I forgot to mention, the flat roof portion of the home is already trimmed with the clay tiles.

This is an example of the color combo I like

What is the current roofing material? It looks like the roof is not very visible from the curb. I do like the cream siding and blue trim in your inspiration pic. Landscaping would definitely be a plus.

The front part of the roof (the part you can see that has an angle) is currently shingles. That is the part we are thinking of replacing with the spanish tile. The rest is the flat roof, but I’m not 100% sure what that is.

Flopsycat1, any suggestions for the landscaping? :) I feel like we need to balance the huge blank space to the left of the stairs but I’m not sure how to do that. A small tree?

I’m hoping that you get some great landscaping ideas on this site, perhaps with mock ups.

Plantings depend on your hardiness zone. Looks like California?? Local nurseries can be helpful. Good luck with your project!

Yes to the clay tiles. I'm sure this is what your house originally had and returning it to that would add greatly to its beauty. The original windows on your inspiration houses are also lovely. Good for you for recognizing the difference this would make to an already charming house. You definitely could add some appropriate landscaping to soften the large expanse of wall. Where exactly do you live ie. zone and area of State?

Thank you so much! I’m in the Los Angeles area, I think it’s zone 9a?

When does using an upgraded material not better enhance a home? Probably never. In all the pictures, though, we see no more than the edge of the roof ... not the roof itself. So, exactly how much it will enhance the home is questionable. However, we see lots of front yard and driveway and it looks to be sorely needing some improvements in hardscape and planting. So, I'd say you'd get more bang for the buck by paying attention to that.

That’s a great point, the roof line is pretty minimal, especially since we are up on a hill. We definitely need to redo the concrete on our driveway. Any suggestions for landscaping?

For foundation planting, take a series of slightly overlapping pictures while standing at the middle of your front yard (the raised portion) and pivoting. Do not change locations between pictures. Give a 180*+ view that spans from the complete side of your left neighbor's house to the front yard of your right neighbor's house.

Also, go across the street, line up with the center of your yard and take a picture that shows the whole front yard in one picture.

Thank you!! Does this help?

Nice looking house but it doesn't scream Spanish to me.

You might consider a dark brown metal roof.

You didn't ask but since it occurs to me, I'll mention it: The one thing that would greatly improve the curb appeal of your home would be bringing a more uniform look to your driveway/sidewalk beside the steps. Make the sidewalk/driveway look one driveway without cracks/damage:

https://www.belgard.com/blog/2018/05/10/dont-remove-that-concrete-slab-overlay-it/

Not too much helpful yet. In the near pictures, you're not showing the COMPLETE side of the left neighbor's house. And you're not showing the right side of your house and your right neighbor's house/front yard. The distant picture is not lined up with the yard center, but instead is lined up with the far right of the yard. For the distant picture, you need to hold the camera horizontal. We're not trying to see sky and street, but as much of your property as possible and what surrounds it at the right and left.

Love the idea of the tile stair risers! So pretty!

I swear I’m trying to follow directions, but my visual spatial skills are severely lacking (which is probably why I need so much help with design). Please let me know if this is better

More picturee

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I was also thinking of tiling this area, similar to these pictures. This is the inside, which shows some of the spanish style inside with the arch and fireplace (please excuse the mess)

I agree that lining up the driveway would greatly improve to curb appeal. If you can do clay tiles, they would look fabulous. I do think the house has a Spanish vibe. What really would enhance curb appeal is great landscaping with native plants that don't need maintenance . Are you in a somewhat desert climate? Get a garden designer that will help you get a climate and style appeal front garden.

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I like that idea a great deal, allonsy101. It would look fabulous.

From your pics, more of the roof is visible than originally shown so go for it! I like the tile insert as well as Anna's inspiration pics of the tiled terracotta stairs. Glazed tiles were also used, but the terracotta are handsome. I wonder what the metal railings on the porch replaced?

I think you could keep some grass. What would add greatly to the aesthetic is a large multi-limbed tree to the lower left of the yard. It takes time to grow, but you have to start sometime. The Med inspiration pic captures more of the feel than a strictly SW xeriscape.I will remember the species here in a bit. Yaardvark will probably beat me to it. He's the landscape expert. For the pics, he wants you to stand in one place and just turn your body to get overlapping pics that he will then cobble together to fit in the entire front yar.

I wonder if the drive was original and the concrete sidewalk was added later. Terracotta concrete was very popular. My 100+ yr old home only has that. It can still be made easily with concrete dyes that are added dry. P.S. While I like your inspiration pics, it is really nice as it currently stands in terms of colour. The current ultra white window are what leap out most for me as compared to the darker and softer colour on the pics you chose. Another colour would help them recede and not look so modern.

If you paint, paint that retaining wall to match the house.

Do you like your current paint color? I do seems very Spanish revival to me. Then you could paint all those beams white to make them stand out more cause they’re cool. A nice flower box under the window on the left side of the house would give some dimension. Then landscape the front yard (although I’ll leave specific ideas on that to the landscape artists).

The flower box should be ever so slightly wider than that window on the left. Could be made of black iron like this spanish style. see the flower box, athough I'd make yours wider:

Could also put House numbers on the planter box. This photo is just a reference to where to put the numbers I’m talking about. Im not suggesting anything specific about this example, only where the numbers are located on the box (you could also center the numbers on the box unlike this example)...for yours you could do more traditional al looking font. Right now your numbers are hard to see. Also I love love the Spanish tile idea on the risers of your steps. Right now your eye just sort of skips over all the gray pavement and stairs, so the tiles would definitely help lead your eye up to the house!

