The right side of the house has a sloped flower bed. Use stone similar to the stone on the house to raise the flower bed up past foundation would be really add curb appeal.

Thank you, I thought about doing that when planting them just didn't know how far to raise it up, our yard is actually really frustrating its
Unlevel in many places.. I may try that though!

I would add a pot with some red flowers on the porch. I think you have a great start and you just need to be patient while your bushes grow. :)

Thanks belle! Yeah, maybe the red will add a pop of color! What do you guys think of some patio furniture on the porch, it's actually kind of small so not much will fit. I try to keep picturing white or black rocking chairs but idk if I like the idea or not..

I think your house is a perfect candidate for a shallow pergola over the garage. It will give the house some dimmension and make it stand out;)

Raised bed is brilliant. When I see the pic, my eye keeps drawing back to the garage door. A large Bright white mass. Maybe work with an exterior color expert to change garage door color to a more subdued color. Radical, but possibly a black color.? Good luck!

Great idea Margo. What about painting out the garage door to match the house and keeping the pergola white?

Paint the front door red. Add a large pot of red flowers to the porch & white chairs.

nramsey1- that could work, depending on posters feel about that. I have a home very very similar to this one. I actually LIKE the garage door white and to stand out. It is just personal preference. Some people hate the garage door in the front. I LIKE the garage door in the front. ;)

I LIKE this posters black door with the glass, I have a very very similar house and door;))))

I would put red patio chairs out front tho;)

I would also paint the mailbox red;)

Thanks everyone! Margo, do you have a picture of your house? I always try to look at houses similar in structure to mine when riding down the road to get ideas and such, but can never find one!

My house- so you can see the similarities. The garage, the red accent, the red mailbox. I am planning on putting up that pergola I suggested. My garage in front that is white with the glass like this posters.;))

LOL Megsullivan24- I was crossing posts with you;)

Very nice Margo, love all the greenery surrounding your home. I just posted some photos of the inside living room I am wondering if the layout of yours is similar in the living room as well, althought I'm almost sure it isnt bc my layout is so strange.. Maybe you can take a look!

I agree with Rejuvenate Remodeling Design, rethink the plantings around the house. The plants are too close together and add little interest.

Thanks everyone! Dar, what would you suggest? I actually planted all eight cleyeras beginning of summer, and they were $15 a piece so id really like to try and keep them :/ I too have told my husband they all look too close to each other, more than once :/

It appears that that type of shrub grows 10-15 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Are yours a miniature variety?

Well, a lady in my neighborhood has the same shrubs along the side of her house, which is only about a 1700 square foot house, not too big at all. I talked to her about them and she also told me that they grow huge, and grow very fast.. But she has about 6 along the side of hers and they are anywhere between 4 to 4 1/2 feet tall, not too sure about how wide. No wonder they were so expensive :/ I don't believe these are minature, maybe if I just had 3 in front if each window (total of 6) instead of 4 in front of each window (total of 8), maybe they wouldn't look so crowded, idk? I'm so new to learning about plants and shrubs and such, I need all the advice I can get on them!

It doesn't look bad now but when they get larger they will look like a hedge in front of the house and you will need to prune them often. Do you have another view that you would like to screen? I think I would take every other one and relocate them or better yet, remove the ones under the windows to new locations. I don't live in your climate so am not sure of what plants to recommend but for under the windows something that stays low (around 3 feet tall) and flowers would be lovely. I wouldn't necessarily opt for fast growing because that also means a lot of trimming. Try for something with leaves of a different color. I use tall sedum or spirea but you have so many options where you live. Another thought about placing landscaping plant, keep them at least 3 feet away from the house.

Congratulations on your first home! If it were my home I'd plant some trees :) Lots of them!

I am posting this picture from an angle of the house, hopefully it'll post with this comment. The side of the house foundation is block as the front
Is brick, and the foundation is about 5 feet tall, so I for sure need something to cover this, not pretty at all.. And I've actually looked at spirea and was trying to find a place to plant some, I really like them. I have a couple of golden euonymus in the front along my walkway that I trimmed down so the could grow to about maybe 3 feet, they were huge!

Some colorful flowers and maybe even a water fountain will help you stand apart from the rest of the homes in your neighborhood. Here are some ideas/inspiration - check out more at http://www.soothingcompany.com/water-fountains/outdoor-fountains.html

meg, I like your house! An attached, front-facing garage door painted white is often too much of a focal point, but I like yours. I think the windows across the top really look nice. Love the shallow pergola suggestion. The shutters on the two larger windows are a little small. One shutter, if actually closed, should cover half the window. The smaller window might look nice with some type of simple header above it...painted white. I agree some trees would be nice.

To rejuvenate, I like your idea of planting in front of the porch. This will bring the eye to the center of the front of the house instead of the ends of the house.

Your house is nice. As others have suggested, the lack of curb appeal is due to the gardens. There isn't much going on in them currently to create any interest. I would suggest extending a garden bed to the other side of the front walk and extending the bed depth from the end of the walkway to beyond the end of the house. Then you can tie the bed back into the side of the house or create a new bed along that side too. Whether you build a stone retaining wall that matches your facade or not, plant layering with create interest. With deeper beds, add some perennials in front of the shrubs and some height at the corner of the house (4-5' tall) to anchor the structure. The bed on the other side of the walkway should have something planted in it that provides some secondary height surrounded by lower plants around that. If a stone retaining wall is built, extending garden beds around the base would look nice too.