fantastic, perfect fit for that house

Love it. Are you going to stain them the color of the house?

I like it so much especially the color

Huge improvement!

Amazing camouflage that doesn't look like it at all! Lovely.

Wonderful.

Nice job, but I am concerned about those wooden planter boxes--how will they weather? The bare wood doesn't look "finished", wouldn't they look better if stained/painted and also hold up better too?

so well done -- I wouldn't change a thing!

nice work! looks great

The wooden planters need to be stained to match the finish of the house. Also, make sure that they're pressure treated or made of pine or else they will rot and need to be replaced.

Great job! The before photos look like a haunted house, the after is so inviting.

Looks awesome great design. I agree with those above as well to stain the boxes to complement your house.

MUCH better!

The wooden planks on the exterior are made of cedar which are able to weather outside as many fences and decks are constructed of cedar. However the interior structural part of the boxes that hold the soil actually still the concrete planters that were existing. The cedar is only a facade. The only box that we actually constructed was first constructed out of pressure treated wood and then faced with cedar to match.

I agree the boxes would look better to match the house and if budget allowed I would have built with the same ipe wood as on the facade of the house. However this being a budget minded build we opted to leave the wood to grey to its natural weathered color which will be much closer in color to the wood on the house once it too is weathered.

The dark brown color of the ipe on the house will fade to a grey as well unless oiled yearly. That is a lesser known fact about ipe that a lot of people don't know. Ipe is a wonderful hardwood and will last for a long time without maintenance... But it will not be that coveted dark brown color you see in this picture for very long. Here in Chicago, to keep ipe that color in our harsh weather you need a yearly if not a twice a year oil application to keep the wood deep brown.

So by next year there we be minimal difference between the wood colors.

looks nice. Good job

Why keep any lawn? The area is small enough to be all garden. They followed the old lines that were not very good. I think I would have pulled out the beds to meet the cement areas and planted them very full with many kinds of herbs, flowers, grasses and berry shrubs. I hope the wood ages to match the stone, but if not it can probably be stained gray.

Really looks very good, mission curb appeal accomplished 100% i say.

Brilliant! I for one (seemingly the only one!) like the juxtaposition of darker ipe and lighter cedar - I'd keep them both oiled! Again - overall it's a brilliant, impressive solution!

Very nice!

Beautiful.

I had a feeling this home was in Chicago! I can close my eyes and almost see the entire street!

As soon as I saw it..I thought Chicago also. You did an amazing job!!

I really, really like that (I even saved photos for inspiration - I hope you don't mind!) Please don't stain the planters. They're gorgeous now, and in a few years they will weather to a beautiful soft gray. I wish I could see!

Great curb Appel

Well done.

Very smart! :-)

You have done a ton of work, but a few tweaks would give you even more curb appeal. I would paint the steps to match the front door and railings. The planter boxes would be painted with a solid stain to match your new granite steps. Then I would plant bright red geraniums in the planters, and add some more geraniums in rustic flower pots down the sides of the bottom steps. In the winter you can use some very real looking red poinsettias during the holiday season in the pots. Just a thought, but red flowers would be a lovely accent and tie it all together. I love the red patriot geranium series, as the blooms are the size of soft balls. Good luck.

You did an amazing job!

Well done!