Can windows be added to that blank wall? What's on the othother side of it?

beth h always gives good color advice.
are ther no windows on the left side, or are they hidden by the old landscaping?

You might consider moving your green wall farther from the home and creating a front patio in front of that left 1/3 of your home -- connecting it to a center entry courtyard -- and, underground utilities permitting, include a shade tree or two in your patio/courtyard.

Outlining the driveway w/liriope or some other low growing plant that will grow well where you live and enable you to create an unbroken line is also worth considering.

https://www.google.com/search?q=liriope+alongside+driveway&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=7VTyKuiKJ4rRfM%253A%252CZJinHrwOJ-VZbM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kSwgBsv8eBmGlFANr2Ez8ksE6DE5w&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj6nJimjLLfAhUwmuAKHTAkBkoQ9QEwAXoECAQQBg&biw=1366&bih=650#imgrc=7VTyKuiKJ4rRfM:

Would tile the entire floor of the "courtyard" between the three walls and include a tree or two in the left side -- patio side -- within a new green wall.

Wow! Incredible feedback, thank you all so much!

@Beth H. :- wow! thank you so much for your great advice! I love it. We chose a taupe-y gray when we were renovating the pool area, so I already have 5 gallons of Requisite Gray, but I am open to considering other colors. I was thinking of painting over the stone but I like your suggestions that go with the stone! We don't really access the slider, but that's still a great idea to fill in with cement. I love all your other suggestions and will re-read your comments a few more times, i think!

@Oliviag/ bring back Sophie and Elizabeth BOddly enough, there are no windows in that left area. Part of the wall is bathroom and part is bedroom. I think we could add a window, but it might be over budget given all the other work we need to do. It's a common situation in my neighborhood. I've seen people paint a window on the wall (tacky) or use metal decor (nicer but still weird).

@suezbellI love all your suggestions and will definitely do that. Thanks!

Louanne,,,so what I was thinking about in the front area that incorporates the slider, is something like these:

if you took out everything (including those stone pillars w/the lights. I don't think you need those) you could make yourself a front courtyard. (you said you wanted a porch, yes?)

so, imagine everything gone (except the tree near the door) and concrete poured like this. (the chairs would be where your slider is and imagine the front door where this slider is.

what you could do is tile this cement, or since you're on a budget, do that black/white porch painting and stencil I mentioned to look like tiles. If using your current gray, then this tone would work! ( but I like the black/white!)

If you demo yourself and set the forms and get the concrete poured, it shouldn't be that much. rent a mixer and do it yourself.

or, do giant squares w/the pebble in the joints.

and build out a little deck off your slider. use composite decking (check craigslist for overages, or lumberyards who are clearing out small lots. you save a lot of money on those sales)

basically you'd have something somewhat like this (only one step)

You have to imagine clearing out everything as you walk up to the front door to do this courtyard thing.

You could always do one of those MCM wood slat privacy screens off to the left side

or, remove those stone posts and put in something like this

pretend this wood below, looks like the wood above! lol

now imagine everything behind the fence cleared out, the stone posts gone, that olive tree pruned nicely, and new front doors. (again,,,craigslist. especially in Florida people are always getting rid of vintage doors. find a good vintage double door and paint it one of those bright colors.

like these. imagine your slider off to the left, bring in some mexican pebbles, tropical plants, brightly painted double doors

you might be able to tone down your stone by painting/staining them more of one color. the grays to go w/your paint color

I still like this for the courtyard. it's more mid century and goes w/the Florida look

you could also do the teak decking squares for the portion in front of the slider.

Or, super, super cheap DIY courtyard.

This is Requisite Gray. It is a nice color yet I wonder if it works with your stone.

The stone works well with the roof. I'd like a warmer color on the house. More like the Farrow & Ball London Stone that Beth posted.

This is SW Accessible Beige on the right.

They look almost identical but AB has more warmth to work with the stone. Diverse Beige is a deeper color that would also work.

I love the above image with theconcrete steps and rocks on each side.

A lot of people are suggesting to concrete or tile the entire areaarea. If you go that route make sure ththe floor is sloped away from the house for drainage. We all know in Florida it rains and its usually very heavy you don't want that water sitting against your house...

If you're not going to add Windows id leave the large Bush and just trim it to the same heightheight. It really keeps the focus off that wallwall...

Your advice and pictures are helping me so much! This is fantastic. THANK YOU ALL!

I see what you mean now about the warmer color to go with the stone. I was thinking that I would have to paint/stain the stone. I didn't consider trying to work with it, but now I realize I need to give it more thought to use the warmer beige color with the black/white trim and red or yellow accents.

I am obsessed with the horizontal wood fence and the courtyard now!

How do you create the pictures of my house with the modifications? Those are so helpful! (sorry I'm a noob...)

It is hard to tell from the photos as one pic has the roof looking a brown color but the other is more a gray. Look at your roof and use the undertones in the roof and the stone to determine the best exterior color for your home. If it has more browns to it then a pale blue wall color may look better and will certainly go here in Florida. White or off white trim will go with any color so you are good there.

If you want to be really trendy and up to the minute a high gloss black front door will do it!

