Really cute house- you must be so excited! Could you send more photos? What does the house look like from the front of the house? Where is the front path and driveway if there is one? Also, what is "reprinting a home"? Thanks!

Looks like a nice warm climate where you could put a little bench and potted flowers and get some color on to the porch.

Repainting....so sorry ! Ok I will send another picture

Yes, it would be good to see what the house looks like from the street. Thanks

This is from the front please help thank you !!

Think she was trying to type repainting . . with a gold roof, and the darling porch arches / I'm not sure I would repaint .. unless it was white . you want to stay lighter than the roof. Just pick your favorite accent shade from inside, find a deep shade of it - around 25 LRV and paint your front door - shutters should be board and batten, and not sure you want then - wide enough to cover windows will take out the entry light and mailbox . . .you could do a one sided one on the little window though which would be charming .

.if you left the pale straw color, you could get a French country look with a soft denim blue . . something like . bm winter lake . . and a front door a tad clearer . .bm Polaris blue shutters - washed on to leave the grain instead of primed . . and deeper bm providence blue for your front door . .

Zero curb appeal ....the new paint will help but I'm not sure how to help update the home without major hard scaping or landscaping at the moment ...

I'd demolish the block fence out front. Is that extension a garage? Looks like that may have been a front door at one time - even has the little roof over it. What's the floor plan look like? We might be able to find a good location for a new entry down the road.

Plant something trailing at the top of your retaining wall so it spills over it - trailing rosemary is one good drought tolerant option . . shutters may conflict with your braces in front . . a window box is a good alternative . .this is a darling French country sort of storybook cottage ..

Yes we chose a natural taupe for the house...and ordered board and batten shutters ....replay to reprint due to chipping. Ooh I love French county ....let me send a better/closer picture of the home now

Trust me - this is integrated. You have windows with muntins, storybook cottage fascia trim in your gable, braces at the posts, even a shelf under the mini window on the façade by the front door . . your house is better than most .. This is the standard builder plan from original deco for storybook cottages . . very popular in the 50's in SoCal - but she has good windows for it . .

Post your siding color so I can suggest better shutter and entry door colors .. white windows mean white trim is the best choice for this genre.

Is there enough room around the corner to add a wrap around verandah? Add some decorative brackets and one end of pallets for hanging rectangular planters. A small seating area of wicker makes for a welcoming entry. People won't even notice the door is off to the side. Can you post more pictures of side and how does your driveway enter into the property? Straight run in from road? Curved?

This window to the far right will have the shutters

Oh - I see what Deco means - the front was a garage originally but has been enclosed . you want to tear the concrete out where the drive used to go into the garage .. you can sawcut it so the car can park next to the house entry on the left and do a paver court here with additional planting in the ground next to the new house wall . .

In So Cal these houses were called "Robin Hood" homes. French Country and Shabby Chic goes well with architecture.

Yes I'm in so cal and I LOVE storybook! You are exactly correct the previous owners converted the garage to a den ☹️ So an old sliding door is there now. We have not budgeted to reconvert it yet, that is a longterm goal of ours. It's so awkward to me....yes let me tell you our color scheme and please any advice would help. I'd love to change our door out too !! Should I add rails to our porch ??

Robin Hood...wow thank you Rainey

These are the colors we are planning ....any advice ?

The white car is parked in front on the driveway which extends to the street. Wow excellent suggestions !! We would love to convert that area back into a garage , but that is pricey. It's just odd to have the sliding door and window there now. Especially because it is not used to ended the house at all. Man what a headache, but listening to you advice gives me hope. I am so grateful !! I know hardscape is needed but I am fortunate to add some curb appeal now with your help!! Xo we all are thinking stone or some other material instead of JUST stucco for the exterior ...???? Is that a good idea ? Like on the bottom half of a front facing wall (for more character)

I think it needs landscaping more than paint or decorative items. I like the present color of the house. Plant bushes to hide the retaining wall. A tree in the right side would help.

Something along this idea . Love your colours. Restful. Agree with the gardening and landscaping.

I love that housegal...its possible ! The only reason why we wanted to paint first is due to chipping Paint but these are beautiful pics. I love them ;)

i think painting would be more economical at the moment but maybe I'll get quotes regarding ideas as well. Thank you !

Any landscapers in the Southern California area

Check CLCA for landscapers: Calif Landscape Contractors Ass'n.

I would not get rid of the wall. I love the idea that was suggested about trailing plants that would look amazing!!

No stone. Not appropriate here on the house - better in the landscape. Since you have the "stone retaining wall," water down your olive door and shutter paint and wash it with that mixture - 1/3 paint / 2/3 water. Plant something that will spill over it (rosemary is great in SoCal - low water, pretty smell, nice green)

The color scheme is fine.

