I Agree with the comments about a brick walkway. If your wood steps are approx. 4' wide, that is a common and a standard width for an entryway to a front door. Consider the brick walkway, make a nice wider curve at the bottom of the steps and also add a little curve to it as you approach the driveway, (instead of straight walk), add widening flairs at the end where it meets the asphalt. Also, if its in your budget, by saw cutting approx. 16" to 20" ( depending on the bricks you choose), on both sides of the asphalt drive, and adding brick ribbons to the perimeters, it would all flow in together. You'll be amazed at the transformation and you wouldn't have to redo the whole driveway in bricks, which will be very costly. We do this all the time for our clients and they all love its all completed.

I agree about widening the stairs to the the width of the 2 center columns. That would have a huge impact in making the porch more open and appealing and would fit the scale of the house better.

We have a similar porch railing where the vertical posts/spindles have been attached on the outside of the porch railing rather than the inside. I'm having the railing redone with the posts attached on the inside, which gives a cleaner, more tailored look (nearly every house in our neighborhood has a porch so I've done my research). I think that would clean up the look of your porch too--it has a surprising amount of impact. I would also beef up the size of your columns, like so:

I also agree about painting the garage and I like the suggestion of a cupola above the garage. It would break up that long stretch of low roofline to the right of the house

I think you could add some landscaping and a curved walk to give the house more presence, as well. That would have a substantial impact.

This is also nice. I like the way the landscaping has 2 layers of depth with the walk in between. You wouldn't need the retaining wall to achieve a similar look. The columns here are also a good look. I wonder if you could even nix the railing altogether, widen the stairs and beef up the columns. That would really open the porch up.

Since I'm on a roll. I would plant something tall between the window and hte left side of the garage. That corner looks really bare.

One other thing that would look fabulous is a trellis over a garage. If I didn't have a detached garage in the back of the house I would do this in a heartbeat and plant a climbing rose on either side:

What a beautiful home. You might hang your country's flag from the column to the right of the entry stairs and, as has previously been suggested, add a brick walkway and driveway edging in a brick similar to the base of the house.

Definitely agree with painting the garage door. Suggest good quality planters with topiary shaped or similar each side of the stairs and each side of the garage will enhance the property and draw people in. Tidy of the front gardens as well and some hard landscaping if the budget allows. Good luck.

I suggest lowering the foundation shrubbery so that it is visually no higher that the floor of the porch to accent the hanging baskets. The current height makes the porch railing and balusters look a little "hairy" rather than crisp, bright and welcoming.

Very inviting entry (if viewed from the lawn).

Could you consider a walkway toward the street, stopping briefly to the side of that nice plant group to add a small terrace, and then on to the street.

Add some furniture to the terrace and invite the neighbors for coffee.

Perhaps add a postlight so you can stop and talk with your guests as they are leaving after dinner, on route to their car parked at the street.

It would add warmth to your home, as well as to your friendships.

cascio.offsite@gmail.com

I would definitely paint garage door to blend it in with the rest of the house, add colorful flowers, and incorporate a stone pathway towards steps with lighting and flowers on the sides. A simple looking wind chime could add a relaxing touch. Also mix a few bird feeder sticks between bushes to attract nature!

Paint the garage door same as house color, then add a trellis over it (needs no plants) lower the boring shrubs, add flowers to the beds in summer, no shudders :) except maybe on the second floor, widen the front stairs, (like double the width!) put a pathway out to the street, beef up the trim on the windows near the garage, sit back and enjoy!

We had a similar problem with our house. We decided to put in a concrete walk from our driveway to our front porch. It really did the job of not only drawing your vision to the front door, but beckoning you to walk up with lighting and plants. Your walk way becomes the invitation. Good luck!

If you put white shutters next to the garage and on the upstairs windows the garage door would blend in more. I would curve out the bed to the left extending into the yard more. I would also add interest by adding shrubs and/or small ornamental trees that are not all so similar in appearance to one another. definitely widen the steps leading up to the porch.

What is your budget?

You have a beautiful home, and there are so many great ideas already given! So all that's left for me, is Good Luck! And Happy Home!

Thank you for all the great suggestions .I am definitely going to look into either painting the garage door or adding the carriage house type hardware to break up the whiteness. If we do shutters, should we go with white or black or charcoal or other? No shutters can be put on the windows under the porch roof due to railings being too close, but can do them on the front door area if that would be a good idea. Do like the idea of widening the front stairway. It is 3 ft wide currently. There is an existing brick sidewalk leading from the front stairway to the driveway but it did not show up well in the photo as the lighting was a little harsh when I took the photos.

