Way to go! Nice house! Everybody will have their own opinions about what looks aesthetically pleasing... For me, I'd enjoy a row of spruces, the nearer the curb the better. Why not have your soil tested and have the utility companies come out spray paint your grass for stuff you'll need to avoid. How long do you intend to live there? If you plant larger trees they give you privacy quicker but cost a lot more. Additionally, plant some 1/2 barrels and put flowers on that patio. Update your front door to something nicer? Just my opinion, your mileage may vary. Gus

Removing those two trees closest to the house (the ones that appear to lean toward it) might be helpful in opening things up and making the front brighter. The board and batten style siding and the "X" trim on the porch give a very rustic cabin-like feeling. If you'd prefer white, you'll get more of a farmhouse look. It may work fine with the natural brick. Much depends on roof color. Very popular look now is all white with black windows. I would probably ditch the shutters if going for a more contemporary farmhouse. If you like rustic, you might keep them.

Hi Amber- Congratulations on your new home! I agree with you that the front of your home could use some improvement. Firstly, do you know what goes on in the immediate neighborhood? are the neighbors friendly? Do people walk up to each other's house's and just say "hay" and chit chat a bit? If so, you want to make your front porch and the front walk a bit more welcoming, and the rest of the fixing up follows that. I am not a landscaper. I would invite in the Houzz landscapers here to comment. 1. My suggestion would be to remove the shutters. Shutters look best if they look as if they really serve a purpose, and to do so they would have to be half the size of the window, so that if they closed, together they would protect the window in case of a hurricane or storm. Yours are too small for that, and unless you live in hurricane territory and really need workable shutters to protect your windows, I don't think it is worth the money to invest in properly sized shutters for your home. You are best off just removing the ones you have. 2. Your planter beds have bright red paint on the border. Bright red draw attention. In the front of the house it is drawing attention to an empty bed. That is not a good look. In the front there are two options. Painting that planter wall a more neutral color and filling that bed with plants. Or, the second option which I favor. Remove that bed altogether and put a marvelous planter box under the window with glorious plants. The reason I favor this is because although you pay for the planter box, you will pay less for the plants and a lot less for the maintenance of the plants. You just water and trim them yourself. If the weather is bad, you just open the window and water and trim from inside. Another huge advantage is you are not getting a lot of water near the foundation of your house on a regular basis. 3. I would widen the walkway to make it easier for a couple to walk side-by side to your door, and it is more inviting as well. You could plant flowering plants along side that larger curved walkway and have solar lights (that need no wiring) along that walkway that turn on when it is dark. 4. I would paint the planter on the side of the house a less florid color. If you want the trees there to conceal the windows, fine, otherwise, please trim them. It would be nice if you could plant some thing in front of and around those trees to conceal and distract from their trunks. I happen to hate canna lily, but that is something that comes to mind. 5. I would replace the bench on the front porch with two chairs and a table in the middle, with the table large enough to hold a large tray for a pitcher, glasses, a tray of cookies. Because we want you to be neighborly! 6. I would remove that bush at the front of the porch, it looks like it is standing guard. 7. In Texas it is common to have the Texas star proudly displayed, but I would move it. Where it is currently displayed I would put big brass house numbers. I would move the Texas star to the other side of the window. Or to inside of the home. 8. There is possibly too many hanging plants. Any hanging plants need to look really great. Big and bushy, or if they have hanging foliage, with lots of it, like the one on the left of the house. 9. I would remove the round metal wall decoration on the porch wall. Why not invite Dig Doug's Designs into the thread?

I love the current green, and the yellow front door! The uniformity of the green allows the garage car-doors and people-door to blend in. I'd remove the fence unless it is serving a purpose (which I don't see). For safety, ensure the visibility of your house numbers from the street. Is there anything you'd like to add out front, such as a sitting space, a cover or a bench near either door? (I don't see the need for anything, it's just what functionality you would like.) For landscaping suggestions, re-post your picture, include your planting zone, the direction your house faces (East?), and a nearby major city so that people can make practical recommendations, and hope that a professional gives you a pretty picture to go by :-) Nice house!