Yes, something other than white would be nice. A new color, like a red, would give it some "pop." Just search houzz for something like "red door" or similar. I'd also get rid of the bush to the left of the door and add some colorful pots and plants on the stoop and stairs. Some native low lying plants along the rock terrace would be nice too.

If budget allows you could also build a small canopy at the front door as was done here:



Have fun and good luck!

What state is your house in? It would help us figure out which plants will work in your zone. Also, search "rock garden" under "photos" to see some inspiration for how to work with those great rocks. Great house!

Thank you for your answers. We are in Seattle, WA. Becky.

Maybe add shutters to the middle window, and put a nicer, more sturdy railing up to the left - at least that looks like a railing...I also agree with the red door, and the landscaping suggestions!

Some of my favorite landscapes in your area were designed by Richard Haag; perhaps an inspirational trip to The Bloedel Reserve is in order?

http://tclf.org/content/bloedel-reserve

hmmm I guess it all comes down to money....how much would you like to SPEND? I would look at reversing the colours on the house first. Warm it up with taupey grey or greyish green colour. Add a shot of colour to the front door Perhaps add shutters on the right window but paint the shutters a slightly darker colour than the rest of the house sticking to the same palate. A multi leveled retainer wall inbedded in the hillside with ground cover would look great and would be easy to maintain. even getting rid of the exiting bushes would clean it up for now. Take away the railing and create a set of stairs with lighting. A peaked entrance over the front door, shaker style, would be the finishing touch!! Good luck!

I love the existing terracing. Its so rustic and sturdy looking. If it were me I'd play off of this and replace the railings with sturdy cedar 4x4 post and top rail, keeping it open though. This would give some weight to the front door area as well. Moulding around the front door as well as matching simple shutters and window boxes overflowing with color would be magnificent in the summer months. Maybe plant something with movement, like maidenhair over easy care ground cover, maybe wooly thyme if it's not sunny all day. Annuals to fill in for summer and slow growing Hinoki cypress or mugho pine for winter interest. Can't see the foundation very well in the pic but repeating what's in the terraces in small number with a few boulders placed in might work out. Please post progress!

i don't think a red front door would do you any favors. i think it should be a lighter value, but a bright color, and it needn't match the existing colors at all- yellow, turquoise, lime, or lilac- all would all give the house the jolt of modernism is it crying out for.

as for the landscaping, those bushes hanging over the rocks up top need to go, and then replaced with something that relates to whatever will be planted in the lower section- mounding grasses would be modern and pretty, i think, maybe mixed with some flowering plants for color.

Paint the door, but not red. If you aren't wanting to paint the house then go on Sherwin Williams or similar paint store and play with their paint program to see what colors might work with your current colors.

The big bush to the left of the door needs to go. It's overwhelming. I'd also change the light and house numbers, maybe something in a brushed nickel to go with the cool color scheme. I also love the terraced yard, very interesting! Go with some easy to manage plants and maybe some river rock instead of mulch. You could do a lot here with little expense. Good luck!

lots of good suggestions..my only addition is that i would probably drive around the neighborhood and see what other people have done and what plants look good to me..just for ideas.

I have an idea. Please let me know if you think it will not go with the house at all. This picture is my inspiration:

I have bunch of cedar left over from another project. So it will be low cost project. The idea is to make a wooden piece for house number like the picture but much smaller to fill in the empty space between the door and the window to the right and maybe change the light fixture like this one:
http://www.lampsplus.com/products/empire-bronze-restoration-9-and-one-half-inch-outdoor-wall-light__79108.html
We will build a handrail with the same stained cedar as well as shutters for the window to tie things in. Do you think it is too modern to go with this house?

I think that is a very good look to go with your house. Your house has good modern lines. however, that makes me pause on the shutters idea; I think perhaps a cedar accent would be better on the facade somehow, in horizontal orientation. Also, while I really like that light, you may want to go even more industrial modern. I'm kinda leaning toward:



or this:



to go with house numbers similar to those in the cedar picture:

P.S. That makes me realize, you could either go very modern with your house, or very cottage. I think you need to make a choice. Part of this decision may mean wanting to fit in with the other homes on your street or standing out.

Ditto Becky's comments about the shutters and, more importantly, deciding on a direction and overall idea that will help you make decisions.

I think you could do some really nice stuff with the house. There's a distinctive Pacific Northwest style (search Houzz for "Pacific Northwest) that's clean and contemporary yest warm. You could use as this as a start point. The color palette is something you can paint or stain the existing siding. Adding some wood trim / accents would help. I still think a canopy over the door would be functional (some shelter from the rain) and add some "punch" (and you can install the light in the ceiling of the canopy).

Well, this is a really fun project because you have some really nice things (terracing, siding fields, etc.) going for you already. So choose a theme and enjoy!

