Unless there is a drip irrigation system on the second floor, it will be difficult to water. The coir lined metal baskets dry out VERY fast. They will also drain dark colored water down the siding and windows below.

Already a lot of elements on the front of the house, so no to any window boxes. Adding colorful shrubs and flowers ro rhe front yard, or colorful large pots below the first floor windows will add some pop.

Also, larger light fixtures at front door. Trim deciduous shrubs and trim back or remove the evergreen to the left. Is that a seating area where the chair is located? If so, maybe that area can be expanded with anothe chair and small colorful table.

IMO window boxes are not appropriate for this house. She should concentrate on a good landscaping plan , remove the shrubs from either side of the door get very large black planters and fill those with seasonal plantings insted of the window boxes. BTW the shutter are also not approriate for those windows .The house will be awesome with the right foundation plantings and landscping of that front yard . Just google foundation plantings for colonial

I agree with all of you (except I do think this house needs shutters). We live in the Cincinnati area and most homes look like this with shutters. She has just always wanted window boxes! They don’t even get the keys to this home until tomorrow. The yard is a mess. A lot of work to do. Previous owners have not maintained anything.

And yes the front porch lights are WAY too small!

Window boxes make a mess with water running down and staining. Constant replacement of plants as they die or stop blooming and get scraggly. Lots of effort and $$ for a result that never looks like what you see on the internet. I am an experienced home gardener and have tried them in several locations. Never again !

I guess I'll be the voice of dissent. I'm not a pro, but I loved my window boxes. I used liners and the boxes had drain holes in the bottom so nothing stained the house. Flowers bloomed like crazy in mine and I'm no gardener. I put spruce tips in them in the winter and decorated with Christmas lights. My cousin has a colonial and put window boxes on hers and I think they look great. Again, I'm not a pro, and can't say why a certain house's style is conducive to window boxes or not, but I love them. If this were my house I would probably only put them on the upper floors and get flowering shrubs on the bottom. And I'd remove the shutters.

Nice house! I love window boxes when appropriate but agree they're not a good fit for this house. Landscaping is key and will make a big impact. Just takes some time.

appropriate sized shutters would make a world of difference. Shutters are meant to fit the window, not act as decor. foundation plantings would make flower boxes disappear (one or the other) a welcoming door color and perennial plantings would brighten up the home.

Would a red door look better? I love shutters on this house but not these shutters. You are right. They need to be bigger!

With the geometrically symmetric two story facade presenting a mansion like appearance any cutesy touches like shutters and window boxes would produce a conflicting cottagey vibe. (In addition to the unsolvable problem of the attached garage being in a different, much less architectural style from the main house).

If it were mine I would design and install a formal garden that echoed the front of the house in pattern and extended out far enough to correspond to the two story height. I would put this feature in front of the facade only and not all over the property.

If the house was darker and a bit different style, a red door would complement, but I’m not sure it’s the right choice. Black is classic, but it depends on how she wants the house to feel.

I’d get larger shutters in a different design, paint the garage door white and decide on front door‘s color after the landscaping and updates etc. are finished.

Not a fan of window boxes. They might look ok but they can be hard to maintain. Don't like the idea of having a container with standing water and soil next to the house.

What a nice house your daughter found -- traditional without being stodgy. If she wants window boxes, she should get window boxes. Lots of styles here: window box buying guide.

If she keeps the black shutters, I'd go with a solid white style, so you don't end up with a "u-shape" of color around the window. If you remove the shutters, I think she'd have more options (and I love the look of iron scrollwork holding flower pots). Do the upper windows open easily for access to the boxes? remember the screen would have to be out of the way as well as any furniture placement in the rooms ... or care could get awkward.

Is your daughter an experienced gardener? If not what I'd HIGHLY recommend is not being too hasty. Buy a planter of roughly the same length and width as a window box, place it where it would get similar sun exposure (maybe even on the ground in front of the windows) and figure out how to keep a flower box looking good all season long.

Also, since the lower windows are quite close to the ground, consider planting low-growing flowers or shrubs there and do window boxes on the upper story only, as suggested above.

UPDATE: She decided on no window boxes. I agree - much bigger shutters! They are ripping out ALL of the landscaping next week and starting over. If you think this looks bad, you should see the inside. The contractor told me yesterday that she has been doing this for 20 years and this is the worse shape she has seen a house. These people did not take care of anything. It is taking them 3 days to repair the walls before they can start paiting. But - it is going to be beautiful when they are finished! All of the floors are currently being ripped out and replaced. New paint, appliances, light fixtures, countertops, etc. In this market it was so hard to find a house! One step at a time.

Anyone do an asbestos inspection before all of this ripping out etc.?

Good question regarding asbestos - I will ask the contractor today!

Beautiful home! Good luck with the remodeling project. If she decides to do window boxes at some point, we recommend using liners.

Window box with liner below window

Window box flowers and other plants coordinate with those in the front yard.

More photos of this Wilmette, IL home can be found here.

Re: asbestos - when was the house built?

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/asbestos-floor-tiles/

In addition to testing, other factors indicate that your flooring tiles may contain asbestos, including:

• Your home was built pre-1980. If floor tiles were installed between 1920 and 1960, there’s a good chance they contain asbestos because most flooring tiles manufactured during this period did. If the tiles were installed between 1960 and 1980, there’s a slight chance they contain asbestos.

It was built in 1998.

It was banned in flooring in 1980.

Continue reading on the web about the timing and you will find that asbestos never went away, recommendations being made to sample and test regardless of how recently a product that might possibly contain it was made or installed.

The seller's disclosure on the owner built house I assumed in December said they "had no knowledge" of asbestos being present. The house was inspected and approved in 1979, the party I bought from were the second owners and lived here 37 years. Apparently without ever noticing the majority of the floor space was covered with asbestos floor covering having a whopping 20% asbestos content.

I found this out after a heating systems estimator asked me how old the popcorn ceiling was. Which prompted me to have the house sampled and tested.

The asbestos service told me to just leave it in place. However the skin over the top of the stuff is tissue thin - where there is no concealing carpeting on top there are already visible tears and holes that were present when I moved in. Which the service told me I could seal with the thickest available latex paint if I "was concerned about it".

Apart from the future problem of trying to sell a house with 20% asbestos floor covering all through it - when the time comes I'll probably move out and then pay to have it all removed as part of preparing to sell - meanwhile I am waiting to hear what an installation crew leader thinks about coming to replace all my windows (and a sliding door) in a work setting with this aspect present. In particular the possibility that the floor covering comes right to the base of the slider. And has an exposed edge, as has been the case in other locations within the house where the covering encounters an exterior door.