You have some great advice already, I would consider removing the tree by the front door so that it opens the area up and if you don't decide on the courtyard plant the area with colorful native shrubs.

The hedge at the left side I would suggest cutting down much lower and then you could add some faux windows to the wall. Get some window frames and back them with a mirror, out will reflect light but also give the illusion of more windows for your curb appeal.

I would definitely remove a lot of the overgrown shrubs and I'd think seriously about taking off the stone veneer, too. This is a modern-ish ranch house. I'd take some cues from Palm Springs, CA mid-century modern renovations. Replace the shrubs with updated "breeze blocks" or slatted wood fencing. White paint with a bright-colored door would be awesome. See some thoughts, below:

It looks like maybe it was a remodeled duplex that used to have a 2 car garage on each side? Maybe that’s why no windows?

One clarification: meant pavers (as in man made stones w/small gravel between them-- and w/appropriate base) not tiles like house tiles -- and would leave the tree already there and create a planting area for it within the pavers.

Also wanted to say ... nice house. Creating an outdoor living area would just enable you to enjoy it more.

Louanne,,it's just a simple photoshop. I'm not very good at it. Celerygirl and groveraxle, are two of the best on photo shop. If you were to clear out everything and take a photo straight on, they could prob mock up all sorts of ideas for you.

another good one at that is DigDoug. He does landscaping. so if you want something done w/that, post a photo of your yard (not too far back) and he can design something for you. (He's on landscaping garden forum.)

in Florida, if you really want to update, a wood horizontal fence across the front left side would really update this ranch. the existing landscape is tired. but could provide a green screen for a few years.
be careful about tiling the front courtyard. you need to provide for drainage. we had a similar situation in a courtyard home, bu didn't have the patio doors. good drainage is key. you dont want rainwater backing up into the home.
i live in Florida...

Oliviag/ bring back Sophie,

Who is Sophie? It’s the second time I’ve seen her name referenced today in someone’s username!

sophie is a very valued former member who was banned for an unknown reason.
a retired decorator , with amazing knowledge and skills. she saved a lot of people from drastic errors and problems.
I miss sophie wheeler every day, and wish her well. she is very smart, and i think i am not alone in missing her. I know she is undergoing some medical issues, and i wish her all the best.

i don't think she'd come back here, anyway, but, i won't change my username til she says that..

olivia, I had heard that she refused to come back. she is also recovering from a stroke. That's the last I've heard.

Grey is a great color for Florida, vastly superior to the beiges & tans we are sick of. White is a great trim color.

Could you return with the camera to this spot and add the slightly overlapping pictures so we can see the complete of how entrance fits with the house? Don't more the camera from the original location or the pictures will not fit together. Just pivot.

Hi Yardvaark thanks for taking a look! Does this help?

It's hard to get a good pic on the left side due to the plants.

Thanks Beth H. for the idea. I think we will clear everything and I will come back with some new pics!

Where about in Florida do you live - I am on the east coast by Daytona - if you are close by am happy to drop by and take a proper look for you.

I would avoid gray here- it doesn't mesh with your warm stone/roof. I'm feeling a warm white for you & then a pop of color for the door like teal (complements your warm tones). You could benefit from some design consulting as this is a little more involved. Gl :) !

Unless a person knows they will be in a house for a short time, I think it's better to plan for the long term, knowing that there may be a period of awkwardness until the final concept rings through loud and clear. In this case (if you're going to be in the house for a while) I would not let the stone and roof colors limit where I go with future house colors. Personally, I don't find the stone attractive enough to call it a "keeper." If budget allows, I'd consider replacing it. If budget doesn't allow, I'd paint it and that will be an improvement and open up color choices for other things. Roofs eventually wear out an need replacement. At that time, you could select a better roof color that goes with your improved house color. Eventually, you could transition to a whole new, improved color scheme.

The new pictures help. To be perfectly frank, I don't think the stone columns and fencing help in the least to make the entrance more inviting and appealing. If a courtyard effect was still desired, I think it would be done completely differently than what is there now. So getting rid of those things would be an immediate improvement. The walk needs help, too. Ideally, it would be redone. But if that is not in the budget, then strategically adding to it would be a big help. It especially needs an area of expanded paving near the entrance door. The small "trees" inside and outside of the courtyard are not the right plants for those spots.

Is the budget or DIY interest level sufficient to make some sizable changes to the entrance area?

that particular stone is/ was very common in our area. Back in the 80s, we removed it, and reused the pieces as a walkway... flat side up, on the side of the home.
we don't no your budget, or constrictions at this time. but it appears that the pillars don't support anything but a section of outdated fence. others have suggested demoing those, and I'd agree.
i always found a front courtyard a little creepy, coming home at night alone. i always went through the garage...

Getting rid of the pillars doesn’t get rid of the courtyard.

No, it doesn't eliminate the courtyard. it opens it up...especially if the fence section comes down, too...

our old courtyard had a big arch wall... worse than this one.

Updated pics with no shrubs on the left

I would reccomend painting the walls Edgecombe Gray by Benjamin Moore, its a great universal color that works with grays and beige and the stone in your walls.