I'd chop off the lowest right hand branch on your tree or all the lowest branches, plant more and taller shrubs along the rightmost wing, and paint your door a brighter color.

Agree with paint for the door to help pull it out of the shadows. Keep shrubs planted close to the house no higher than bottom of windows. Maybe a potted trellis/obelisk between the two windows with a climbing vine (kept off the brick).

I like the ideas of a lighter paint for the door, and interesting pots and plants.

A trellis between windows but not on the brick.

I'd like to see the right side of the house. A small tree somewhere there might provide sdome balance. And don't go chopping much off that tree on the left. You could really mutilate it quite easily.

True, the path is too close to the house on the right and it also appears quite narrow. But planting both sides of it might visually narrow it too much as you use the path to approach the house. Impossible to tell from the existing picture.

@laceyvail 6A, WV Here's a picture of the house from the side. Sorry it's a little blurry.

I agree with the advice to limb up the tree, it will make the entry more visible and inviting. A brighter door color will help as well.

Shuttters, properly sized, would add some charm to the front of the house.

It looks to me that the lower branches are simply too large to lop off. Doing so will mutilate the tree. But it is hard to tell without a better picture or being there.

I think a smaller tree, a closer to the right side towards the driveway might do a lot to balance the look. A well chosen ornamental would work.

@laceyvail 6A, WV Thank you so much for the advice! Also, I assume you mean an ornamental tree planted *outside* of the little flowerbed area? I'm guessing a tree flush against the house wouldn't be a good idea if the roots start to grow. You mean somewhere around the right outside corner of the pathway, correct?

@laceyvail 6A, WV Honestly, even with a slightly clearer Google maps photo, it's still hard to tell where the branches are. I have a friend who's a gardener I can ask, though. But at least you can see the crepe myrtles and rose bushes on the left. I think those might need a good trim, too.

Trimming the big limbs on the tree is not a DIY job but a good arborist could shape it up and make it look more balanced.

@deegw Oh, that's for sure. I value my life a bit too much to try doing my own tree work.

@laceyvail 6A, WV Also, with the new perspective, do you think plantings on both side of the path would work or would that obscure it too much?

No plantings on both sides of the path; it's already too narrow. The inner side should be planted with small shrubs or a groundcover.

On the left side of the house, build an attractive screen for what appears to be propane tanks, and do something about the two unruly shrubs to either side--probably replace them.

Add lighting in the entry to help brighten it as well as a new color. It’s a nice house and better landscaping will make it very inviting.🙂

I don't see that the main tree needs any pruning. As you walk up to the front door along the path, it's nowhere in your view.

It's really easy to make a tree look weirdly unnatural by injudicious pruning, and there's no road back.

To me, the amount of bare brick on the side of the garage is not proportional to the rest of the house. It needs to be broken up visually. I seldom like shutters but they would add interest to the brick and I agree they would look good here.

We don't know the width of the walkway, or the width of the bed between the walkway and the wall, which would help us make recommendations for what to plant. It goes without saying that you'd need to be sure the plantings do not cover the walkway. A bed on the other side of the walkway would need to be low ground cover, and it's purpose would be to visually beef up the landscaping on that side of the house, in order to make it more proportional to the expanse of brick.

I like the idea of another tree or shrub near the driveway.

I'd trim down the shrub to the left of the front door, so the window is more visible as you approach the front door.

You have a very attractive house, it just need a bit of help to look its best.