Those two front windows are bedroom windows. And is there any way to get more light into the entry way? The front door is so far back.

how did you do that to the house colors? I need a little app like that to work with. Thanks for the ideas. And the hilarious comment about the garage door. :)

I did that in Photoshop Elements. It's not that time-consuming, but PSE isn't particularly user-friendly either.

I get an almost midcentury modern vibe from this. Ditch the lawn and do mounded grasses.

Gary Hutton Lagoon House · More Info

Courtyard House · More Info

New garage door when you can.

where is the home? It looks like it could be in Southern California!

Is there a way to bring the front door forward? And what can i do with a different paint color than green? Also how can I make the windows look better. And what's going on with that half white section in the front?

I have never paid so much attention to garage doors before!

For the windows- window boxes and shutters?

You could create a narrow entry courtyard from the garage back to the real front door.

Lake House · More Info

1939 Bungelow Renovation · More Info

When you bring up shutters and window boxes it sounds to me like you aren't loving the modern/mid century direction.

Wanting cute cottage instead?

good point pcmom

The balance of the front view is thrown off by the four car driveway (too much concrete) in front of a two car garage. As others have said the garage door is a stumbling block too. Soften up the driveway with level (not fallowing the slope of the driveway) narrow raised cedar planting beds. As another mentioned, maybe a courtyard of some sort. Maybe tie the cedar beds together with a new front door and garage door.

yes I think I am leaning toward cute cottage. Or- I also like these types of looks but don't know what they are classified as:

I realize those are different styles but not sure what will be a good option for this house.

SKYLIGHTS.

As budget allows, reduce the size of the concrete driveway. We actually did this to our own home, had contractor come and cut the sides down so it wasn't as wide. (Why the person who built our home in the country thought the house should be on a sea of cement, beyond me!)

Wide flower beds on the left side, built up with the broken concrete?

One other thing we did ourselves to our drive was to stain the concrete with Mason Select stain (home stores). That really softened the look and took away a lot of glare.

New front elevation · More Info

Click on, to show the whole photo. See how much better the driveway looks smaller. You can also have the walkway cut out and replaced with something that says "cottage". Also like the siding, shutters, lights, numbers.

899 Coolidge · More Info

I love this! It does look so much better. What did they put over on the left? Could we just put grass there for now? Is that economical and easy to maintain? Thanks so much for the suggestion!

Front Porch Makeover Summer 2010 · More Info

Probably depends on where you live. Grass in CA isn't economical or easy to maintain. With our drought and the price of water. Plus, it is a bear to take out once established.

Personally, I would use the broken concrete vertically to create an edge, add soil amendment, and create a casual flower bed. Then cover with a layer of bark. Then create another bed under the first window near the front door. It will all tie in!

In case you go with the flower beds (and adding a free form sort of one near the front door would break up the horizontal lines) there are a couple things I just want to pass on:

Creating a slight mound with soil and amendments will show off the plants much more and looks much better than straight ground level.

Take your time picking plants and remember the size it will be at maturity. With those little baby ones, that is easy to forget!

Look around your neighborhood at plants, trees that do well. Talk to home centers. If you pick well you can probably get by without sprinklers, just hose watering while young.

Think of the yard in wintertime. You will want to have some evergreens mixed with flowering plants.

OK to have just bark on the area while you plan and decide.

Eclectic Gardens · More Info

Some of my favorite plants: rosemary (evergreen, small blue flowers, easy), Nana bamboo (these are small mounded plants that are bright red during winter and bright green the rest of the year), Russian Sage (takes heat and drought with lavender flowers).

You are awesome! Thank you so much!

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