Need budget friendly ideas for front of house.

Hedi Lee-Hesse

6 years ago

Looking for ideas to give my house a facelift. My preferred style is bohemian/farmhouse.

Cattails are growing out of a pond that will be moved to the backyard.

Big trees must stay. overgrowth on side of house has been removed.

Am thinking a narrow pergola over the garage door with climbing hydrangeas on both sides. Have landscaping ideas already - am looking more for ideas about the house itself. Should I paint the brick the same color as the siding? Once the pond is gone, should I extend the porch across the front? If so, how? Or continue the pergola idea across the front of the house. If not, shutters or not? Help!?

Featured Answer

Maria Privat

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

This is a wake-up call. If you do not like to be woken-up, do not read it, for you will only get agitated. I'm not being nice here, just honest.

Your premises look neglected. First of all I would put all my energy in removing the rest of the overgrowths and removing the weeds. This house would look so much better if it only had well defined pathways. The lawn needs some help (= work) too.

Bohemian/Farmhouse doesn't equal sloppy.

We can hardly see the house, because so much greenery is too close to it. I love pergola's, but in your case that would only add to the clutter. Your house looks half of what it could be worth. The roof looks like it could use some cleaning too. Maybe you can get another color sprayed on it, for this one is rather drab. That opens up whole new possibilities for the color(s) of the house as well.

I'd go for a nice big deck, where you can place some nice farmhouse (swing) chairs. I'd place more lights from the ceiling part that's over the deck, to create a more luxurious feeling.

Windowframes, doors and deck all in the same warm tone of wood would become a farmhouse real well, but with another color of the roof some more splashy color like fresh blue would become possible for all but the deck.

With the roof this color: off-white is a good choice. Maybe you can whitewash the bricks?

Please help the garage to a lighter color, for now it looks like the mouth of a dark and dangerous cave. I'd definitely get rid of the oversized number on the garage door. Looks like its wearing convict's clothes and that's his inmate number.

Now you are either angry with me, or thankful that I pointed out some much needed things. This house and yard need upkeep, ongoing upkeep. Some decent, honest sweat.

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Comments (12)

Denita
6 years ago
First, if you are going to do shutters, do them so they fit and are functional looking (with hardware). Put them only on the windows that can handle them - can't tell from the photos you posted. Is the second photo the front or the back? Here is a brief article w/photos on sizing shutters written by an architect: https://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/residential-architecture-101-shutters/
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Hedi Lee-Hesse
Original Author
6 years ago
all photos are of the front and right side of house. imagine walking to the right from the garage door to the right side of the house. different angles. in the last photo you can spot the front door towards the corner of the L. Thanks for the article!
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Denita
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I would do a very deep olive green (or even a sage green) for your siding with black, properly fitting shutters (with hardware) and a white front door.
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Denita
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Or you could paint the siding white and the shutters the olive or sage green with a black front door. You have a few limitations with the red brick and the red roof.
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Denita
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
^^Maria, I thought it was a foreclosure the poster was buying. I had no thoughts that the poster lived in this house with the overgrown yard. Maybe the poster can enlighten us...
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Hedi Lee-Hesse
Original Author
6 years ago
none of the above. LOL - no anger here. Totally understand why you would think all of that. It's a long story but in a nutshell; my husband's former wife was granted use of the house for five years after their divorce. She moved out some time ago but my stepdaughter stayed for her college years. Now that stepdaughter is moving out as well, we can get started on renovations.....long distance. This house is in Michigan on family farm property. I currently live in Tennessee but will be moving north soon. Have already done some major work on the interior in sporadic two week visits. Obviously will not be doing exterior work until next spring/summer. So I am in planning mode.
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Maria Privat
6 years ago
Aha, understood. It is just too big a project for one girl alone I guess.

Maybe it is because I just moved to an area, where some people just won't bother. They rather have easy solutions, then some hard work. So it looks familiar to me, not as a foreclosure, but as a am-a-bit-more-lazy-than-is-good-for-me owner.

Especially the tenants here are shameful. It is not theirs, so why bother doing some normal upkeep? Such a shame...
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Hedi Lee-Hesse thanked Maria Privat
acm
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I wouldn't paint the brick, but I would paint out everything that is that rust/maroon color to something a light beige that harmonizes with the brick or mortar. (This includes the garage door and downspout!) That might be enough to bring the house forward 40 years, or you could try a slightly darker color on the siding as well. Then a nice contrasting color for the front door.

That might do more than you think. I don't see a need for a pergola here, but obviously the landscaping needs a complete overhaul -- I think you can keep it more natural and mounded, but contained back into some beds with a clear walkway to the front door.
Denita
6 years ago
Move the address number :)

Use modern numbers - large scale, but not on the garage.
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Hedi Lee-Hesse
Original Author
6 years ago
Moving them out to the road.
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Hedi Lee-Hesse
Original Author
6 years ago
to ACM - definitely want to paint the brick - hate it!
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