NO SHUDDERS :) ON YOUR DOOR! If you have the budget, consider installing a wider door, or adding sidelights. Seriously, plastic shutters that aren't used as shutters are not the best design feature. Your house is nice, the upper windows have really good, wide trim, which most builders don't bother using.

Focus on the porch, blending the garage with the house, taming the landscaping, the walkways. Fixing the lower level of the house grounds the welcoming area. Enjoy!

I am not a plastic shutter fan, so would only consider something wood or that looks like wood with hardware

Paver borders on driveway and a stone walkway to the door.

I think a lot could be improved by reconsidering the plantings. To me, your house has the same problem mine had before I redid the front beds...
Developers plant the same ten or so plants, whether or not they actually suit the home and site...
To me, your shrubs and the low square-looking tree in front, sort of weigh down and block your front porch. I would be tempted to rip out a few of those shrubs and put in some lower-growing plants to open it up...

The house before...and now. I ripped out the torturously pruned shrubs and replaced them with rosemary and lavendar which should grow in with a softer, more natural look...

I actually agree also with other posters, to use hanging baskets with flowers...use lighting on the porch to brighten it up...and if you have the money and it is structurally practical, widening the stairs and porch entry. I also agree, don't bother with shutters.

Many great suggestions have already been made, especially about the house. I think that the steps should be widened about 2 feet. I would create a courtyard (10'-12' +/-) at the base of the steps and feature a bench or two. Perhaps some boxwood to make the space cozy. I would then connect the courtyard to the driveway with a 52" wide walkway. Make sure to keep the walkway far enough from the house to allow for enough planting room so you can have a few layers of plants to soften the home. The biggest mistake people make is planting the wrong bushes to close to the home.

By installing a beautiful courtyard and walk to the home you ground and connect it to the landscaping. Additionally, the walk and courtyard are what greets the people who visit your home and done properly significantly enhances the curb appeal of your home. The courtyard and walkway respond to the architecture of the home and help integrate and provide balance.

The landscaping should not fight with the home or steal the show, it should compliment the architecture and not fight for attention. Plant material should be selected so that it does NOT overgrow and conceal the architecture.

attached are some basic concept sketches that show the right and wrong way for the walkway and plantings.

Best of luck to you!!

I took one of your photos and "shopped" it to show two changes that I think would make the biggest impact. Others had already expressed these ideas, and I agreed with their assessment, but a picture is worth a thousand words.

Paint the garage door the same color as the house. Widen the front porch stairway.

You can increase your curb appeal with pavingstones and wallstones by Cambridge with Armortec. Consider adding a pavingstone walkway from your driveway to your porch. It will increase your curb appeal and provide space for beautiful flower beds, Please go to our website and visit the stunning photos in our electronic brochure and our gallery. By linking to Cambridge’s Designscape Visualizer you can upload your photograph and preview what your re-designed home will look like using Cambridge Pavingstones and Wallstones. Visit our website at cambridgepavers.com.

@mindshift - nice! And take a look at these trellises. No need for plants either.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/1950s-cape-expansion-traditional-exterior-new-york-phvw-vp~824458

https://www.houzz.com/photos/lighting-that-welcomes-you-home-traditional-exterior-portland-phvw-vp~1652234

https://www.houzz.com/photos/bradlee-ave-swampscott-ma-traditional-exterior-boston-phvw-vp~1964906

The house is fine. However, there is very little colour - rather monochromatic. You should consider adding some pops of colour with plants. These can be placed along the walkway and in the porch area. The trees that are actually blocking the porch/entrance should be trimmed to make the porch/the entrance the main feature. Finally, consider adding a house number that stands out.

We had extensive landscaping done and a new walkway and it made a huge difference. Left our porch railings on but took down the massive plantings and opted for lower ones. We love it! Our garage door is white though and never thought of painting it closer to the siding color to lessen its impact.....great idea!

I wouldn't want to paint the garage door because then you'll have to maintain it and have to repaint it every couple of years especially if it's a spot that gets a lot of sun. I would start by adding white shutters to the 2nd floor windows and maybe perhaps the windows on the first floor next to the garage to bring in more of the white to the left side of the house. Widening the stairs sounds like a great idea, if it's in your budget. I like the idea of a wide easy climb up to a house as it feels very welcoming and casual to me so adding a walkway up the front would be really great as well, again, if this is in the budge for you. Finally, painting the front door a brighter color would definitely help lighten up the porch area too. Looks like you have a lovely home there. Best of luck!

