Really lovely, .......focus on the gate area. Perhaps some landscape lighting to draw attention to the gate and courtyard.

Nothing you can do about the garage doors. They are what they are.

Yeah I think we can def work with the courtyard area and gate to make it look nice. Thinking about removing the tree so you can see into the courtyard from the street.

As far as the garage doors, we would for sure replace them and I like your idea of adding large lanterns on each side and in the middle. I was also thinking about doing a white trellis. We want to paint to get out of the brown/tan color scheme. I'd really like to know if I could trim the roof line back. The area right above the garage doors.

Is it a town home? If so, what are the HOA rules about design and color?

It is not a town home, it is a single family home. 3,000 sqft. There is HOA, but shouldn't affect anything that we want to do. Everything that we want to do has been done by other houses in the neighborhood

i don't see what would be served by making the lovely courtyard visible from the road. you'll be sorry the first time you put chairs there and everyone driving by can see you. especially true if you dont have further green space and privacy behind the house.

Good point nnigrt, the home is in a cul de sac so not much traffic going by. The main reason is to open up the front so you are able to see more of the house besides just the garage. My thought that I would add a fountain or something, and grass and flowers to that area just to increase the sight line a little bit. My goals is to (as much as I can) de-emphasize the garage area

my view is you could rip out every bit of lovliness and still the garage doors would be all you'd see passing by. if they offend you (and nothing wrong with that viewpoint!) then move on. but at least this way you have some beauty hidden away.

You may not be able to remove the tree, which I agree with above comment, it provides privacy. It looks like a perfectly healthy tree and would most likely require a permit for removal.
As far as HOAs, you probably have to run everything by them first. They don't have approved colors, for house, roof, garage etc?

There have even many threads on potential homes on Houzz.
Until you make an offer and actually own the home, maybe wait for ideas.
The style of the home is not going to change, so you have to decide if you can live with it. We are in a very hot market in my neck of the woods, not sure about yours.
This would not affect a potential buyer in my town, if the bones of the house were okay.
Let us know what you decide, good luck!

To my eye, the garage doors are quite nice. They aren't cheap stamped doors; instead, they have good definition and are a great color.

It's the sea of concrete in front of them that makes them look dull. Not an inexpensive proposition, but if you're going to throw money at this house, how about using the same pavers as the walkway for the driveway? That would add subtle color, texture, interest -- all good stuff that would dress up your house's frontage.

It doesn't look like you have room for large, elegant sconces to flank the garage doors. But maybe you could add lighting to the entry court yard. Illuminate the tree, perhaps, or add a lighted address sign to the front of that low wall.

Don't know about your HOA, but in Texas they are very powerful. I would go and sit down with the leader that would make decisions and get an understanding of what you can and cannot do. Before you buy. I like the idea of a little arbor around top of front of garage. I would be tempted to paint garage doors same color as house. They would recede more from your eye. I think if allowed, you could move the gate and wall of the courtyard out toward the low wall front, left. That would visually distract eye from garage doors. Then perhaps a flowering vine on fence such as bougainvillea would brighten up front. A iron decorative bench inside that new area would be inviting look for guests. As owner's, you would go into garage and on into courtyard and house, so it would be used primarily by guests.

Arbors, lighter paint on garage, plantings and nice interesting hardware on garage doors all would give more personality to the front elevation in addition to the movement of the fence and gate up to the front left of entry area. Just some ideas to get your creative juices flowing on this curb appeal. You might be able to cut out the portion of the cement nearest the garage and insert pavers there to break up the "all cement" driveway look and add interest as well. It would be a cost effective way to dress up the garage entry area. I don't see wires for carriage lighting, but if that is possible from inside garage electricals, that would be great addition. They should be the size that would be in proportion with the areas they can be hung. Probably narrow but fairly lengthy so they have some "presence" in the front. Planters would add to look, but not sure about security in the area of this home. But you could try and weigh down with heavy rock at bottom of pots, which would aid in drainage as well. Those are some things to consider.

