Are those security grills on the windows ? They need to be removed to beautify your house. If you need grills bc of high crime rate there is a better solution that i know of

I just remembered. From another dilemma, planting rose bushes in front of windows may help to prevent theives of entering windows...there are different types, but find the one with the most and biggest thorns. As a plus, they will lose their foilage in wintertime but not their thorns (we live in CT), so the needed sunshine to help warm the house. Oops! You live in florida :))) But you guys i heard just got 22 degrees...in miami

Here's a photo i really like, but alas not applicable to our house. What i like about it is the raised plant bed [https://www.houzz.com/photos/trent-woods-dr-landscape-phvw-vp~7376346[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/trent-woods-dr-landscape-phvw-vp~7376346)

22º?!!! LMAO!! If you saw how everyone was reacting, you'd think so. My city declared a "State of Emergency" and sent out emails. Our low was 40º over night and I'm about 15 miles north of Miami.

As for this house, do you need the security bars? How will you put up hurricane shutters if you keep them? If you don't need them, then I'd remove them, and replace the windows w/ tinted, impact windows. The solar heat gain will be drastically reduced, so you may no longer need that supplemental a/c unit, which I'm guessing, is for a bedroom? If you plan on keeping it, I would plant something in front of it, like a roebelenii palm, which will stay right around the a/c height.

As for colors, I would do something bright and cheerful. I recently passed by a house that's similar to yours in style, and it was painted bright, flamingo pink. It's gorgeous and looks very tropical. Maybe not pink, but something in the bright, category, like you would see in Bermuda.

:))) Yeah, we live in CT, So winter time S__k' s here. When i heard that miami recently got 22 degrees i jokingly said to my co-workers "I wonder how many water pipes bursted. How many floridians actually got furnaces ?"

@Curt, LOL... that's funny! It was only 40º for like, an hour, at around 5am.

:))) solraven, can you even buy sweaters in florida, lol...locally i mean

Yes, but usually just from national chain stores. Local, smaller stores won't carry it. I usually buy my winter clothes online, because our "winter" clothes, are more like fall clothes. Our coats are medium weight, not winter weight.

The central AC unit should be installed in back or side of house as they are an eye sore. Installing in front of house...you lose curbside appeal. But also installed so no direct sunlight shall hit it as that will lose its cooling effiiciently..I Don't know florida. Do you have fallen leaves ? We in CT have nothing but, so those leaves need to be cleared off so AC operates correcly (fallen leaves on AC = air flow restriction = failure of AC to cool off = inefficiently of AC)

peintrose, does the house not have central a/c? Are their wall units in every room?

Curt, coming from NJ and now living here for 9 years, I have discovered FL buildings, and concerns are quite different from the north east. The majority of homes do have central a/c in the same way, everyone has central heating, up north. Instead of having split HVAC systems, and to save interior space, since we don't have basements for storage, package units are very popular, and are mounted to the side of the house, or on the roof. I prefer the roof, because it's quieter. Putting it on a slab is risky, because one, afternoon, tropical, rain storm could cause puddling, or flooding and damage the unit.

Staying out of direct sunlight isn't, often an option. In the summer, the sun is almost directly overhead, so... you may as well put the unit on the roof.

Fallen leaves aren't that big of a concern because we don't have a proper "fall". I don't know the cycle of all of the trees, but our mango tree drops a lot of leaves in June, when it fruits, but it never sheds enough leaves, so that the tree looks bare. When we got our gutters replaced, they were surprised that we wanted leaf guards, and he said no one ever requests them.

lol its like people post without having read a single post before them. go bright, go cheerful, embrace the tropical, and don't call it ugly when its home.

this site is so great!!! congratulations on your 'new' house! it's like a blank canvas, and with all the input and suggestions, it'll be wonderful!

pergola pergola pergola.

If you're getting central air installed, I would wait on painting until after the wall units have been removed, the holes in the concrete block, repaired, and the exterior, restuccoed. It's a super cute house, and shouldn't take much to make it adorable.

Sometimes it's about the little details (well, at least at first). After removing the grille from the front door i would lower the door a little. It just looks a little to high above the landing, and the top of the door looks to high. I would change the door so it has windows...just makes it look like more inviting
Knock out the top panels in garage door and add glass. Top panels only so privacy is not sacificed completely, but let's in light also. Garage door hardware may not be needed but still gives it less of a blank face

You have an amazing mid century modern house with the original awning windows. The way to beautify this is not the classic approach of cottage-ing it up with awnings and pergolas . . this is modern that riffs on the art deco period. First, we need to get some great colors on this (after the grilles go - they are messing with it big time).

With the silver aluminum windows, and the entry brick, let me show you some images of what I might try. First, a wide porch that reaches under / beyond the large window. With steps that reach the full length of it . . it will pick up on the horizontal qualities of the flat roof and stacked awning windows. Here's an image but yours can be in concrete and pour next to what you have. Then, instead of "lowering" a door that is level with the floor inside, let's try instead adding 18 x 36 exterior stone or porcelain with stacked joint / grid to echo the window geometry along the porch, and let all the stairs have a floating edge (even the bottom) . . here's the form with the stairs that wrap. . I would pick a light gray quartzite that had some silvery tones in it that picked up the great windows.

Below is a contemporary planting - you can do this with tropical plants, but place them in a grid inside the curving walk you have now . .

As for color - I would be very bold and because this style is a little bit shipboard like . . I would head nautical. I would select nickel toned nautical light fixtures, paint the stucco a stormy sky gray blue . (test bm wolf gray http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/wolfgray ). . maybe even nearly navy so the silver windows really read out. Paint the brick by the door and all the roof fascia trim a metallic toned lighter gray like sw tinsmith that nearly matches the aluminum of the windows. USE a metallic gray spray paint on the wonderful filigree post by the front door. You could paint the front door a bright contrasting color like yellow, but with this house, a silver metallic front door would be amazeballs. And paint is cheap. Here, because this part of the house only has a little stucco around it, I would paint the garage door the same as the stucco to help balance, and I would leave it as it is unless you can afford one of those really contemporary frosted glass and aluminum garage doors.

Put the house numbers with a large stencil in silver on the garage door itself (very contemporary) one per box but right justified in the top row.

Mid century modern houses are making a revival. There are websites and weeks of praise for them. Search them here (it is a wide genre - miami style art deco contemporary is what your house is echoing . . . search it and celebrate it in side too)

If you do a pergola, just support it in a really contemporary way . . . don't add cottage features and you will get more charm . . . back with more images for you in a few days.

Arlington Modern House Addition · More Info

Encino Hills Contemporary · More Info

I really like the idea of larger stairs by libra and "see" replacing those windows with sliding patio doors

I'm glad I found enough words and images to get something across you could visualize. Curt - thanks for your echo - the windows there are integral to the design sensibility of the house though - replace some in the back if you like - double sliding french doors would be fun back there and sort of echo the art deco contemporary thing you want to hit . . inside you might paint all your trim white and all your interior doors and kitchen cabinets something like bm black pepper . .. a lighter version of the color outside . . dark blue / muted, or go navy blue, or charcoal . . anything that will highlight the period trim I'm imagining is inside.

Straight walkways to me is a no-no. So, as a plus your walkway has a curvature to it. I like this pic [https://www.houzz.com/photos/klemann-tropical-exterior-tampa-phvw-vp~1443057[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/klemann-tropical-exterior-tampa-phvw-vp~1443057), but of course consult with your local nursery (not big box stores) as best advice to what specific plants in your area are the best

Your house is adorable, have fun making it yours!

A wider front path will look more modern.