Landscaping/house color/front porch columns

10 years ago

We are getting a new roof and painting our exterior in the near future and would like to replace the columns. Would you change from round columns to simple squared posts? I like the house gray but would prefer a more neutral gray and less blue....paint color (name) suggestions? I like white trim and black shutters...keep the front door black or change to another color? Finally, the trees feel too overgrown. Take out the tree closest to the house? What about the 2 trees in the yard? Suggestions for landscaping on either side of the porch? It's a
north facing house and doesn't receive much sunlight during the day. Thanks for all feedback!

Featured Answer

gtcircus

10 years ago

OK, here are some simple things to do to spiff up the exterior.

1. Raise the canopy to let the light in. That means taking lower limbs off the trees so you can see the house. The other poster was absolutely correct. You can get a simple tree saw and sealer at the hardware store. Trees have to have the canopy raised routinely.

2. Power wash the concrete. You may need to use an acid - but check as to what works with your concrete. This is not my area of expertise. Once the concrete is really clean - SEAL IT. If the concrete is cracked and damaged, consider a top coat over the existing pad to update it.

3. Paint the front door a color. A bright color. Red, hot pink, green, blue. But a color!!! Right now it looks like you enter through a black hole.

4. The sidewalk needs to go because you are correct -it is too straight, it is too close to the house and it is really limiting your landscaping. I would get bids to replace it to see how much it would cost and then decide. Remember - if you can wait til August/September the landscapers start to slow down. I have all my landscape and hard scape done November - February and I get a great deal because they need the work. It is also a better time in your zone to plant - the fall.

5. You are in a perfect location for the Encore Azaleas. They love the acidic soil and love zone 7. Being on the north side of the house will help as they don't like hot direct sun all day.

6. The north side will limit you, along with the trees on the perennials but not to worry. There are lots that will work and look beautiful:

Hostas
Astilbe
Coral Bells
Hardy Plumbago
Impatients/Dizzy Lizzie's (annual)
Asiatic lillies
Bleeding heart
Hydrangea
Astilbe

7. If available, use pecan hulls with Preen to keep the weeding way down as mulch. This will reduce watering and weeding.

8. Consider having the sidewalk go to the street AND the driveway.

I'll work on the photos tonight. Your yard reminds me of my first house and I absolutely loved the yard because it was so manageable. And you can make it a 'doll house' with a magical yard with minimal effort. Rather than trying to pack a lot of different plants in, it will be important to keep it simple but with a lot of "wow." And no I'm not a landscaper or in the business, I just love gardening.

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Comments (25)

gtcircus
10 years ago
Ok, you need to add moulding above the door because the Windows do not line up with the windows and it makes the front look off. Please put an architectural shingle on the house.
gtcircus
10 years ago
Also consider extending the porch across the front instead of half the front.
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gtcircus
10 years ago
Sorry, the top of the Windows do not line up with the top of the door. It's getting late and I'm tired. Sorry.
jdail thanked gtcircus
jdail
Original Author
10 years ago
I like your idea of adding moulding above the door, that makes sense. I hadn't noticed the door and windows not lining up. We're not interested in changing the siding or extending the roof line to continue the porch on the other side, but I appreciate your feedback.
gtcircus
10 years ago
Can you take a photo a a little further back and tell me what zone you are in (growing zone) and I can provide some additional computer enhanced ideas. I am a master gardener, but love playing with landscapes as my recreational relaxation. Also let me know your color choices (pink blues purple versus red, yellow, orange) And what kind of look are you going for? English garden, formal, cottage?
gtcircus
10 years ago
To give you a visual, here is a rather simple plan - without knowing anything about your site conditions or zone.
jdail thanked gtcircus
gtcircus
10 years ago
Here are some roof shingles that would look nice on your homes.
jdail
Original Author
10 years ago
I'm in zone 7b, north facing house so not a lot of sun for the front landscaping. We chose Timberline Charcoal roof shingles. I would love to rip up our concrete walkway and replace it with a curved path to make room for more plants but have no idea how much that costs and we have a limited budget. Thanks for your help!
jdail
Original Author
10 years ago
And as far as colors, I could go either way. I like red/yellow but also like purple/pink, so that may depend on the color we choose for the front door. Thinking about red or turquoise for front door, but open to suggestions.
emmarene9
10 years ago
The trees need to be limbed up. Since the house faces North I would consider removing the one close to the house as I suspect it is blocking light.

You can experiment with colors on the various paint sites. I made this image at Benjamin Moore. Remember, in getting away from blue gray, you may end up with brown gray or green gray.

Do you have acid soil?
jdail thanked emmarene9
jdail
Original Author
10 years ago
Yes, very acidic soil. I would lean towards brown gray vs green gray. I like these colors, perhaps not as dark. Thanks for your feedback!
gtcircus
10 years ago
Also, what is on the right side of the house as you face it? Woods? It looks rather overgrown - do you have a house next door, close?
jdail thanked gtcircus
gtcircus
10 years ago
Here is another plan. Remember, azaleas would not be blooming at the same time as the other plants so it would not be this loud.
jdail thanked gtcircus
gtcircus
10 years ago
Here is another view, this time the azaleas are NOT in bloom. The flowers across the front are coral bells. In the other version it was an annual dusty miller. You can put a window box under the window to the left, but it did not look right on this program. I also added a cute picket white fence. Enjoy! Hope it gives you some ideas.
jdail thanked gtcircus
jdail
Original Author
10 years ago
So many good tips, thank you! Really nice of you to offer your expertise. In the blink of an eye we've lived here 11 years and we're realizing everything needs our attention!

