I like the awnings. I think they go with your house. In my neigborhood, I've seen a few and think they are lovely. I like the rendering Ilija Pavlic did with the light color steps, stipe awnings, and blue shutters. Maybe when you replace the shutters, you can get raised panel instead of louvered.

I think some of the bushes can be pruned, but they probably do help with street noise. Yews respond well to heavy pruning, although they look naked for a while.

Can you stain the concrete driveway?

Hi Melanie: What a great house! I think it already has a lot of curb appeal, but there are a couple of things you could do to improve it. First, darker trim would really make it stand out and give you a more cohesive look. If you are looking at replacement windows, check out what colors they might have available. Here are a couple of somewhat similar looking houses with darker trim

Actually, I think that adding a darker trim in a color would be very nice. This gray-green would look lovely with the gray of body of the house and also with your "stone" retaining walls If you went with this gray-green, adding green slate risers to the stairs would be beautiful and relatively inexpensive (make sure consult a knowledgeable installer about this). Although your house is much more in the English style, you could use a simple Talavera tile on the risers, like is often seen on Mission/Spanish style houses. Also, do you have lighing going up the stairs for nighttime safety and interest?

Second, you could stain your steps and concrete drive the same color - this would also give you a very cohesive look. Since the driveway is also part of the approach to the steps, it would be nice to tie this together visually. Someone at Home Depot could even advise you on this, I would bet. It involves using muriatic acid to clean the concrete and then using a stain to get the color/colors you want.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your awnings. They are totally appropriate to the period of the house and are useful to boot. If you add color to the trim, this would be another opportunity to pick up the accent again. I think the stripes are classic + they offer some pattern to your very flat facade. One thing I would NOT bother to replace are the shutters. In order to look correct, shutters should be exactly half the width of the window. Obviously, this is not possible with your windows + the awnings are really the stars. Adding a large planter box underneath the above-the-garage window would be charming, and in your climate, could stay planted all year long.

Your yard looks much nicer with what you have done, but I agree that the 3 large shrubs are still too big, especially the one hiding the window on the right. Perhaps you can prune these down to a better scale - since you don't have a lot of experience with landscaping, it would be a good idea to talk to a professional landscaper/arborist about this. If there is room to safely add an urn on the front stairs, I would do this. A simple shape with tall, bright plantings (Tropicana cannas?) would be pretty, and even the pot itself could serve as an accent - a fun color like orange or turquoise would really draw the eye to it. I would paint the railing in your trim color, too.

I think the lantern-style light fixtures you've posted are appropriate, but get a much larger size. While your house isn't set too far back from the street, the entrance is significantly higher than the street, so you want something that will make a statement. This photo gives a sense of scale, plus that would be a great accent color for you. I think the fixture you show on the left is a bit more appropriate to the house - a bit more of the Mission/Aesthetic style.

Hope this gives you some good ideas!

Your more recent photo looks so much better! It does highlight the two-tone driveway problem, though, and I think it needs to be solved by staining or painting or skimcoating - whatever it takes. As it is, it looks like a shared driveway. Can you get the fellow who did the faux stone facade to come back and do the same for the concrete wall? Maybe he can do a faux stone treatment on the driveway too!

I like a lot of the ideas mentioned, especially the dark blue shutters, blending in the garage door and the two lights at the entrance, the only change I would make would be to the awnings - keep them they're a great idea but change the fabric to dark blue with a small tan stripe through it. If you type in dark blue awnings here on Houzz you can see an example on the first page it looks great.

Okay for those that say I should have blue shutters, would that be with the blue-striped awnings, or brown/red-striped awnings? I am convinced on painting the garage door gray, but can only do one light at the entrance. The wiring is knob-and-tube and I can't add anything unless I rewire the whole house. Also I will look into staining the driveway so it's more uniform, however I don't want to draw too much attention to it either.

I love the stucco. I would remove the shutters. Redo awnings in a soft black with straight egdes, not scalloped. Paint railing and front door same as awnings and add two exterior sconces lights. Cut back the oversized bushes in your landscape. Paint the garage and trim a color that matches the lighter grey in your stone.

The trim colour can't be changed. It's an aluminum wrap that's in great condition. So white trim, roof and stucco are the three things that are staying the same.

Aluminum can easily be painted, but if you don't want to, then I would go with a very classic black and white scheme (if you could find one with a smaller taupe stripe, that would be even better). Replace your awnings in a wide black and white stripe, add a large white flower box underneath the garage side window and add a VERY large, single lantern at the front door. Go with a very saturated color scheme in your flowers (i.e. all red, all pink, all coral, etc.) and still add the planter on the stairs, either in black or the accent color, if you can find it (or buy used and paint it!) Paint in the garage door, as discussed, and stain the driveway/stairs to a similar color.



