Hi LA,

I really like the home. I would paint your front door a lighter color. The current color makes the porch look dark. I would paint your dormer a darker color.

Good Luck!

Erica

I like your current colors. I would repaint and plant some small flowering bushes or perennials in the front. You need to tell us what zone, sun exposure ect. To get more specific ideas. A blooming vine would be nice climbing on a trellis on your chimney.

I love your cottage! Is that a planter under the large, front window? I agree knowing your zone would help. Maybe plant some boxwood in the ground in front of the planter, then fill the planter with some color. You could place a larger pot to the right of the steps and plant something to fill in that space. A ficus would be nice but, again, depending on your zone and light exposure (we live in Southern California). Great idea on the vine from saratogaswizzlestick. Bower vines are lovely, along with potato vines. I'm partial to the Bower...we had one on a trellis at our old house. I love their glossy leaves and pretty trumpet-shaped blooms. Would be so pretty on a trellis for you.

It sounds like you have some serious structural/drainage issues - I wouldn't invest in anything until this was taken care of. A small problem now can be avoided for a while, but it will invariably rear its ugly head again, and you don't want to have to pull out a bunch of expensive landscaping to deal with it later - I would think you probably will be risking very unhealthy mold issues in the bsmt too if you don't take care of it & mold and dampness can deteriorate wood above the foundation.

For exterior paint - check out Benjamin Moore's Heritage collection - some beautiful combinations that would go well with the style of your home. http://media.benjaminmoore.com/WebServices/prod/ColorCards2012/historicalcollection/index.html
There is another Benj Moore Outdoor guide here - http://media.benjaminmoore.com/WebServices/prod/ColorCards2012/exteriorexpressions/index.html

I actually don't mind the yellow and blue; but my favourite would be a light grey for the main exterior, and then a medium blue and charcoal grey for trim and doors.

For bedding plants - please think xeriscape - that is, plants that are native to your area and don't require watering much - they will also support bee and butterfly populations - if we support native varieties that aren't water guzzlers, we save resources and don't encourage shipment from other centres which use carbon fuels.

All the Best!

ADD a porch,replace the stair,plant hosta,hydrangea,fern,...

Hi saratogaswizzlestick... we had a climbing jasmine going up the chimney a bit, but it just died... maybe because of the harsh winter, not sure. It was nice, but it kind of grew out of control. The sun comes up in the front of the house in the morning... and then it is shaded for most of the day. In fact, the hard part of the brick planters is that they don't get much sun.

Denita… yes, the raised bed is so funky. We don't have any water damage from it, but we did find when my husband let the water run into the beds (and forgot and left it on for a day or two)… it just was more moist in the basement, so we don't want to take any chances just in case. So, we would like to find something else to do with it. That's why we were thinking of putting a front porch on it. We did think of possible making inserts or raised beds in it … sort of… but, were looking for something else to go there really.

We really like the Fergon Architects picture… that is more of what we are looking for… kind of Nantucket with the gray shakes and white trim… but again, not sure what to do with the beds and fireplace if we did go that direction.

The Carcary Residence is nice too… in fact, we painted our hardwood floors white as well. We like the door and the curves throughout. My husband is a wood worker, so he can make a lot of things.

chloebud and saratogaswizzlestick… we live in Annapolis, MD … so we get the full 4 seasons… and as I mentioned in another comment, we got a ton of snow and it took out the jasmine. So, maybe if we did the shakes in the Nantucket gray with white trim… and maybe built a white trellis and put a climbing plant on it, what would be a good option for plants? I'm not a plant person, so don't know what climbs well and is hardy and has a nice flower.

If we do that with the trellis… do we paint the fireplace white… or gray… or?? anyone have any suggestion?

Garden Design Online… I like how you did a quick change around on the front porch… that's cool to see… I'll have to try some photoshop myself! We do have a hydrangea in the front yard… and a big rhododendron (sp?) … and we like those.

Holistic Interiors… we used the historical colors inside our house… we love the Benjamin Moore paint and have used it in our previous house too.

I forgot about the medium blue trim… we have seen the Nantucket houses with gray shakes and blue trim - that's a good idea as well.

I'll look into xeriscape… we have a lot bay grasses, and we do have them on the side of our house near our outdoor shower and around the sides of the house… it does look nice and grows well. We have a butterfly tree as well, and love that… but it often grows quickly out of control, but that is fine.

Thanks for the help!

My Pleasure! Glad you're familiar with the BM historical collection - lovely - they actually formulated the collection by taking paint chips from old historical homes and matching the colours.
Here is a great xeriscape site - you would have to determine which zone you are in before choosing plants. http://okanaganxeriscape.org

I like gray with blue trim as stated above. First, I would remove the tree that is hiding the chimney, it is a eye sore. It is also obstructing the focus of the front door and makes the patio look smaller. I would fill in that area and to the left of it with grass. I would fill up the planter below the window with nice greenery and put 2 planters with colorful flowers by the front door. Good luck! Please post pics so we can see how you are doing.