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I'd extend the deck across the entire front! Extending covering is your call but would change its look considerably ... And if you can do the work yourself, you may meet your budget targeted cost.

House has great potential!! Good luck !

We installed a full glass Anderson storm door here at the house we're leaving. I think that would be much better than what's there now.

What's wrong with shutters? Other than the color, I mean.

I agree the porch could be extended across front of house. I would stain it in a natural wood color, and paint the front door a light, bright color to make it pop from underneath the porch roof. The porch railing should be a color to match or compliment the door color; I would stain the spindles and posts to match the porch floor.

I also have pets and appreciate why you want to keep the storm door, BUT - have you considered a Dutch door? You get pet security with a nice looking door.

Questions about the appropriateness of shutters come up all the time on this site. So often shutters are simply stuck on houses that would actually look better without them. Check out this article:

http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/residential-architecture-101-shutters/

But it's your house. Keep them if you like them.

lyricfox, the link from flopsycat will tell you, but shutters should be sized so they'd cover the window when closed if they were actually functional. I'd say about 90% of shutters I see are the wrong size. We have friends who even put them on a garden window, of all things.

Your house is just adorable. You're very lucky to have such neutral colors to work with, including the roof. Your siding color is really nice...looks kind of taupe-ish on my screen I think a slate blue or black door would be pretty with the siding color and some white trim. .

I find the porch roof looks like something borrowed from another building and just stuck on. Here are some tweaks you might consider...

Add a bit of gingerbread

Change the porch roof to a fabric awning
Brighten the door and simplify the roof above it
In the future doll it up with new windows, shutters and some fun gables.

I think it is a cute house. Spend that 10 k on the inside. The outside is fine.

HI -- I grew up near a neighborhood with these war time bungalows and people are fixing them up now . I would do a full front veranda width of house with a peaked gable in the middle ,over the entrance . All white with a cedar floor and stairs and ceiling .

One of the things I forgot to mention (and it's a major oops) is there will need to be a wheelchair ramp built. That's one reason the side entrance on the porch works well for me. I know it's hard to make a wheelchair ramp inconspicuous, but if the entrance is changed to the front, there will be a big old honking ramp with a turn, and I'm pretty sure that would be worse than one going up the side.

How high is your front door from the ground? Looks about 24 inches? That means your ramp needs to be 24 feet long. Can you build it parallel to the front porch, running out to the drive that way? Looks to me like that should work.

Carol,

I honestly don't know. Sounds weird, but we're buying a house sight unseen. We're currently in Dallas and relocating. This house is in northeastern Ohio.

I like this idea. I'm not in a wheelchair yet (Use a rolling walker) and may never be, but I need to plan ahead.

l think the porch needs work. A new rail design makes a big difference if you can't start over. I see a nice porch that would fit. I'll drop a sketch if I get time

Alexander,

Thank you so much. There will be a wheelchair ramp coming off the drive (not sure how long it will need to be. I'm assuming I can paint the stiles and handrail so it blends more into the design.

What a cute house! I live in NE Ohio, so I am familiar with the type of home you have purchased. You are smart to think ahead regarding accessibility issues. If you can accommodate a ramp to the side door, that would be perfect, but...if not, reality should take precedence over style. I, too, have read all of the articles on shutters. BUT!!!!!!!!! I am committing a HOUZZ crime here... Homes built in the 1950s, which, I suspect, this one was built, HAD shutters. Indeed, if one is historically accurate for 1950s Cape Cod tract Colonials, they SHOULD have shutters! So...someday, in the future, when these homes hit historic registers....shutters will be imperative. Just saying...! I would, however, lose the ones on the picture window. But keep the ones on the front left window. Paint them a lovely sage green. And then add a punch of color to the front door. A bittersweet, perhaps? I understand the need for a full storm door. I, too, have a dog whose command position is at the front door. He needs to observe the other creatures in the neighborhood, Do a full glass front storm door. But be prepared for slobber... Congratulations on your new home!