Look at the scale of these light fixtures


Another idea, since you are looking at replacement windows, would be to add french doors over the garage with a juliet balcony. This would add a lot of interest, albeit expensively. This one not only has the balcony, but it incorporates a pergola beneath it

I would try to incorporate an accent color in small ways. Perhaps an address plaque (where the back panel is painted the accent color and the numbers a black). Another planter in the opening next to the front door, in the accent color, would be another opportunity. Whatever that accent color, make it bright. I think something in the reds/oranges/pinks would be your best choice against the house color.

How about adding a small deck at the level of the landing of the steps. A small deck tucked into the corner would give you a private spot to enjoy the sun and your landscape.

Kathryn, I love the light fixture you posted! I will have to go to a lighting store as Home Depot doesn't seem to have anything big enough. Also I want to retain that light as a motion light as we NEVER park in the garage (it's too narrow) so we are often arriving home and having to walk up the steps at night. I also really like the gray-green on the exterior trellis photo. My stucco has pink rocks in it that look beige from a distance but maybe if I go with a green it could compliment the pink? It sounds as if I should find a way to paint or stain the steps and driveway a grey to tone them down, and to also paint the garage door grey. Maybe I should just stain the NEW section of the driveway to match the old one, as that seems to go well with the stone? Thoughts? As for a planter on the steps, I love that look, but there's not enough room unfortunately. Looking at the landscape, I think I need to do something about the obelisk-shaped cedar hedge. It's too tall and blocks the prettier rhododendron behind it. Should I just shear it down or remove it completely and put something else in its place or just rip out and leave blank?

I wish I could do some of these changes right away, but the true after photos will have to wait until the spring. I just had to make a decision on the awnings fairly quickly because of the new windows and I was getting a quote on having the awnings removed at the same time. Replacing them would cost about $800-900. I have found an even better angled photo taken June 2012. Does anyone else feel the alcove seems really dark?

Melaie: Cound you put a skylight or two in the porch? That would make it light during the day and would really brighten things up - including your front hall. Then I am wondering if you could put a small light- or motion- sensitive fixture, wired into the outside fixture. I know you said your wiring is old. If you put the skylights in, you might even be able to put a battery-powered light sensitive fixture in the entry for when you come home late at night (I wonder if you would get enough light in there duriing the day, though, to make it stay off?)

Try a good lighting store. Although they carry a much wider price range, you should be able to find something in the same Home Depot price range, but just a bit more for the larger size, There are also light posts that have sensors on them which could be positioned near the landing, but I guess that would be the same wiring issue...

Could you put a planter just off the corner of the landing?

Yes, I think the gray-green would be a nice complement to the pinky tone of the stucco. Also, I think you could try to age the new concrete to look more like the old.

Okay opinions on the following awning fabrics: from left to right, Havelock Brick, Cordell Redwood, Eastland Redwood, Saxon Chili

Also: Henna/Fern Vintage, Forest Vintage, Ashford Forest, Forest Green/Beige

And lastly: Granville Mahogany and Grey/Black/White. All samples taken from www.sunbrella.com (the supplier for the awning company).

I love Havelock Brick and Ashford Forest. As a wild idea, since you're not using the garage, why keep the garage door? Change it into something you would use - an extra room perhaps?

Forest Vintage (this is in the top right corner, right?) You need a wide stripe in order for it to read well from the street. Also, I think it's the right contrast. Although I like Henna/Fern Vintage, I think it's overall too dark for the house.

You had asked about that cedar. I am not sure if you can cut that way back or not - some trees/shrubs can have a branch trained as the new "leader". Check with a good landscaper or nursery. That rhododendron is spectacular! It would look nice with the gray-green, too.

Here's an obligatory illustration :).

Havelock Brick was my initial choice, but it's definitely a safe choice. I wish I could edit my post to remove Saxon Chili (too orangey) and Cordell Redwood reminds me of a circus tent.

As for the garage, my husband bikes to work everyday and keeps the bike in the garage, along with the camping trailer that you see in the driveway of my most recent pic, we store it in the garage in the winter. Along with tools, ladders, the freezer, paint, recycling, etc. It's the catch-all storage room. :)

Haha thanks Ilija! This is actually quite common in our neighbourhood as many people use their basements as secondary suites and then the garage door is converted as an entrance.

The first thing family and friends notice is the landscape and driveway..Have you looked into decorative concrete...the stones you have bordering your home that color scheme and pattern can be used..

This is forest vintage on an awning, taken from the sunbrella website. Also Ashford Forest and Havelock Brick.

The first picture was a badly cracked driveway so instead of the cost of tearing in out and replacing it we simply added more stacks larger ones to look like large flag stone using colors that goes with the home...
The second one it was a custom job we matched the colors of the roof and painting with it letter b for the clients last name..
All material is cement colored it's not paint..
Another option hope it help

NFI - can that be done with the existing driveway? I tried googling concrete and driveway staining for my city and couldn't find anyone that does it. Is it a very specialized field? The guy who poured the new section said he could have added a colour to the concrete but that was during the pour, which obviously I did not do.

Change the light fixture to a black Arts and Crafts style fixture, paint the garage same colour as house, paint the steps in grey that works with the driveway and if you need awnings chose a black and white stripe for a punch of interest. Then take a look at it. Nice house, I love that era!

