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Yes :)

Your house is very cute! I would try to wash the bricks under the porch, paint the door/stormdoor a bright color, and amp up the things on the porch to add some color. Those things should all be budget friendly.

But the biggest thing would be landscaping! You might be able to get a professional landscape/hardscape plan that can be implemented over time as the budget allows. I would not just start out doing it without an overall plan. It will make a HUGE difference!

In my opinion mainly a pressure wash on the bricks would be the best. And then i would consider painting garage door and shutters on the left window to a colour like a dark navy to contrast the white brick.

You can also plant some small plants to hide the dirty white break near the porch. But im personally not a fan of plants.

Hi grapefruit1_ar,

Sorry, not to hijack the original question but may i ask how did you change the window trim colour? I really like how it looks. I hope the answer isn't to change the window entirely as that would be too expensive for my project.

Thank you

grapefruit1_ar
that looks so good...

Hi Jacky Lee...
the garage had been turned in to an extra living space prior to purchase. My husband replaced and painted the rotten wood. it's still an eye sore though...

Not a Pro.

Some inspiration:

Stanford - Complete Renovation · More Info

Stanford - Complete Renovation · More Info

Stanford - Complete Renovation · More Info

nice!

Stacy,,,what exactly is the budget? Because you really need a new front door (you could sand and paint that one, but you asked about curb appeal)

what about those windows? do you have any plans on getting new ones? any time soon?

If so, I'd get the black or bronze ones to work w/the white brick

this brick house is very similar to yours. Notice the windows (no shutters) and front door w/glass.

Be careful pressure washing since it may damage the mortar or your brick. But yes, your home needs a good cleaning. If you're up for repainting, look into Romabio Masonry paint. it can be tinted to any white you like.

what about your DIY skills? have any? lol you'll need them for the landscaping

doesn't have to be anything fancy

if you must have shutters, look at doing some natural wood ones (or at the very least, paint yours a diff color!)

make some cedar window boxes and attach under your windows.

ignore the gabled roof addition, just look at the porch area

spruce up your porch by painting it. maybe adding some horizontal wood slats to th one portion. check out the glass doors

you could even do a stencil with Porch paint

get a spare piece of wood and attach new numbers on it. more of an mcm vibe

great ideas.... thank you

Plants instead of grass is a start. “Budget” is a moving target. Thst might mean no 50K pro landscaping jobs, but you’re willing to invest 20K in materials, after spending 5K on a small simple design you can accomplish with your own labor. Or it could mean a $30 can of paint and $100 for 3 really lush hanging baskets.

oh, get away from the brown trim. if you and your SO can paint, then scrape off the old paint on the trim, windows and fascia, and use a diff color. I like black, but you could pick a navy, or dark gray, or green,,,really anything. prime the wood and then apply a good exterior trim paint.

Also, spray paint your down spout white to match your brick.

I like this type of door. doesn't have to be red, but the glass is obscured so it lets in light only.

what about the old garage part?

and if you're up for it someday, put in a pathway and steps. much more inviting

i photo shopped the other window on yours too

yes the is a sidewalk directly in front of the house

i meant a pathway that comes down the grass, like in the picture.

as for the garage part, keep some type of door on there so it looks normal from the front.

can you do one w/glass or something w/the glass windows at all? or does it have to be solid

I like this...I think it's that wood where the garage door used to be that is giving me thre most problems

it has to be solid for now...I thought about doing like a pallet wall to match the shudders?... that might be too much lol

these last 2 look so good

I don't know about the shutters. just depends which way you go w/the house. (more country-ish or more mid century)

if you like the wood look, maybe something like this (not pallet wood.

since the door doesn't open, maybe you can veneer your current door w/horizontal wood slats made from cedar or redwood. make sure to varnish them.

or, I like this one too with the glass panels.

darker one with only one row of glass panels. (lets more light inside the room too)

inexpensive way to add curb appeal. pots w/succulents or cacti. get a simple light like these. they are cheap (home depot) and can be sprayed any color

mulch out your flower beds like shown in the pics I photoshopped. you can do that on your own. get black mulch chips. maybe some rocks or stone pavers for the grass path. just look at ideas you can do

you are the best.. you have given me so many ideas...

PAINT:

Is your home painted or whitewashed brick? If you could have your home pressure washed, do.

Alternately, when the whether warms, scrub it yourself with a very stiff push "broom" (from a big box building supply store) such as might be used for roofing. Then you could repaint the house one exterior wall at a time.

If you do repaint, first remove the shutters from the window on the left side of the house and invest in two colors that go well with your brown roof. You might consider two shades of green or gray. Paint the recessed areas of the porch the darker bolder color and the rest of the house a lighter version of the same color. Paint the gutter downspouts the same color as the exterior siding behind them.

STEPS & SIDEWALK:

While it appears you have a sidewalk but you might consider putting small gravel between the existing sidewalk and house for drainage and creating another sidewalk:

Your steps could be enlarged by adding brick or pavers beside and atop and in front of them as a DIY project with the right cement mix and you could add a landing made of the same brick or pavers with their tops ground level. Have that landing be square.

Later, budget permitting, you can begin to create a sidewalk the same width as your landing that begins at the landing and curves toward your driveway -- aimed generally at about where a car door would be when parked in your driveway with the garage doors closed.

Just outlining the path the same width as the landing with parallel pavers, the tops of which are also ground level could be the beginning of your sidewalk. When you dig down for placing the pavers to outline the sidewalk, also dig the area between the parallel rows of pavers and level and pack the ground to prepare it to add gravel ... or you could use the parallel row of pavers a s a form and go ahead and mix bags of concrete in a wheel barrow to fill in between the pavers.

LANDSCAPING:

By creating the sidewalk, you also will have created a planting area between the sidewalk and your home. Dig that out and begin adding rich dirt. If flowers are too high maintenance, and if you're in a planting zone in which they'll grow consider a hedge of Aucuba bushes in front of your porch in that planting area.

Rather than putting the shutters back alongside the window on the left, consider a pair of shrubs along that wall, each centered between the window and the corner.

For decoration and interest, you might consider a large wind chime centered between steps and the right edge of the porch. A plain concrete bird bath in the front yard visible from the window(s) could also be a good addition.

suezbell great budget friendly ideas ❤

Not knowing where you are going to start...a quick fix for the dirty brick would be to paint a strip across the bottom of the house ....the height of the porch...in a dark brown...also if the walkway is very close to the house and all across..removing it will open up a flower bed or even a space for white or pea gravel bed with a few planted pots...