Okay, I had to chuckle over the "10'ceilings". Most people I know only have 10' ceilings. It's the newer builds that have these high cathedral ceilings. Just think of the money you'll save with heating and cooling because you won't have that extra space to take care of :) 10' isn't really all that short, unless you're like an 8' or 9' person... We live in a mobile home and have for the last 8 years and will until the time comes that I get out, go to the two year business school and get a job (I've been a SAHM for 9 years tomorrow, exactly) because we need the second income. Our trailer is twenty years old but it doesn't look it because we have replaced and repaired and painted nearly everything. It's a 16X70, which means we have a little over 1100 sq ft, three bedroom, one and a half bath, 8ft ceilings in every room but the living room and kitchen. We have two kids, so lots of toys and 'junk' that comes along with them . :) Sometimes I wish we had a bit more room, like we only have the closets in the bedrooms and that's it for storage (we have an Amish shed outside for the seasonal things and whatever else we need to "store" but I have also learned to make use out of every avaliable space like under the beds) but we've made it work. We're not on top of one another. There aren't little walkways through the rooms. And even with the 8' ceilings and ceiling fans that hang lower, nobody has hit their head on anything (DH is 5' 10" and I'm 5' 5", so we're not anywhere near hitting our heads...but DH's cousin is 6' something and they bought an older house with low archways and he's still able to walk through and skim right under them with no problems. He's not complainging) I often think the problem is that people think they need more "junk" than they really do to make a house a home. You really just need the basics. I will admit that the reason I wish I had more room was really just to have more cupboards and shelving and more space to display my Primitive antiques, not because we're lacking space to move around and properly function. Just look back at the houses from the previous generations. Some really tiny homes were big enough for families of 5, 6, 7....I know people that lived in smaller mobile homes than we're in and raised 4 or 5 kids! My grandparents first house was about the size of our trailer. It was a Cape Cod style so they had the slanted roof in the bedrooms upstairs....they had 5 kids in that house. It can be done! One tip will be to definitely measure spaces and the furniture you plan to fill it with. A lot of furniture today are these massive, overstuffed pieces that may not work so well in the smaller spaces. However, you will be able to find things that work! Enjoy your new home!

Your house is really cute and there is a lot of potential to really make it stand out! I would definitely tear out those bushes (they are just kind of random) and put in three of the same shrub. There are so many choices out there. Just think about whether you want evergreen, flowering and consider the light conditions mainly. My first thought, and it seems a lot of others thought this too, is to get some nice planters to put on each side of the ledges. If that grass doesn't work out, then a ground cover would be low maintenance. Another idea would be to add some small evergreen shrubs to outline the perimeter of your new grassy area.

Paint the supports under the window -- match the shutters or the brick. If you paint the front door, choose the green or the red of the brick. Plant 3+ same-sized good-sized bushes under the window to camouflage the window supports. Hydrangeas? (These can be had from a friend with overgrown hydrangea hedge.) Turn the corner for about 6 more feet with more of these bushes if you can afford it--will expand the width of the house visually. If you had a line of these beyond the back door parallel to the street that stops the eye before it goes from driveway down the hill at back you would also add some definition. Flower boxes on the small windows will simply look like there's a gardener who needs to be on tippy toes to water them. From street, you will look UP at them, not straight into them. Instead, cover the expanse of brick on that side of house from foundation up, not from the windows down. Plant larger, taller bushes on the left side of photo along the front of the house where the land slopes downward--arborvitae or other tall evergreen? Something with a pale bark and great silhouette that will outline itself against the red? Existing plantings in this area are much too minimal. If you use annuals, only use one major type or stick to one major color so that there is a strict pattern that is definable to observers. Consider pink if the brick has a maroon tone. "Knock-out" pink roses? Whites would look great against a brown-orange brick color. Tall cannas? green/white hydrangeas? white potentillas? Create a small garden between the house and the city sidewalk to give the lot depth but it's important not to make an "eyebrow" or odd shape but instead an organic shape that fits the existing features. A cluster of 3 different shrubs with contrasting leaves and bark, with one having a very chartreuse leaf? You could include the existing sapling tree in this garden. But...you also need a defined walkpath from driveway to front door. You may need to change the plantings you have on the slope in order to make the front door very inviting for those approaching from driveway side of house. If you create a sidewalk or formal path here, create some kind of tall perennial or shrub hedge on outer side of the walk from driveway to step, to give the yard more depth and definition. If you buy a tree, get the largest one you can afford. A line of hostas that follows the city sidewalk along the boulevard side of the sidewalk would also give the house some width and the lot some defintion. Consider painting the front steps white. If you use flower pots, get large ones in white, but don't put any more on the steps except on either side of door. White half-curtains in lower part of each window on 3 sides of house would add coordination. If you get honeycomb or other blinds, choose bottom-up type and leave them at half-mast during the times you don't want sun gain in daytime. This is a darling house and I wish you a great time in it!

What a lovely space. I think some wall brackets with small chains and clear votive would look nice. You could place small plants in them or even candles. It would lessen the dilemma center the china cabinet on the wall or center the piano. Perhaps the piano could be placed on an angle in another corner or part of the room. Good luck.