Yes thats the beauty of decorative concrete it's applied over existing concrete..not sure where you live. But it's a site called the www.concretenetwork.com it'll say find a contractor in y our area it should be someone close..

So glad you are keeping the awnings.

I like Forest Vintage the best! It gives you some added color and yet the stripes are vivid enough. I think the Havelock Brick is a good choice if you want to stay monochromatic, but it is a lot less interesting.

Here is a very abbreviated lesson in transplanting small trees and large shrubs. Prune the roots early this spring - by digging a spade around the future root ball. Wait a year so the severed roots have a chance to grow rootlets, then dig up the tree and root ball and transplant to the new hole, which you will have already prepared. This is better than hacking it down to size.

What kind of windows are u considering? Here's a link that shows the classic bungalow style windows. http://www.bungalowhomestyle.com/. In my opinion, the practice of having the sash and frame painted complimentary colors is one of the more notable and charming aspects of the exterior of bungalows.

I just jumped on this thread, and I have to agree with everything Illja has said. His photoshop pic #1 makes the house classy with solid awnings etc. I would go with his simple changes and then concentrate on the landscaping. You already have a dynamite rhododendron. Many nurseries offer free layouts if you buy from them, so I would put my $$ in this area and your house would be a standout in the neighborhood!

Okay I tried my own hand at doing up a mockup using MS Paint. These are the awnings that my husband liked the best, along with the garage door painted the same gray as one of the stripes. Does this look okay? Couldn't find a way to put up a light, just eliminated the flood light that was there.

Living walls

I would add to the architectural elements. This house needs a little bit of depth. I would achieve this by adding crown molding and sloped roof to top of garage door. I would also add trim to opening leading to front door, keeping the elliptical curve. Both details would have to be flashed correctly to the stucco. If the budget is willing, change out garage door to something more in keeping to style of house.
Pick awning with pink and greens (I believe the middle picture o your second post). Then pick the green or the pink color, or similar to paint all trim and garage door. I would go with a dull pink to liven up the 300 plus gray days you have up there.
Given your climate, trim would have to be Azek. Curved trim should be Flextrim. Check out websites.

Consider a tile plaque, perhaps above the garage door.

As a johnny-come-VERY-lately to this discussion, I have a single suggestion. Lots of the ideas presented look nice, but I think your basic problem is one of balance. The tall, skinny tree/shrub in the curve of the driveway wall, could be moved to the curve on the other side of the driveway, thus opening the facade without stripping it and bringing better overall balance. I know there's already a tree over there, but that tall shrub would fit in front of it.

Right! I waded through all the comments, thought long and hard, noticed that the last date was Feb. 1 and didn't pay any attention to the year...bright, very bright!

Well isn't this a nice surprise! I can post an update and ask for more opinions!! Lol I took all the suggestions into consideration and we ended up not getting the windows replaced. We changed the awnings instead and then later that year we had the knob and tube replaced and took the opportunity to get a new light fixture. I remembered the suggestions of getting a large fixture so I bought the biggest one I could find even though it looked huge in the store and sure enough, it worked!! We are STILL trying to figure out what to do with the garage door. Ideally, we'd love to change it to a carriage-type door.

Perfect light fixture, Melanie!

See? Everyone was wrong when they told me that being a troublemaker had no long-term potential!

First of all take those striped shade things down!

The two windows with the stipe things(after you take those down) then I would consider putting flower boxes under those windows.

The stripe things are called awnings. Blocks heat before entering the home – cooling better than blinds or drapes and reducing fading of my curtains, carpets, wood floors, etc.
It also reduces the energy costs of air conditioning up to 25%, saving me money and reduces my home’s carbon footprint.
They are very practical and even though you may not like them, it is consistent with the style and age of the house. Also, we just replaced them with the picture I posted above. That was part of my "after".

Jan 2013 post

I do like the new stripe colors.

Okay I am sorry!!

I was just thinking that the awnings were a little weird that they were striped!! It looks like a barber shop!

I think if you paint the stairs and wall dark brown it will make everything look more consistent and tie in the roof. You could also acid stain the driveway. I know someone you pored new concrete next to old then stained both and they looked the same color.

I like the work that you have done on your home. The awnings and light fixture work well with your home's style and stucco color. Love your front door! Keep in mind some of the smaller tasks that help out such as a new door may, a new coat of paint on the tailings, new mulch, constant vigilance on trimming and weeding. I would still like to see the garage door painted the color you had shown in one of your mock photos...was it a tan color? The white garage door still overpowers the rest of the house. Any luck with finding a professional to stain all of the driveway? Consider adding some big greenery to the left of the garage for balance with the right side. Keep us posted on your progress!

Another thought is to paint all downspout, metal pipings, etc. to match the stucco color so they blend, versus as white they are distracting and break up the picture.

Given ample water supply...power wash everything periodically, including driveway grime.

Wood or wood look garage door with iron hardware... The house is precious though!