Totally agree with Rusty Empire's post. Will never understand the garage door focal point thing. However, your home is lovely...definitely consider Rusty's and other suggestions here.

Yeah so it seems like all the suggestions are pretty consistent. Better paint and better garage doors and use things like lights and pavers to break up the garage area and make it look more interesting. I like the idea of bringing the gate forward. The other reason I was considering removing the tree is because there are 2 trees right next to the gate and that tree was recently trimmed, I could only imagine how large and full it would get. Also, since I had other trees in the front I thought that area could provide more value with a garden and lighted address number on the smaller wall

In answer to the question, "why do people put garages in front?" The answer is because you can maximize house and property utilization with narrower lots. Hence put garage in front and house behind. Narrow lots mean more lots per sq ft. Hidden garages require wider lots so the size is what drives this. Simple really. Larger lots mean higher prices. Higher prices limit buyers.

Relax Flo. It's a rhetorical question. That's why back lanes are great, so as to hide those eyesores.

Your home is beautiful! I understand about the curb appeal on the garage doors however. This is one area people tend to forget about. Perhaps some wood garage doors will war up that curb appeal. See below.

-before-

-after-

www.AccessGarageDoor.com

858.638.0300

Thanks! What program did you use to change the paint and garage doors??

Photoshop; my best friend! : )

The garage doors are from our catalog of past wood custom garage doors we designed, built and installed for a client.

i wouldn't replace the garage doors - i think they look fine. i would remove that tree in front and i would landscape the front area. randle kurt - i think your ideas are great!

Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what is off about your home. Go across the street and check it out from a distance, then snap a photo. Keep the picture handy, go through this handy checklist and see if any of these smart curb appeal investments will help your home look more inviting.

A potted plant that will climb and add some sort of lattice that the plant can climb around your garage. Especially something that blooms. Beautiful pots with plants are always eye catching

Expensive but do wooden doors stained the color of the roof, pergola, and pavers. I wouldn't cut down the tree, but get it shaped. The brown wood of the tree trunk and mulch tie into the roof. But do get some professional landscaping advice to bring color. Add some great sconces and house numerals. Have beautiful hanging baskets in growing season while you get an arbor started for over the pergola.

Have you decided to place an offer on this home?There is another post similar,it's the thread that never ends, lol.
Hundreds of comments about curb appeal and a few comments in, the OP says they passed on the house.
Soooo, please let us know if you are going to place an offer and if you get the home, we can continue.
I know, nobody will read this and you'll continue to get all kinds of advice, on a home you didn't purchase.

There are many things you can do to enhance the courtyard side. None should require much money. The small trees are in need of a trim to raise the canopy. I would also remove some of the plants and replace them with annuals. I did not show the annuals but here is a rough drawing of how it could feel more open.

A proper job by an arborist would be much better of course. You could also consider removing the little tree on the right as it looks like it must need constant trimming to keep it from touching the eaves.

I am all for this house my wife has the reservations. And they are mainly about having the garage being the focal point from the street

If you love the house and can implement some of the solutions people have suggested, then I hope you can both grow to love it. The house itself looks beautiful. While garages shouldn't take up so much visual space, yours does afford a great deal of privacy. Oh, I'll add one more thing. If you do replace the garage doors, get doors with windows, which will make the garage "friendlier." You could also paint them the color of the house, but put a door in the left side and paint it a great color.

I understand where the concerns come from, but please remember you live IN your house and IN the yards immediately surrounding the house. You don't live in the street, looking at the house.

I live in a townhouse whose curb appeal is completely underwhelming (and unappealing). It's actually kind of fun to watch everyone's face once they walk in my front door. It's got a great floor plan with a fabulous view. I've had more than my fair share of people (not just friends, but tradespeople) walking in and gasp. While I'm not especially excited to drive up everyday, I do smile once inside. Something to consider.