives to Mediterranean plants to South African plants--that don't scream "desert." Here is a link that might be useful: Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates

Thanks everyone for your input! I think I will do the following this spring: -Install a paving stone border -Plant something bigger in the planter ? Armeria I will ask local landscape for recommendations -Update mailbox/House number with a pop of color: there were a lot of comments about the mailbox but since this is a beach house, we barely get any mail! Maybe 1x month -FIND driftwood to make the pile bigger…did you know driftwood sells for $250 for a two foot piece! I hope to share and updated photo. Also, stayed tuned for photos of the interior! In the future: Painting the trim…my contractor/handyman/painter aka DAD just repainted the white…so we won't be touching that for a few years. Plant hydrangea bushes or, various plants on the whole front year, or replace the small planter with two larger Dig Doug: I love your renderings, especially the trellis! Additional comments: House is in Lavallette (good eye Dig Doug!) Won't widen the boardwalk…it would expand into the driveway Won't paint or stain the shingles…too much upkeep. Yes, the front room is a porch. The "real" front door is inside there. Creating a patio/porch: I like the idea and the look but the front room is a porch and we have outdoor seating out back. Town rule we cannot pave (or paving stone) the whole yard=drainage issues during storms Not sure about termites…will look into this. Thank you for the warning!