I'm not saying what you could or should grow. I'm only suggesting forms, sizes, arrangement of generic plants, and layout. You'd research what could be used to make those plants for your climate.

The roof is more important than first suggested and could stand to be upgraded. What exact material is up for grabs. But something nicer than the existing.

I just saw someone mention the retaining wall near the steps. It’s concrete no? Can you stain it a dark brown, instead of painting it? Painting stuff like that looks cheap imo. You could also stain the steps

Thank you all! I love all the suggestions and ideas. Thank you for the beautiful mockup Yardvaark.

I’m definitely going to speak to the roofer about the Spanish tile roof. I’m also going to look into fixing the driveway and possibly tiling the step risers and the insert by the door. I’m also excited to explore the landscaping ideas suggested. We will probably have to do it in stages because of cost, but I’m excited to have a direction and plan.

I’m not sure about the paint, I love the inspiration pictures but am still on the fence as to if it would look good on my house. Wish I had better photoshopping skills :) thank you again

there are some "new" dimensional shingles in the market that may be an option- i looked at them a while back but they did not have an experienced installer in my area https://onduvilla-usa.com/

I would consider painting the house a warm white; the house next door on the right seems to be a similar color to yours, so I would want to make yours stand out. I love the ideas of bringing back the Spanish elements...looking at your beautiful fireplace and the niche, it seems that it what the house wants.

Those sound like the best steps to take! Best to get that done before painting and then reassess based on the new fixed elements. I would leave the beams dark and play up the Spanish classic design rather than trying to follow the latest trends. It would be wonderful if you could locate pictures of your house "back in the day". -))

I’m not sure exactly what is meant by the latest trends. Vaporvac are you referring to the suggestion to add Mexican tile?

Not at all. Few of these ideas have been "trendy". They have all been classic. I love the idea of the tile insert and terracotta risers. I'm just agreeing with others to get these things done and then turn attention to landscaping having a plan to build towards and also integrating the drive with the sidewalk.I would focus putting the tiles on the risers leading directly to your entrance.rather than that whole expanse of stairs.and so calling attention to it.. Out of curiousity, Is that drive so steep that it needed stairs? Is that a common feature there? Is it to allow for extra parking? Integrating this area seems expensive so best to consider all options.d

I would love to find historic pictures of the house and try to get it closer to the way it was originally designed to look. The oldest photos I’ve been able to find so far are from the sale of the house the owner before us, so they are probably only about 10 years old. However, I think the house was neglected for a long time before the previous owner.

The driveway is very steep and I’m guessing it will be very expensive to resurface the whole area. However, the driveway desperately needs it. What area do you recommended we add the tile for the risers to? Do you mean the stairs up next to the driveway or the stairs that are hidden from the street that go up to the house? Thank you!

Here are the photos from before the previous owner purchased the house. I think I’m the 4th owner, according to tax records

I think the steps leading to the porch should be tiled, but you can do a few of the steps along the driveway if they‘re visible from the street, it would be a lovely touch.

If it were me, I’d print out some color photos of colorful tiles and tape them to the driveway steps and see how many would be enough to “tease” observers.

https://www.lafuente.com/Tile/Talavera-Tile/Special-Designs/8086/23006/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces-across-google&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlrje266o6gIVCK_ICh2SHwdWEAYYASABEgK7FvD_BwE

So beautiful! Please, please, post updates!

I don’t think tiling the steps up to the top of the house would really be visible from the street would it? Anyways I think Anna brings up a good point that you could tile every other or every three steps or so. That’s what I would do with the steps along the driveway since they’re the most visible from the street. Just my thougjts

Fascinating. I'm at a loss for the change as the general aspect is what I expected with the exception of the steps leading to nowhere. It's amazing how much warmth and depth the pine added even if it was not quite properly placed. What is the porch floor? Personally the addition of the extra concrete including the stairs is unfortunate, but that would be pricey to remove. The question is how to make it less obvious without adding more money to it. Landscaping is the answer. Yes, the steps won't be visible. Let's see what they look like currently.

When you make improvements, you make them for yourself as well as others. I would absolutely tile the steps leading to the porch.

There are pictures above showing the current configuration.. It’s up to the OP now that she’s been given ideas to ponder.

Anna, those are wise words. I still can't find pictures of the steps directly to the porch but I'll assume they're concrete also. Who's often cuts off pictures on my phone and does not allow me to type either. Your inspiration pic is outstanding.

LOVE the idea of printing tiles to test them out and get an idea of how they would look. I’m definitely going to try that. I’m so excited to start the process of improving our curb appeal!

There is the picture of the top of the porch and the stairs leading to the front door. The stairs and the porch are both concrete unfortunately. Sooooo much concrete.

I didn't mean you shouldn't tile those steps. I just meant the most "curb appeal" impact would be the other steps. Tiling the steps to the porch would be absolutely gorgeous, I agree. Also if you stain the concrete next to the driveway and up to the porch a darker color like I said earlier, they would disappear a bit and not be so bright. Can I ask what you love about the house? Personally I love beams (that's why I said I'd paint them the white to stand out). Do you love anything? Aside from the concrete and landscaping, is there anything else you dislike?

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A clay roof would be so charming here! A metal roof could look really good too, it's also common on stucco homes in the southwest. IDK, but it might be easier to maintain too. If you went that route, I'd recommend terra cotta, dark brown, or maybe even blue. (Or if you're made of money, a copper roof and let it turn green.)

I have a metal roof and one lesson I learned is that it's super hard to get a vendor willing to install anything -- nobody wants to be responsible for cutting into it. You might run into the same issue with clay. So if you think you will need to add skylights, roof vents, etc, have it done when the roofers are there!