No Curb Appeal - Where’s the door?
M 2
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Downsized and purchased 1990’s Florida Ranch home with poor design.
Any advice on how to improve the front door and entry?
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Comments (6)
PROPatricia Colwell Consulting
2 years ago
decoenthusiaste
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoRelated Discussions
Curb appeal problem. We don't use our front door
Comments (19)What I would do: (and what would help with curb appeal), is a larger front porch. Then you can place a bench out there--sort of an outdoor mud room. But you don't want folks through the front door, I understand. I'm curious where you live? And you still haven't answered about who are these people who come to your front door, but you'd prefer to have them come through the mudroom. I'm thinking about my own home. We accept UPS packages, the plumber, kids' friends, my friends, the grandparents.... all through the front door. We do have a foyer there though, for the removal of wet things. The only people who actually enter through the other door are kids who are VERY familiar with our household (dogs etc), and who are perhaps mid-playdate with our own kids. You can spend some time reading through other threads in design dilemmas. There has been one within the last week or so about the opposite problem--guests using backdoor when front door is somehow less obvious--though close by. Since your problem is the opposite, and based on your local culture, you can glean the advice and use it to your advantage. (painting front door to match siding so it disappears; removal front walkway; careful planting of bushes and trees to obscure what you want obscured; remove decoration from undesired door)....See MoreCurb appeal corner door on corner lot
Comments (12)If you want to reserve the door near the garage for family use, put a sign on it that says "Front door that way". If you want visitors to use the front door, it would help to reverse access to the porch: switch the steps from the front to the side, and switch the railing from the side to the front. Ideally you'd rework the sidewalk (the one parallel to the front) to curve up to the new steps. Or keep that sidewalk exactly as is, but add some large square pavers near the porch so that people walking up from the street have a direct, paved route to your door. And landscaping along your front foundation: I'd plant something like a snowball hydrangea, that would get about 6 to 7 feet high, near the wooden fence. Next to it, scale down to a slightly lower shrub, and end with something like daylilies where the chair currently sits....See MoreCurb appeal for 1950s ranch with hidden door? Holidays are a Pain!
Comments (19)Regardless of hidden front door you have tons of options as people have mentioned. If I were you, I would get some large outdoor ornaments to hang in the tree- lots of fun colorful ones or all red. (I actually do this with a redbud tree in my side yard.) You could even make some out of styrofoam balls and paint if you're handy and want a project- then they could look however you wanted! You can buy ($$$) or make ($) a large wreath for biggest portion of picture window (like as tall as that section of window is) and it could be lit or not. And get smaller wreaths for the normal sized windows on that front portion of house (the one to right of picture window and the one over behind the car). Swag some real or fake garland on railings (Trader Joes has great real evergreen garland for about $7/8-10 feet piece) and add white lights (or colorful lights if that is your jam)....See Moreside-of-house front door, need curb appeal ideas
Comments (10)Your visitors need to be guided to your front door. Take out the overgrown shrubs and, as has been suggested here, re think the sidewalk to your front door. This can be done by widening both the bed in front of your house AND installing a wide sidewalk (modern paving stones) to the right side of your home. With planting beds on the street side of the pathway. You might consider low level lighting, too, to guide your guests to the right door. As has been suggested…placing your house numbers in a more obvious place, making them larger, and lighting them will help people see where they should enter. Have you ever considered creating a gate across the front of your carport? One that could be opened (or even have a small gate for family access) so that people see that area as “private?” Just a thought. Note: Installing a sidewalk to the street in front of your home, as some have suggested, only works IF your neighborhood has sidewalks. Many neighborhoods do not have them....See MoreM 2
2 years ago
Maureen
2 years agoThe biggest problem is the proximity of the 2nd garage door, which doesn’t allow for many structural changes, so changing the roof line is a good option.
If interested and budget allowed, I’d skip the roof and focus on entire facade. New, larger windows would have a big impact and you could add stone and landscaping on the far right.
Add a new door, lanterns, and a large planter. Consider interlock in the niche between garage and right portion (that juts out), as it will create a division from the expanse of pavement and feel like a little patio/more welcoming,
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