Widening and replacing the garage door should be the easy part. Skylights on the porch would be the easiest and most attractive way to let more light in. Visualize re-configuring the front door and windows to balance better with the upstairs windows. Porch posts could be moved to positions that frame a new arrangement. Can you provide a first floor plan so we can see what might be done without major disturbance inside?

Porch skylights

NEW! Harbor View Cottage · More Info

A wider entry extended with additional windows.

Menlo Oaks Residence · More Info

Deco's house has some good ideas if you're willing to do a new roof. I removed the shutters, expanded the garage door and painted the siding as a first step.

It's not that bad. With a few architectural changes, this house could be a swan. I would suggest adding a gable at the front entrance, replace columns with craftsman tapered columns down to a stone or brick base, add some bracket and corbel details, replace shutters with tongue and groove craftsman shutter, and add a new color scheme. Let us know if our drafting team can assist you with any drawings to help you visualize all kinds of possibilities. Consultations are always free!

Hi,

So, let's talk about budget firstly. $20,000 is great for exterior cosmetic fixes and landscaping, but I don't think that would cover moving windows, siding, flooring, drywall, interior painting, etc.

Next, in regards to your garage door, yes, I see a large, medium coloured, wood look door with lites up top.

Although the windows are wonky, they are what gives each of the 3 rooms light and are symmetrical, so I wouldn't change those. However, if you want to get a more updated look, take down the shutters.

In regards to bringing in more light, installing 2 skylights in the overhang on the porch will make a huge difference.

Replace the round columns with squared medium coloured wood look to match the garage door.

A coloured front door is definitely going to make your home stand out and a warm, welcoming, weather protected entry is always perfect. Don't get rid of your front porch, just change the colours of the house.

It's absolutely amazing what you can do with paint!

Paint the upper half a lighter neutral or colour, basically a white with a tint of something like a green or yellow. Then take a true neutral like tan, taupe or brown down below. The accents can be done in white, cream or even black.

You can even paint out the red brick on the chimney stack to tie in with the house.

The final touch would be landscaping.

Curb appeal makes a huge difference! Add some nice flowering shrubs or small trees on either side of the path with lower lying ground covers. A rock garden and water feature are always fantastic. And the clincher would be to line the walkway with small flowering perennials and bordering those in with edgers for easier maintenance.

Hope that helps!:)

Duhita Speck

Specktacular Designs

www.specktaculardesigns.com

Thank you for the suggestions so far! I'm adding the first floor plan here per a request. Lots of light in the back of the house but minimal light in the front (faces north east). We'll up the budget if we have to if it means making the upstairs windows make more sense. We do likely need a new roof as there have been a couple leaks recently. (separate budget) We cannot bump anything closer to the street or make the house wider due to setbacks. And yes the plastic shutters will be the first thing to go!!

Hi - think by adding some color it will help you. I would remove the shutters and change the paint. I think the posts should be square and more substantial than they are. The new garage door should be square. I would use this photo as a guide - using the posts, colors, front door and brick step.

Could you post the upstairs plan?

I thought I posted this earlier today, but maybe you have more than one thread going for this dilemma. This would solve the lighting issue, and make for a great looking porch, as well as eliminating the need for skylights on the porch. I think you could arrange this to be more aligned with the center second floor window. Those upper windows will be less of an issue without shutters on them. Porch posts could be arranged accordingly too.

Parkwood Road Residence Living Room · More Info

wow! decoenthusiaste, you always have such good ideas! That would look really good!

Thank you cathyjoco! I think it could work with all three in the living room, or two in the living and one in the room bedroom behind the stairs.