To the right of the house is a knock out rose bush and river birch tree (which needs to be cut back or down...leaning towards the house), small crepe Myrtle and also a small (but overgrown) landscaped area with a magnolia tree and other plants/shrubs, and then our neighbor's yard (which is impeccable). our neighbor also built a cottage "man cave" in his backyard which you can see a little in the picture.

I like the idea of waiting until fall for the walkway and planting. In the meantime we'll paint the exterior, cut back limbs, add color to the front door, replace the columns with square posts and add pots with colorful flowers to the porch.
jdail
Original Author
10 years ago
I love your plans...so fun to see what some color would look like in our front yard! I really like azaleas, hydrangeas, and all of your suggestions. The walkway to the street looks great, but there is a tree directly in front of our front door so we'd have to plan around it or take it down. So helpful to see what it could look like, thank you!
gtcircus
10 years ago
Loose the river birch. It's a mess, has surface roots and will tear up your house foundation. The only place it should ever be planted is 250 yards away from a house. In a wind storm or ice storm you will have it crashing on your house. I love the area off to the right and it is screaming for a flowering tree. The magnolia can also make a mess, but it affords great protection for birds and other wide life. And the flowers are heavenly. I'll play with the side yard. The renderings are hard to do without a site visit and are meant to give you ideas on how the house might look. Most people have a terrible time visualizing landscape, so the landscape program is fun to just play around and inspire. I know it was hard for me to commit to tearing out my yard in order to get it back up to snuff. Spend this summer planning, pick out what you want and then start talking to a landscaping contractor in August/September. In Zone 7, you will not want to plant until November anyway. And I guess the picket fence was a no???? I though it would be adorable with your house and you could put annuals in front if you have sidewalks. The perfect yard for you is a natural garden that makes you smile when you drive up. Remember grass is what takes time to maintain, not flower beds (if installed properly.)
jdail thanked gtcircus
gtcircus
10 years ago
Loose the tree in the middle that is blocking the view of your door. Keep the other tree on the side by the driveway. You can also put in small sidewalk from the driveway to the main sidewalk. I put in a sidewalk from the driveway to my sidewalk - pictures are posted on Houzz. One of the problems with not putting in a sidewalk from the street to your door is that the eye searches for the front door, there is nothing drawing the eye to the front door. It's a curb appeal issue and most modern houses miss it and then the house always looks off - at least in my opinion. For resale, people want charming, welcoming homes. Drive around and look at houses that have a sidewalk to the front door from the street and those that don't to see if it is an issue for you.
jdail thanked gtcircus
jdail
Original Author
10 years ago
I love the idea of a sidewalk to the front door. I decorate cakes out of my home and it would be helpful for customers to park on the street and have a nice walk way to the front door. The picket fence is cute but we don't have sidewalks in our neighborhood so it seems like a bit much for me. I agree the river birch and tree in front of the door need to come down. We also have a large Bradford pear on the other side of the driveway that we'd like to remove before it splits during a storm. All of these trees, plants etc were here when we moved in, and we love the mature trees in our neighborhood but it's amazing how big everything has gotten.
gtcircus
10 years ago
That helps a lot. Bradford pears were over planted during the 1990's so don't feel guilty about taking it out. I had to take out two mature trees in my backyard to do the renovation work (replace the wood deck with a patio, etc) and it was painful to take them down. I miss the shade they provided, but I don't regret doing it after the fact. I can't be held hostage in my yard because of someone else poor planting design. In one instance an ash tree was planted three feet from my back door and was pulling the foundation up. The other was a maple and it too was planted too close to the house. I removed both and then planted 10 trees in the yard (I have 3 acres). I love that you cake decorate - gardening is very similar. The flowers are the icing, the foundation plantings the cake.
Constine
10 years ago
Am I the only one standing up for your beautiful round columns? What would you change them for boring square ones?
jdail thanked Constine
gtcircus
10 years ago
Last two designs. The red twig is the winter look, in the summer it's green. Not everything in this photo blooms at the same time.
jdail
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for your feedback, constine. I'm impartial regarding the columns. The round we have now are rotting at the base, so we were going to replace them when we get the house painted, and a builder friend gave us extra fiberglass round columns he wasn't using. I didn't want to install something that was outdated since it's not an easy fix to swap out in the future. If round is timeless and won't date the house, I'm fine with keeping that shape. I thought square was a little cleaner and gave an updated look. The railings are rotting in areas and need to be replaced, not to mention how crooked the left railing is coming off the column...but that's another story! Need to extend the stairs a little to line them up.
gtcircus
10 years ago
Saw this on Houzz and thought of your project