The house and pool are lovely but I think adding to the roofline above the garage to mimic the rest of the house would help. The large black slanted roof is dominating a bit. Good luck!

I think landscaping would be a good improvement. I would probably let those bushes to the side of the garage grow naturally, not have them sheared square like that-- and, so, depending on what they are, they might grow up very elegantly against the side of the building and make it softer. I'd probably find some beautiful (non-threatening) vine and train it to go up around the door. Use the same vine to train up around the garage doors, too. And I might get some more interesting plants for the front, where the double windows are. Add some flowering trees in the yard (dogwoods or cherry or whatever grows easily in your area).

I'd remove the shutters on that one window (either remove that one, or add shutters to the other windows-- but I'm not a big fan of shutters, so I'd just remove that one). Consider replacing the garage doors with carriage-style doors (?). They can still go up overhead, but carriage style doors offer a nicer, friendlier look. Lastly, you might think about painting the brick-- though that would be the last thing I'd consider, after testing out some of these other ideas. I do love the back yard, and I think the front really needs minor things done to make it seem softer and more inviting.

My 2 cents. :)

The red brick would look so much classier with some gray
like this one :

Extending the landscape bed on the left side of the house and adding some different plant material with seasonal color will make a huge difference. The swimming pool looks really nice. Once those palms grow up a bit you will have your own backyard tropical oasis!

I agree new garage doors, the fancier look. . Remove all the large shrubs. Paint shutter black or dark gray. I think it would look plain without a shutter and I would add another set on the upper level. If you want paint all the trim, maybe a taupe or darker gray.

Love sweet Caroline's suggestion! Stunning!

Love dianahb's idea of changing out the garage doors to carriage-style. That might help draw the eye away from the roof line.

Agree about adding or remove the sutter and the flowering trees!

Hi, I'd add shutters to the remaining windows, remove the boxy hedges and opt for different landscaping.

Good landscape would add a lot of appeal. Here's my doodle of an idea for it .

TJP Designs: Very helpful graphic and great idea about that gable, which echoes the smaller gable up above the door. I really like that. That addition could be huge, I think.

About the gray paint. I like Sweet Caroline's idea there, too, though your brick isn't dark like the example shown. I'm guessing the tan was chosen to pull out the tan in your brick, but it does appear you have a slightly darker color in there, which looks possibly like a gray (?)-- so you could use a gray color-- instead of the tan-- that might seem warmer, too.

P.S. Can you have the odd shaped siding removed and matching brick added to the front ?

I would not remove your shrubbery. They look mature and that takes time. If a gardener comes by, they will see POTENTIAL and salivate with their pruners in hand And ideas in mind.
The shrubs look like yews; knowing what they are will help.

With shrubs, you can prune them down, thin them out , reduce their dimensions.. Many garden sites will work with you FREE if you buy some plants; others will tell you what to do.... FREE as well.. Then go do it. Landscape architects are worth their weight in gold, but it may be the way for the new owner.


Soften your curb appeal, exude welcome and warmth further with color and some complimentary plants.

Pauline P I am not only a landscape designer but a master gardener and see no potential whatsoever - those shrubs would be the first thing I'd get rid of . Why ? Number 1 - They are thin and you can see right thru them so I'd guess that they are not yews which tend to be very dense. No. 2 - They don't look good hugging the foundation.

If closing on the house and the start of your mortgage leaves you with very little $ to work with and you could do only one thing to improve the front, I'd suggest planting a tree right there in that circle of slightly darker grass in the foreground of your picture. Get the healthiest, most mature tree you can afford, and treat it well. Its branches and leaves will almost immediately help soften the straight lines of the house and existing shrubs, and if you choose a tree with seasonal interest, its Fall foliage and/or warm-weather flowers or winter 'berries' will also add a needed color element. Your nursery can help you choose the tree; you can bring in this photo to show them, and you can also do a very inexpensive soil test yourself, or get a reference from the nursery. Once you're settled and more money is coming in to work with, you can then delve into the other landscaping (that not only works with the front of the house, but ties into your backyard landscaping as well), and any additions or siding changes.

Hi sweet.... Plants are beautiful and they come in so many different varieties and even the way they are raised affects their habit and growth.
I agree we have different perspectives, but that is what makes design so fascinating.

It is like the show Love it or Leave it, or Extreme Makeover.
Visions are creative and I also like your multi faceted design above. Widening the walk way says come in!