The sliding glass door is also fine, but needs a landscape treatment and possibly a sort of trainrack pergola on matching braces (to the porch braces) over the door on that old garage door wall - can't give away the square footage - must keep and integrate . .eventually you can convert the slider to an outswing French door or double french door slider instead so make the train rack centered on where you would really like the door to be

( .. a better solution for your curb appeal dollars)

Then it needs to be screened so it is apparent that it is private and not the front door . . . . you want to tear out all the concrete from the left end of the porch (assuming a car will be able to park there) in a curving line back to the right side of the drive where it starts to curve over . . (like a flat S curve )

look at the photo with the car in it - the drivers side of the car is just about where the new columnar hedge will go . .between the charming little window and the corner of the entry door .. draw a line parallel to the sliding glass door . . and plant a big L with a 3 gap centered on the operable side of the door itself.

Inside the hedge and outside the hedge over to the newly sawcut edge of the concrete drive, this is where you want to use stone .. here and on the porch . Patio thickness flagstone .. .. set on sand with little growies planted in the "grout joints on the patio .. grouted on the porch . ..

For the hedge, columnar ficus is great here . . but I think columnar yew uses a lot less water . . and you can buy them in columnar form and plant them in 15 gallon sizes right next to each other (where you are tearing out concrete). .. you are going to expand that room visually and give it privacy at the same time this way .. Even a 4' 6" high hedge says "this is private - don't come here - and you can eventually put an iron arch (very simple) over the entry and exit and put flowering pots of vine that will go up and over the arch . . maybe plant the ends of the train rack pergola over the door and then extend cable to the arch so the vine makes its way across .. .

the hedge will march down the side of the old garage and turn across the front just behind the face of the house .. put a smaller 4 ' flowering shrub in front of this and balance it on the other corner of the house .. . or do a row all the way across - abelia grandiflora comes to mind . .

- you can use flagstone in sand for an entry patio and interplant the "grout" joints with a little growie or moss .. .. the "Dimondia" groundcover with the little daisy flowers doesn't mind getting walked on.

Agree with all that this is mostly a landscape challenge . . You don't have to fill the entire area of concrete you cut out with flagstone .. you can plant on either side of an 8' wide curvy path to the porch on each side . ..

Olive tones for front door and shutters will work fine .. . not sure about shutter sizing at front, and think you will want to add a little square I sided shutter to small window and shutter the porch window too for continuity if you end up with shutters .. . down the left hand side of the house perhaps .. . .

Wow I Love it!! So detailed libradesigneye! So the pathway to the slider wouldn't confused guests (since the entry is on the porch ..? And the pergola fence would be parallel to the porch? /perpendicular to sliding door?

Just trying to visualize ...I love it all though

Thank you a ton for guidance !!

I def want to cover the cinder block retaining wall with plants it's an eyesore!

Again, what a great house! I think the biggest distraction to me is the car parked in front of the front door. I would make a point of putting it to the left of the house and treat the front of the porch as an inviting entranceway.

The taupe sounds terrific, maybe with a very crisp white trim all around and possible even beefing up the facia boards a little bit. You could also widen the column and arches a little and add welcoming lanterns on the left column and to the right of the "right" arch as well. I love the idea of the shutters and and also love that tiny little window, very charming.

Window boxes are a must here as well. While the area in front of the porch does provide an extra parking space, I would consider removing that concrete and creating a winding path from the driveway to your porch. If that cannot be done or is too costly, you could create a hedge or planting, running parallel to and in front of the "old garage" all the way to the driveway. That would cover that cement indentation from the road but allow the viewer to see the very inviting porch. It would also unify the 2 buildings. Good luck with your beautiful home!

No the pathway is really to the front door but there is a glimpse through the hedge of a private space with more flagstone and a larger door . . it works, I've seen it done well by landscape architects .. .I can do a quick sketch and post but need to do that at night . . gotta make my tubmans ;-) here's a quick photo though of a more French country front door . . it is that Victorian door blank that is throwing you off big time .. . obviously you can't do a new shape easily .. but the little window and planked face are easy to find in socal. just don't buy the sw rivet elements . . do some old English plant on hinge strapping instead in Oil Rubbed Bronze ..

Here's the promised sketch I did last night. If you get the concrete away from the entry, and plant a bunch of lavender and rosemary, plus larger shrubs at the front of the house and the hedge .. the hedge is probably best kept just at the sill level of the pretty little window . .that will allow privacy to the inside but won't obscure your architecture ... Then, add some flagstone flatwork and .. wowsa . .

also, I would take the (not so French country) number plaque off the post .. it isn't French country and it sort of detracts from the lovely brace .. Watch for framed tiles with numbers and put them to the left of the window on the porch but at the sill level .. I stuck this in a previous ideabook for some neighbors .. but you can search for French cottage exteriors here and take other ideas . ..

Hi! Why don’t you revitalize your lawn? I think that will give you a soothing and peaceful environment in the summer. But don't focus only on development, maintaining the lawn also takes a lot of work, like mowing at regular intervals. You also need to keep it trimmed and uniform to look good. A green and appealing lawn can make a huge difference! Contact a quality lawn care service provider for help; I recommend Landscape Structures & Designs Inc.

I like your color choice, or just go all white with that striking blue door libradesigneye showed. Darling house so many things to do!