There are plenty of ways to handle this sort of boring and uniform neighborhood generic landscape without destroying the overall caharacter or openness of the landscape. Scaling down the lawn area via adding more planting area can be accomplished sensitively if done with an eye to working with the long predominantly horizontal lines of the house, using plantings in mass and in varied height layers, using plantings as architectural masses with contrasting forms/textures/colors, etc. Unfortunately you'll tend to find that most homeowners in such tracts aren't going to want to spend the kind of money it may take to make an attractive change. Simple things like adding saw cut patterns and concrete stains to break up huge driveways, or removing bands of concrete and replacing with planted turf-block or decorative brick/stone/tile pavers is one way to play down expansive driveways. Front yards can be made more interesting by creating semi-enclosed entry courtyards at the entry with enlarged paving/walkways that provide additional usable space for people and reinforced with some plantings at the perimeter that can provide views of garden plantings from both the street and from inside the house, while leaving the majority of the front lawn intact and visually aligned with the neighbors. I've often used several of these devices to update the standard tract home landscape here in SF Bay Area gardens, in some cases losing the lawns entirely. Another approach might be to eliminate the typical foundation shrub plantings, and instead push the planting areas out to the street, thereby enclosing a large sweep of lawn at the house and putting the garden on view from inside the house, at the same time as giving a bit of privacy or at least visual separation from the street.

I vaguely remember a party line in the home when I was a very small child - maybe 4 or 5 years old. It's funny to me how many countless hours I spent on the phone as a teenager. My girlfriends and I would see each other at school, then be on the phone together in the evening (s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g that curly phone cord into all kinds of unnatural, elongated shapes). I remember just HANGING on the phone too, not really having anything of consequence to talk about. Maybe watching the same TV show and commenting occasionally. When I had a boyfriend, it was often the same thing. Now I do not enjoy talking on the phone much at all. I DO like to speak with my parents (my mom and I have been known to hold marathon, chatty sessions), but for the most part I am just not comfortable making calls or talking to others that way. I'm not even sure why that is, unless I just got it all out of my system as a teen!

Thanks so much for taking the time to create this image! It's quite helpful to see what it would look like. I agree that a mansard roof can be an issue. We were thinking of making the roof the same as that of the solarium (as seen to the left of the house). It's like a mini version of a mansard. Also although the idea of heating the driveway is a practical one and less expensive, it doesn't address the aesthetic issue of the steep driveway. We're hoping to come up with a plan that will incorporate a new garage and some surrounding landscape for both safety and aesthetic reasons.

Thoughts from a nurse with 20 years of critical care experience: Please, everyone, as we hear of the news of schools closing for pretty much a month in Michigan, take a deep breath and understand that this is a drastic measure to control the spread of this virus. It’s not because anyone thinks you’re going to die, or you, or you, but someone you love could. And the more we ignore social distancing strategies, the faster this virus spreads. And the faster this virus spreads, the the higher the number of really sick people who will need medical care. If we don’t flatten the curve of infection our nation will see exactly what Italy has seen - a complete overwhelming of the system. These strategies are designed to reduce the spread thereby reducing the spikes in people getting sick and needing hospitalization. It’s not because we think the whole world is going to die. I’ve heard this virus compared to MRSA, SARS, and influenza. And while you got it right that they’re all pathogens, none of those have/had a rate of exponential spread like covid-19 has. *That is the concern. Not because we think *you’re going to die (but someone you love could. Keep repeating that to yourself). This virus is not like those others except they require the same type and amount of personal protection equipment (PPE) *that we could run out of as a nation if we don’t take this seriously and flatten the curve*. And maybe that means nothing to you but it means the world to healthcare professionals who will be caring for these people while you’re posting memes safe in your house, or contributing to the spread thereby taxing the system even more. Do you need to stock up on toilet paper? NO Might you finally eat those canned green beans in your pantry that have been expired for two years because you don’t want to go to Meijer? Maybe. Do we think all of us are going to die? NO BUT, someone you love could. And the hospitals where people you love go to work everyday could become so overrun and overcrowded (read a little, Italy is experiencing this) that demand exceeds supply. And if you still can’t understand any of this and still don’t believe what the nation is doing is right, toddle yourself down to a hospital, suit up and work the front lines with us and care for the patients infected with covid-19. We’ll see how funny you all think this is then. When maybe you can’t go home for weeks because you’ve been exposed. Actually, don’t. Stay home in your cozy “work from home attire” and let us front line staff keep you all alive, well, and safe. We need the PPE for all of us who will be doing the real work. Be well. Stop criticizing. Band together, let’s care for each other. Jana Belisle MSN, RN, ACCNS-AG, CCRN