Ptreckel,

We haven't actually purchased it yet. We have two other houses (a Cape and a ranch of indeterminate style) that we're looking at, but this is the one I'm really leaning towards. I use a walker, so the ramp is necessary.

Won't the house look odd with just one set of shutters?

The white window and door frames stick out, but for no reason other than that's probably how they came originally. The shutters are way too narrow and too close to the house color. I'd get properly sized shutters, a bit darker, and paint the window & door frames to match.

I'd make the porch and roof more substantial columns. Do not put a fabric awning on in its place! They look temporary and tacky. Plus, you don't have enough clearance above the door to put an awning up that has enough slope.

If you're putting in a ramp, I'd add a porch that spans the length of the ramp (in which case I'd remove the shutters on the right-side window).

I don't think that one set of shutters on the left window will look odd. The windows are not the same size. When I suggested a sage green, I didn't realize that yours were painted sage green, perhaps a more intense version if that? A deeper, richer green so that there is a definite contrast with the house color. You could play with the color of the front door.., and when you get around to landscaping, I can see yellow tulips and lilacs in the spring, hostage and New Guinea impatiens in the summer....colors that will stand out against the taupe of your home. Good luck in your decision making....

Don't paint the vinyl. All you need to do is change shutters and color. Maybe a color that matches the roof. Definitely darker. Change porch railing and color. Paint front door, color depending on what shutter color you choose. Door color should pop. Good luck. Cute house.

I'm leaning towards replacing the shutters (and maybe removing the ones from the picture window) and painting them sage green. There's an area within the window frame that was painted sage green prior to these photos, and I think going back to that will help.

Not sure if I can expand the porch at this time (and may not need to if there's a door from the garage into the house). but I know replacing the storm door is really needed.

What about a door color and color for the porch?

Sometimes people put vinyl over good siding. It might be worth a look and see what you have under it.

Alex

About 10k is a workable budget for your goal. Your home has
a small but quaint coach house feel to it. Start by opening up your entrance,
eliminate the awning, install an on grade Interlock brick landing with 6ft wide
steps up to your door. Expand the size of your interlock landing to the closest
edges of each window on both sides. With a depth or distance away from the
house of about 12 feet, in an “about” perfect square shape and dimension
subject to width apart of the windows.

Better utilize planting spaces immediately against the home,
and accentuate these areas with PRO Aluminum Edge.

As an additional consideration, give thought to reversing
your colour scheme. Entertain the idea of painting the home the darker colour
and the window and door accepts the lighter colour.

I think definitely paint the door a bright color and add a really stunning light fixture. You only need 1 so it won't cost a fortune. Check out these! And, please, we'd love to help. Good luck on the house hunting. Cheers!

adorable house. love the tree. all I would do is change out the door to something prettier with a storm door with a hidden pull down screen (great with pets they can't get high enough to tear screen), update light fixture, and plant Russian sage along the house. all under $1000.

I wonder if they even bought this house last year. I would love an update about what they did. . .?

@Carol: We didn't buy this house. As it turned out, all the available photos didn't represent what the condition of the house was. It had all the pipes and electrical pulled out of it and mold from water damage throughout the house. I was totally pissed.

We ended up buying this house last year:

https://www.redfin.com/OH/Youngstown/1836-S-Schenley-Ave-44511/home/71986581

Nice choice, Donna! Thanks for getting back to us.

It looks great, Donna! Wow...the price for that house here in Southern CA could be at least 7 times more or so. Real estate is crazy here!

It wasn't quite as advertised. The 2 guest rooms were quite a bit smaller than the sheet we looked at, and that made a big difference. Probably wouldn't have bought it if we'd known. That said we do really like it, and we LOVE the area. Wish we'd moved to Ohio sooner. :)

One of the first things we did was take those green shades off the outside which made a HUGE difference. Had to redo the bathroom to accommodate my disability, but we kept the funky pink and black tile. That just fit with the vibe of the house.

Depends what style you're interested in.

Donna, I'm glad for you...and loving the area is so important! :-)