Lots of potential!!! I would add hardware to garage door/ black ironwork and above garage add decorative wood trim in pediment/triangular soffit. Then add laticework on mud room/ breezeway wall. Dormers would be great above windows but also agree that a really nice walkway would also help.next I would put some really great lighting on porch as well as lanterns along stairway. I also agree a larger curved set of stairs and rails would welcome guests in. Put some really nice planters grouped around bottom of stairs and add a couple of beds with mulch and plantings. Add spot lights lighting up the features to create illusion of height.

If you love the color of your blue door I'd put the same blue on shutter avoe the porch (3) and on the window next to the garage. I'd first try changing the top panel of your garage to have windows before deciding to paint it the gray. I'd change the lights on either side of your garage and next to your front door to something a little beefier; they seem way too small for the size of your garage door. I'd pull out all those bushes in front of the porch because the cover up the white railing too much and plant colorful flower bed with a nice mix of flower that bloom at different times of the growing season, making sure you put in some blue tall & white taller ones in the background, mixed with whatever other colors you may like.

For our home, updating the garage door made world of difference. Maybe something like this? You could also add a pergola-like detail, which would also allow you to soften this area of the home with a climbing rose or climatis.

You can also just add decorative, carriage-style bracket hardware to the garage to add some character.

Here's the before and after for our garage. (And yes, we've since updated the roof AND the driveway.)

Paint the front door and garage door black. I thought my painter was crazy but it really pops. Why not shutters just on top and the window by the porch? Take a pucture and draw shutters ti see how looks. Also try window box under the windows upstairs and tge one by garage.

Fans on the porch. Hanging ferns. Annual flowers in pots at the bottom of the stairs. Stone or brick walk.

Great looking house but no accent color as you say. There are color specialists that are great with doing this stuff like a dark wine or raspberry color (see that sounds horrific doesn't it?). Copper is a great accent for a style home like yours but it pretty $$. Some of those paver stone examples are great! Pull color from the pavers.

Everything depends on your budget. Many changes can be made in steps as budget permits. The farmhouse style has its' charm but I would add shutters in a bright accent colour to the upper windows and the window by the garage to generate interest. I would paint the porch swing the same bright shade or a shade within the same range. I would paint the garage door and the peak above it two shades darker than the house colour (similar to the roof colour). Then I would widen the front steps to the existing posts and add a second wide set of stairs at the right side of the porch. I would group 3 pots of flowering plants on either side of the front steps and on the side of the other steps that faces the road. I would consider painting the flower pots different colours that contrast with the flowers they contain. If you don't want flower pots on the stairs you could opt for flower boxes attached at intervals to the outer side of the railing. A curving walkway to the front steps in flagstone or pavers would add an inviting element. You could first lay out a garden hose or rope to shape the path first and mark along the rope with spray paint once you like the shape. Having done this myself, I would suggest that a few, meandering shallow curves are better than too many or too tight curves. If you want to change the character of the house you could cover the siding above the porch and on the garage with cedar shakes painted the same colour as the siding for a New England feel. Finally, I would Punctuate the current landscaping with plants that bring in more contrast I.e. varied shades of green and different heights so that it is less monochromatic and predictable. Sorry to be so long-winded but this is a passion for me.

Paint garage door same color of house
Add scalloped siding to triangle above garage door (painted white)
Add shutters to 2nd floor windows and window to the left of garage
Add large flower box to newly shuttered window left of garage
Too much landscaping right in front of house, relocate 50%
Add hanging ferns to front porch.

Regarding your question about widening the front steps: Consider how they are used.

3' width is fine for one person (our shoulders are 2' wide),

therefore 4.5'-5' for a couple, arm in arm,

6'-8' for your kid's classmates rushing out to play or hit the road to the park, with skate boards or backpacks under or over their arms.

cascio.offsite@gmail.com

Re: reply about comment suggesting widening the front steps: this suggestion has little to do with function and more to do with increasing curb appeal which is what my comment was addressing.

Paint the garage door or change its looks in some way so it doesn't stick out so much. Add some hanging plants or some sort of hanging decoration to add color to the porch. There's a lot of big round bushes which I'm not sure are adding anything, but I wouldn't know what to replace them with. Two would be nice for both ends of the porch stairs, but I'm not sure about the others. Add a walkway (Looking at the pictures it is not evident if you even have one.)

