How unfortunate! Who designed those stairs!!!!! Agree with The Color Purple, all white like the trim may be way to go. Then get a good landscaper to make a plane so you don't block all those lower windows.

Is the house on a foundation?? What is under the left side? I would seriously consider getting the porch/stairs taken care of . This will always be a problem until this issue is corrected.

house is on foundation.

If it was my home I would certainly bring down that entrance to the ground level and get rid of those stairs; for many obvious reasons it is not practical at all.

If you can not, than depending on the climate you have there I would think twice before I start planting bushes & shrubs, as suggested above and also, not to close the view, light of the windows on the ground floor which seems quite low.

I would suggest to fill up the front of the stairs with some easy to maintain shrubs suitable to your zone, to cover the first level of the stairs. A mixture of plants that will provide "cover" all year round as well as "joy" with colourful flowers. Hydrangeas alternated with some evergreen bushes and one vine that will spread up and gradually merge with the stairs while providing flowers end even scent maybe; consider rather an evergreen one such as a honeysuckle or a rose. In the future you can also add an arch from the two sides of the first steps to allow the vine to climb which will smoothen the hight of the second flight of stairs.

But beware of anything that grows too tall vertically not to highlight the hight of the entrance. Keep it at the first flight of stairs. Immediately in front of those shrubs plant some lower growing plants to form an island, gradually extending out to two sides.

Additionally consider planting the two corners of the house with some relatively high shrubs at the corners to smooth the sharpness of the house.

To further distract the eye from the boldness of the house and the staircase , later you can choose and dot the remaining front yard with some rather slow & low growing trees such as ornamental fruit trees for flower in the spring or conifers for evergreen effect.

Since it is a matter of personal taste, you would know better along with the zone you live in, the amount of work/time you wish to spend on gardening, or the amount of water you have.

Good luck :-)

I think the railing is the problem. If you replace the railing with a wood one with white painted posts and rails the same color as the trim and deck the same color as the shutters. Then the porch will look substantial more in porportion with your house. Add foundation plants, a tree or two and stone walkways. Do you have room for a circular drive way in front?

Old post. Nice House. Difficult entry.

Just curious:

What did you do?

Do you usually enter through a back ground level door?

Would this side of the house be a good side for a full front porch? Sunny in winter or shady in summer?

If so, and ( budget permitting, of course) building a 6' deep porch all the way across the front of the house with one set of steps aimed toward the driveway (from beside the center of the porch, and with the other side of the porch floor and roof also extend to the outer edge of the steps --porch roof covering both porch and steps and walk ... reusing the railing of course -- might be worth considering at some point.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Colonial+country+split+level+houses+with+full+front+porch&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiErrTBg9_rAhUCVFkKHagzDpwQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=Colonial+country+split+level+houses+with+full+front+porch&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQDFCafFiPhgFgzZkBaABwAHgAgAGaAYgBpQmSAQM5LjOYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=4VZaX8S5CYKo5QKo57jgCQ&bih=654&biw=1366&client=firefox-b-1-d#imgrc=TQRZErN72ol85M

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/409616528588471338/

Do you have after pics you could post?