Becky-I love industrial light fixture and house numbers you picked. I will look out for something similar but more budget friendly.
Bud-dietrich- thank you. There are great mix of house styles on my street from bungalow to mid-century to modern.

The rocks are fantastic, so hopefully you will consider keeping them. By no stretch of the imagination am I a gardner, so when my husband and myself did our landscaping, I took my cue from commercial landscaped properties (Shopping Malls, Restaurants, Gas Stations etc.). They usually have relatively low mainentance elements. As far as your home goes, I see you have plenty of excellent suggestions. GOOD LUCK!

No experience whatsoever, but here's what I'd dream if this were my home. A deck (or pergola) across the front of the house in a very clean, modern, natural, geometric design with a matching rail connecting access, entry, and outdoor seating. This would leap the home out of the ordinary and give you an increase in usable outdoor space. Keep the camellia bush - prune, wire & train it to an interesting form - perhaps more vertical. Thank your lucky stars for that gorgeous terraced rock and create a dynamic, interesting meandering stream slithering through the rocks with a waterfall cascading into it from the top. Add lush ferns & hostas if shady, or billowing grasses & flowers if sunny. Keep some of your mature, easy maintenance, evergreen plans for winter interest. Make use of other natural materials (river rock, gravel, bark, etc.) and add an interesting, unexpected, modern sculpture to the front. Add professional outdoor lighting to highlight the sculpture and the waterfall. At the base of the rail add a tall square post with a lit top that has large house numbers.

Good morning,I want to see you move to the modern look.I think the horizontal lines of the house would work well with horizontal retaining walls.The blue colours seem too "cottagey" so I might try taupes/natural earth colours.Think Frank Lloyd Wright.When you are picking exterior colours it is worh buying a sample pint,and go darker than you think you want.

Use perenial bushes with different shades of leaves such as a light or yellow-colored leaves next to darker leaves next to a red or rust shade so there is a lot of variation in color. Use some evergreens intermixed with flowering bushes that die out in winter. Don' over plant or get things that will get too large.

I would plant a rock garden with succulents that will spread and choke out weeds and eventually cut down on work. I have done this in front of my house which I bought 1 1/2 years ago, so this is my second summer. It is getting so full now that I am now seperating the plants and putting them in other area's. The big bonus was that I did not purchase them, friends gave me plants from their gardens. This year I started on the side of the house taking some from the front, there it is a deeper bed like yours. A friend gave me hundreds of bulbs and I planted those last year which gave some color in the spring. I put some day lilys in the back and other taller perenials like tansy, peonies and the succlents are going in the front. I don't know the names of all the succulents but there is a lot to choose from and some flowering ones for color. You can put big rocks in around the flowers for interest.
I think this would work with the top layer as it is with maybe a bit of trimming.
Also if that Idea isn't appealling you could put in ornamental grasses there even colorful grasses to choose from. Here is a couple of small sections of my front rock garden with dif plants that spread

I have been creating a rock garden in front of my house with plants and succulents that spread I am sending a couple of photo's. This is the sencond summer and I got almost all the plats from friends gardens. It is really getting full this year and now I am taking some to other areas in my yard and giving to friends and making pots of dif succulents and flowers. i think you could do this below without having to change the top level and eventually these plants will spread and choke out the weeds, leaving less work for you. Just remember to put taller plants in the back. You could also throw in big rocks and or driftwood among the plants for more interest

A pondless water feature from Aquascape designs would be a nice eye catcher to your front terrace. Looks like you would have perfect slope for a waterfall; something lots of homeowners lack!

Yes, definitely "beef" up the front door with a much beefier door trim. The door should ideally be replaced with a carved or textured one but if you're on a budget, paint it in a color that pops. I like the shutters idea.
Landscaping: color, color, color...especially since you live in an area that can be dreary most days. Good luck

Hi ~ Amazing opportunity here to express your personalities! Call me evil but I vote a big NO re: a red front door on this one. WAY too predictable! Use something new and fresh ~ A lilac, periwinkle, aubergine or something that's a shade "off" of your favorite color ~ example, if you love blue or green, do a peacock blue or something a bit out of the ordinary! What I call "dirty" colors would work best with your current exterior, not the clean hued or primary colors but colors that are saturated without screaming at you. You also have a great opportunity to add some architectural detailing with chunky moldings around your doors and windows. If you can use a saw and a miter box, it's a do it yourself or take the measurements AND photos to your local millwork company and they will cut it for you for a small fee. Be sure to prime and paint it BEFORE you put it up. Should be easy to do with Construction Adhesive and some trim nails (if nail gun is not in your vocabulary). Landscaping is somthing to REALLY take your time with. Honestly, I know it's bare and probably driving you crazy but if you take some time to explore all your options ~ things you like that will compliment the style of your house and grow in your area, you'll save time and money in the long run. I'm in Florida with no idea what grows in your region but as an example, maybe consider something 'different' than all the other houses on your street ~ lavendar underplanted with juniper but use the blue juniper not the yellowey green juniper that everyone else has. There's an awesome nursery called Forest Farms on line and they can tell you what grows in your region. They even sold me a hybric Lilac that grows here in Florida! Best of Luck and Congratulations on your home!

