Hello! I recently bought a house and I want to figure out something to do with the front of it. It faces the west. I am trying to do this on a budget perhaps, and it will be DIY. I thought about ripping out the bushes, and pouring concrete or laying brick/pavers in a decent spot that extends past where the bushes are now. It could be rounded out by a low retaining wall for looks? I could build a pergola up top for looks as well. Anyway, here is a pic of my house. What comes to mind when you see this as far as adding a cost-effective front sitting area?Do you have any pics of your ideas? Would it look too odd to do this to a house style like this? The black awnings are coming off btw. I don't want to add a new roof anywhere if possible. Thanks for any help! The first pic is my house. The others are just some that I found online, and only wood decks really. This front seating area could be a low wood deck, but I would imagine a concrete pad or brick/paver would be cheaper?

I like the paint idea, however I would do a semi gloss white for the background wall and a matt warm dark grey for the bar area. I would even consider a stain for the dark grey bar to allow some of the wood grain to shine through. It would be a cool contrast with the clean walls. The gold could look good depending on the actual colour however keep in mind it will be quite the yellowish tone as it's a lower ceiling and already in the darker part of the room... How about just keeping the ceiling white and replacing the sconces with some pretty gold ones, making it look slightly more sophisticated? You can also use gold accent colours in 2-3 bar stools... Not sure what the bar top is made of, but a similar colour dark grey in a glossy finish would make it look quite cohesive with the rest of the bar and the avocado arm rest will be able to shine through. Have fun!!

When I look at your photos, the first thing that occurs to me is that there is a serious lack of functionality in your workspace. There is no flow between the sink, the stove, and the frig. The second thing that I see is that there is an obstacle in the way with that cabinet abruptly jutting out from the wall. It divides the space and becomes the central initial focus as you walk in the front entrance. Changing the way that the front entrance leads into the kitchen and closing it up looks as if it might create more awkwardness, as opposed to solving problems. Instead of eliminating that, I would suggest to create a kitchen/dining area that pleasantly greets you and welcomes you in as you enter the house. Don't fight that entry. Embrace it. Direct that money that you would pay a carpenter to close up that wall into doing something nice in the kitchen. You see all the way to the other side of the dining area and out the back window as you come in through the front entrance. That can be quite visually pleasing and add to a sense of space and flow. But, currently, you have that cabinet blocking the flow. blocking the flow, blocking the flow......It stops up everything and you say that it is often covered with debris of life. Eliminate it! If you can configure your kitchen into a more compact and efficient work area that leaves that area open you will gain not only functionality from having a more efficient work area, but also a nice visual flow that looks enticing and inviting from the front entrance. You could walk in the front door and be drawn all the way to the back of that area to the open window and a nice dining area, as opposed to being stopped in your tracks by a wall of cabinets piled up with stuff. Not good! Perhaps after you eliminate that counter island, you could put in some type of a desk area to run along that wall where your family could use to accommodate all of those paper things that families seem to have stacks of. Or, just a countertop space that is dedicated to that type of function. Or, you might have some glass front cabinets installed to house and display some nice kitchen ware, or, whatever might suit you. You can run/extend a cabinet along the wall as opposed to having one that is perpendicular to the wall and jutting out into and dividing the space. I really think that you need to start with embracing and working with the elements that are already there. Deciding on a more efficient work area for your kitchen is something that you can think out for yourself or hire someone. You really do need some new cabinets and some new flooring. Whatever design that you decide upon I think you will do yourself well to open up that space all the way to the back. You might be amazed at how much more welcoming and spacious it seems! Think how delightful it might be to walk in the front door and be greeted by a pleasant visual space all the way out to the back! Another thought about the work area space is that, if you can position the frig and maybe the range into a position where they are not right in the direct line of vision from the front entrance, that would be a plus. It may or may not be possible. You have some thinking to do on that. In summation, I suggest that you need a more efficient and flowing work area and you need to eliminate that cabinet that divides and blocks, and accumulates debris.

I always wanted a white kitchen, but ended up buying a house with cherry cabinets. I’ve grown to love them and really like yours, too. I think you could freshen up the look of your kitchen considerably just by changing the counters, backsplash, and lighting. You might also consider just painting the island. Here are a couple of my favorites with wood cabinets and light counters: Do you have any inspiration pictures? Do you like the current style, but just want something new/different?