Agree with sweet--the hedges are ugly and I would definitely remove those first... Growing hedges or vines or even trees right next to the house is generally not a great idea--great place for mice and all sorts of little critters to build nests and find ways up to your roof and into your home. If you aren't into gardening and want relatively easy plants to care for, why not go for a much softer look for the front? I'm not sure which region your house is, but using a variety ornamental grasses would look beautiful IMO.

I agree to get rid of,the shrubs. They,look unhealthy because they are thin. Your front will immediately look cheerful once you pull them out. I have experienced most landscapers want to get rid of old shrubbery because it takes away from the fresh new look they are achieving. There is nothing that can make them get better. They block the front window. They look old and drag down the look of the house. You can't trim them because they are so thin. You may be able to trim the top but they will still look thin. A tree would really help as Sweet Caroline suggested.

I don't know what the shrubbery is, but I do think that if they were allowed to grow naturally (not sheared into their present totally unnatural state), they would look better and probably grow thicker-- specifically the ones next to the garage. The ones in front of the window I might trade out for something else, but-- again-- the ones by the garage might look just fine if allowed to grow like plants do (and that's typically not squared off at the top and sides). Depending on what they are, they could grow taller and soften the side of the garage.

I would work on landscaping for now, and putting in the garage doors with windows. But in the long run I would seriously consider not just a gable, but a full second floor addition over the garage, with nice windows and an arched roof line to match the roof on the main house. That huge sloping expanse of garage roof is the culprit in making the front of the house look awkward.

I agree with "Sweet Caroline" remove the hedges. These are planted to close to your foundation and will cause you problems in the future. I suggest for the side of the garage to go big and try an espalier that can grow up to 2/3 of the height of the wall. May I suggest Gaultheria (winter green). This fast growing ground cover can also be easily be trained to climb and provides a variety of color since the leaves change with the season and also produce small white flowers, then red berries. This would balance the height of the wall with the landscape. As for the hedge in front of the window. Removing this will give you options for an ornamental flowering tree placed out from the left corner of the house, then expand the flower beds in front of the window. Most people make these beds too small for the size of the house. Try to mix perennials that will bloom from spring to fall with a few annuals. Make sure you vary the height of the plants. Don't forget a few perennial herbs as anchors to the bed.

Boxy, clumpy hedges are really only appropriate in something like a European formal knot garden, but they rarely work as good foundation plantings. You do often see manicured ones with Colonial style homes, but I'd remove all of them and clean out the bed as well. Replace the sharply angled walk with a more curvy one - not concrete. Then you'll expand the bed into the curve where a nice Japanese maple might look good with another one out from the windows. I prefer a more loosely arranged bed something like this, but as you see, it will fill in over time.

That's my friend Anna's home and garden, decoenthisiaste :-) Very nice.

Am always sharing it as one of my favorites. Did you landscape it? Great job! How old is the bed? Love the way the pics show it at different stages.

decoenthisiaste: Beautiful garden and home.

I love it but didn't know it belonged to Sweet Caroline's friend. She hasn't confessed as to whether or not she landscaped it.

Wow, I'm surprised she didn't own up to doing it herself. Anna is a true master gardener and plantswoman.

Pulling the gray color out of the brick is the answer for the paint color (in lieu of the beige). The bushes in the front of the house need to grow together instead of the small space in between. I agree with the others that the landscaping beside the garage should be changed. A trellis alongside the brick also painted gray would look lovely with a vine growing on it. Be careful in choosing your vine that it will cascade over the trellis... then add a mid level hedge with color (reds/greens are available that change colors depending on the season)... then the lower level should be for seasonal flowers of your choice. This can be lovely... with a few tweaks. Last, I think the shutters above the front door and the front door itself should be painted a deeper shade of gray than the garage and remaining trim and the 3 front windows (facing the street) should have similar shades or window treatments to give it a cohesive look from the outside. Good luck with your new home!

My type of landscaping is similar to the type decoenthusiaste posted. The variation in height, color and textures makes it interesting and eye catching. I agree the bushes are over sculpted and look hedge-like. I too would remove those..the others look to similar..not enough variation...changing out those plants alone will improve things much!

Decoenthisaste I may have misunderstood your question above. Did you mean to say if I did the landscaping for Anna ? The answer is no. I just moved down here to N.C. from Chicago and knew Anna from our garden blogging community. She did her very own landscaping which I think looks very nice.

Sweet Caroline GD - Well I post it all the time!

Love the idea of the gables. Carriage doors are a great way to go for the garage as well, but another thought is Wrought Iron or French Porte...

In addition to other suggestions made here I would add a portico over the front door with a copper roof. http://porticokit.com/