Sorry to be no help, but I think it’s pretty perfect as is! :) Very charming. I really like your house numbers, the style is quaint and fitting with the house. I’m sure you’ll get big MCM number suggestions, but I wouldn’t change them.

Re: planters … I’d just play around with placements, or remove the one on the landing and keep the one on the left. Maybe try a lower one on the landing.

I am not sure this house considered as colonial style. Shutters are not for these big windows.

I would add some landscaping.

It looks like the post needs some repair. You might replace it with an square post or a simple round column — similar to other 1940s style ranches. Love the scallops!

To be clear, I did not say the house is colonial style but rather asked how I could add curb appeal in that style... thats what we are working toward, anyway. Adding shutters to large windows is very common locally.

Thank you! Interesting common on the scallops,  I actually hate those the most and can't wait to get rid!!

Aww! I love the scallops, too. It’s a feature of Storybrook ranch houses.

Oh, well. Not my house. *kicks toe in dirt*

😁

loose the scallops, change the post to a square or round column, add more plants.

The scallops are my favorite feature on your house ( & this is coming from someone who lives in a very modern vintage MCM house, lol ). i would concentrate my efforts on landscaping.

The large scallops on the front facade and the very interesting vertical trim band below the fascia are integral to the architecture of your home. Oh well. At least there are photos to document the character of this great Storybook Ranch:

“Storybook Ranch Houses” https://www.fullertonheritage.org/Gallery/storybook.php

https://www.ocregister.com/2019/07/29/these-cinderella-homes-tell-a-storybook-tale-of-life-in-southern-california/

https://thecinderellahome.com/

The scallop and trim are staying for now, mind you the plan is to take it off when the house is painted... not for a few years. The wood is cracking and splitting so while I do agree it provides character, I'm not sure it could be preserved or if replaced, how to update it. Open to any suggestions.

I would think a good exterior painting company could smooth and fill the wood surfaces as part of the prep work. Probably less expensive than replacing it all before painting/staining? Individual boards or board sections can be replaced, just like flooring, etc. Maybe the post is original? Are there any similar homes in your neighborhood?

In Southern Ontario, a project like that would be very expensive. We are looking at 8-10k alone for painting.  This home is the only in the area with this type of scalloped design, but there are other bungalows with similar window placement. To give you an idea, most homes in the area are significantly updated and either modern, farmhouse, or colonial. Our home and a handful of others are a bit behind.

There’s something to be said for historic preservation — we don’t know what we have until it’s gone. I think your home is entirely charming and authentic. Wait and see on the painting. Replacement with current building product costs could be astronomical. My in-laws’ lived on a 1950s/60s cul-de-sac in northern Michigan. There was a darling one of these with far more detail built by a surgeon who lived across the street with a great view of the Lake. My husband said he loved the interior of the house — fireplace in the kitchen. His house was a designer French Provincial with a front windowless mansard cedar shake roof (that I never understood until we had to sell it and found the plans) — the mid-century was an interesting time for architecture.

Not clear — house across the street was cute Storybook Ranch. Pictured house is where husband grew up.

I think the house is cute as is (though I'm with the OP on not loving the scallops; they are a bit too cute for my taste). Clapboard or other horizontal siding for the gable might help give more of a Colonial look, but that sounds like an off in the future project.

I would focus on the landscaping, honestly (as I said, the house is cute just the way it is), with an eye toward four-season interest. I'm not much of a gardener, but I've visited gardens in winter that have wowed me with bare shrubs with vivid red bark, interesting dry pods, winter berries, evergreen shrubs and the like.