Okay Part II here ~ sorry, I just saw your post regarding building your new railing and cedar framework, new address plaque etc, so YOU definitely DON'T need to ask anyone to cut trim molding for you....WISH I were so skilled. You also might enjoy painting out the window trim the same color as your front door. I'm a freak for symmetry, especially with any level of contemporary/industrial vibe ~ I'm thinking coordinating handrails on each side of your steps/stoop and tall, brushed metal plant containers on each side of the front door (tall and thin). There's a really good commercial planter source that has just the type at a surprising low price point. Sorry, I cannot think of the company name right now but I will look it up tomorrow if you think you might be interested. Your roof looks pretty new and for your sake, I hope it is, BUT if it isn't and the time comes to replace it, a charcoal or black roof could help amp up the industrial direction. I know you mentioned cedar handrails and I have NO idea how hard metal is to work with but I keep thinking about those brushed stainless steel flat style handrails with metal cables inserted horizontally from post to post. As you get further down the road with your project, a solid wood door with center glass panel would also take you closer to your goal look .....and yes, an even smaller bank balance! Can't wait to see your pics, even if the changes are slow and steady. Happy 4th.

I agree with the post saying go modern, paint earthly colors with door different color, no shutters, loose the rustic rock and all present landsape, create slick retaining walls mimicking the horizontal lines of the house and plant sustainable repetitive landscape with a reengineered front pathway meandering down the middle, slick built-in path lighting, large stainless house numbers, and a tree between the front door and the right window hiding the downspout. Show us the result. Good Luck!

I think the modern industrial look is great but it sounds like you need a big budget, a new retaining wall is loads of work or money if you don't do it yourself.
Speaking of roofs and roof color I just recently read if your roof is white it decreases cooling costs is summer by 80% big savings if you live in a hot place. I don't think Seattle gets too hot but it does save.

So many great ideas already, but having worked on these types of slopes in Seattle, the first thing that the front elevation needs is a better connection to the sidewalk through an improved entry sequence. This approach could be to rework the existing rockery and insert a new stairway, handrails, and landings that will make a better experience reaching the front door. The style of that sequence could be contemporary or traditional, but regardless of the style is should be improved. The landscaping is overgrown and 'blobbular' (a term I use frequently with this type of older plant landscaping that has been pruned into balls) and should be updated to reflect your architectural style--whichever way that might go. From the picture it really looks like the porch is stuck on and it should be enlarged, softened, and enhanced to create more of a presence in the entry sequence. you want your guests, or you yourself if this is the way you come and go everyday, to be comfortable and intrigued by the time you get to the top of all those stairs.
The rockery could be reworked into a more refined wall, or left rustic, but it will be hard to match the color of that old stone if you need/want to make it larger. You can see some of our front entry sequence fixes at www.banyontreedesign.com, as well as a pretty extensive portfolio on the www.houzz.com site. good luck!

Hi all. Thank you so much for all your fantastic ideas. Here is a bit of progress report. We cleaned up more overgrown bushes. I made the address plaque and are in the process of building the handrail. I'm very happy how it turned out. Such low cost update which made a great impact. Now I feel like I need to repaint the exterior but it will need to wait. I'm thinking some kind of green. Our next step is getting the front door painted. I'm thinking rusty orange but here we go again. I'm nervous. I will report back with the new door color. Have a great week!

Have you ever heard of gabions? They are very eco friendly, and look beautiful. You could most certainly convert your rock retaining wall into a gabion terraced retaining wall. Here is some ideas -

Painting less lighter color for your door for me would be good and it will be good too if you just trim those juniper, most of all outside lamp will make your house more appealing.

I am not sure which plants you intend to keep in front of the house. However, I would suggest you keep the red-leafed plant and the white-flowering plant. I would suggest leveling the surface after you remove or relocate the unwanted shrubs. Considering all the green in the landscape, I would suggest you paint the house white so that it will contrast from the landscape. Please post more photos so that viewers can see the progress.

sheilaskb...Did you happen to see how old this post is? I'm assuming that from 2012 to now....the poster is done!

The homeowner indicated the progress would be slow, and she did say she would post some "after" photos. Even if the post is old, the information and suggestions could help another person who has a similar problem.

sheila - by resuscitating these old threads you push current ones down the page. It's not very fair to people with problems now, who are being pushed aside by old dilemmas being revived for no useful purpose.