Great house. I love bungalows with their covered porches. I kind of like the idea of turning the entire front area into a courtyard of sorts to extend the outdoor living space.

About 3-4' back from the sidewalk, you could install a neighbor friendly wood and wire fence. On the sidewalk side along the perimeter of the fence, various plantings would provide some interest and privacy. On the other side of the fence (the right side of the walk way) a stone patio extending to the border just before your porch. A couple of outdoor lounge chairs, a bench, potted plants and a fountain would make it an outdoor living room.

I like the idea of a river rock walkway with stepping stones. The most expensive piece will be the stone patio - but that could be phase two of the project. Erecting a fence is not expensive if you DIY. As far as the plantings, you could establish the outline and fill as you find varieties you like and work for the area.

Great Idea! Outdoor entertain space would basically make our house bigger! I like the idea of a fence and plants, but would that make the house look even smaller? Thanks for your mock-up it looks amazing!

Great house!

I would pave a large circle about 12 to 14 feet in diameter from the left hand corner of the house crossing over the concrete driveway. The concrete would not have to be replace, but maybe stained and scored into large squares. This would eliminate the little patch of grass next to the house. Then I would frame the circle in boxwood around where there is grass and add seating. This could then become an outdoor entertainment area. The paving would be reduced by the amount of driveway in the circle.

As far as the rest of the house, I would just round out the bottom of the walkway planting in a wide sweep of native plants and long the intersecting sidewalk.

Is the tree to the left healthy? It looks like it has lost a major branch. Keep an eye on it, it might be time to take it down.

Feeny, thank you for your kind words...I wish I could take credit for the paint job, but that was the previous owners!

houssan, thanks! My mind goes straight to angular shapes. Circles would break up the straight lines of the house nicely and is something I haven't thought of before.

The trees (an elm) is healthy--almost too healthy. Its roots busted some of my sprinklers last year. So we just keep the canopy small to prevent to the roots from growing too far.