Your house is lovely but you need to establish the porch/entryway as the focal point. Right now, because the porch is dark and the garage door so white, our eyes are drawn to the garage. I would focus first on landscaping and see how you feel about the look. If it were my home I would do the following,

1. Landscaped path through lawn to front steps.

2. Lots of shrubs in front of porch can they be trimmed to be more like a hedge? and then put some colorful plants or shrubs in front of them.

3. Change to pillows on your porch bench to pop with some color-Home Goods has some fun inexpensive ones-look for a color that is complementary to the color of the house. (opposite side of color wheel.) Turn bench to face street and add colorful planters to porch.

4. I would not change the driveway as some people recommend. It is a large driveway and bricks etc. are going to look very busy and distract us from the porch. Your asphalt is in good condition, spend your money elsewhere.

5. I would tone down the white on the garage or paint it to match the house.

6. Add shutters to top story windows and the one to the left of the garage. Those are the only ones we see from the street i believe.

Good Luck!

Add a window box under the window of the room next to the garage and lots more flowering colorful bushes.

Not anything new to add but imo painting the garage door to match (or a degree lighter), upstairs shutters, hanging plants and replacing the globe shaped foundation plants with boxwood or some other lower growing plant would go a long way. Some beautiful walks pictured and the idea of pavers at the side of your driveway would be a nice touch, too.

Add shutters, paint the garage door a shade darker than the house that match the shutters, widen the entrance to the front porch and add faux stone on the base of each porch post. Make the posts a little larger to give it a grander look. Add a stone path to the driveway and to the street. I would add a flag mounted to one of the front entry posts and large house numbers on the opposite entry post. Add larger light fixtures on the garage. The house has good bones and great potential!

I agree paint garage door same as house, shutters upstairs windows-white to bring the railing color up and out. widening stairs to posts and if in budget beefing up all the posts, cobalt planters at bottom of stairs, would not put hanging ferns it would close in the porch more( to me anyways) however white wicker or cobalt tall planters on porch so that plants/flowers show over top of railing. wider walkway, another cobalt planter by window between garage and porch. Thin shrubs in front of porch too many with plain green, I can't tell if they are cedars or boxwood. Generally you should have odd numbers of each type of shrub or plant. The large house numbers on wall beside front door. lighting on porch. lights on each side of garage door should be twice the size they are now. The tree in front of window beside garage will grow too big and will die and/or wreak havoc with your siding and foundation. Oh yeah, keep the blue pillows but add in a pillow that is yellow, red, fuchsia, coral or other bright color that you love to add a pop. Also accents in the same bright colour on the porch. eg. vase on an accent table beside door, colorful floor cloth or accent rugs. remember to post pics when you make some changes. good luck.

i would look at a new design for porch rails, chippendale, and others, just search porch railings. agree about opening up and have wide steps to door entry...

Would you consider skylights in your porch roof? Judging from the tree's shadow, your house spends some time in the sun. Three skylights would provide natural light to a dark area all porches create. Ok - it's a bit extreme.

Hi Dillie,

I haven't read the other comments, but this is what I might do. Find a rich cream colour - gray and cream look very warm and inviting. I would cover most of the white with the cream with the exception of the eves, gutters and front door - I would find a darker gray which goes with both the main & trim colour. We painted our home last summer with three colors and it has transformed our home. It looks amazing. I would also add some plants on the stairs leading up to the house and on the porch as well as in the front gardens on either side of the stairs and the garden along the driveway. I would select a combination of floral perennials, which will bloom at different times from spring to late fall. If you are a Costco member, they have great deals on bulbs as well as plant materials - either in store or on line. I hope you find the suggestions helpful, good luck - our homes are a work in progress : - )

Sometimes less is more. Have you considered adding some luscious plant, and getting rid of other plants. Also add some color. Your house is painted Green, and your grass is green and all the shrubs. It all blends in, you need to make some things colorful. Such as colorful pillows on chairs on the front porch, some colorful flowers. I wouldnt hang too much. If you hang flowers off the windows you cant really see that, and iff you hang off the railing then it might fall off during bad weather. ,,00

Check out this ideabook from houzz.com - http://houzz.com/sr/m=7/u=L2lkZWFib29rcy80NTc1MTE1Ng==

Not sure that removing the railing is a good idea, probably building code because of raised porch. How about switching out the railing or removing some balusters (if within code) and trimming it out with an arts and crafts style columns, caps, etc? Garage door needs addressed. Paint it gray for sure....it can be slightly darker, but not much! Or arts and crafts style garage carriage doors. A lamp post with arts and crafts lantern. Your choices so far lend themselves to that style.

A hangling garden trellis hung from your porch would add some beauty and color to your porch area.