Modern is a good way to go with this architecture. I would consider removing the overgrown shrubs by the entry and overall minimizing landscaping "clutter" since modernist plant design favors a limited plant palette The agave could be ringed by yellow barrel cacti (echinocatus grusoni) and grasses.

Since your house has very horizontal lines I would think about removing the brick and adding horizontal wood siding.

You need to address those 2 front windows somehow. Is there enough room in the interior rooms to move them toward the center of the upstairs part of the house? If not, then you need to have an accent trim piece created for the space between the windows. You'd have to be careful and keep it modern/midcentury to go with the house. The space between the windows is too obvious, IMO.

I agree, get rid of those big shrubby trees or whatever they are and that' going to open up the whole area.. it looks like without any closeup like you have a good xeriscaping going.. Also I Love Brick of any kind.. I would paint the house some earth tone colors.. maybe Forest Green with some chocolate trim or some kind of brown you like with green trim.. and the chimney too My dad and i used these colors on my Grams trailer an it turned out great.. If you could move the upstairs windows yourself or a friend knows.. I would pull them together, if not .. then create a false window or something in the middle.. You could surface or cement paint/stain the driveway to give it some pop too to make it stand out.. Everything I've mentioned is very low costs, because most of it is stain/paint and your labor.. If you look at Home Depot/Lowes.. you can run into 5 gallon buckets of paint in a color you might like, if not.. then look for something you would like to look at for a lonnnnnng time.. Kaitte

I like dark olive green for the walls, black for all of the trim & garage doors and a bold orange for the door. Paint the trim around the windows and the trim band between the first and second floors the same color as the walls. Right now it's like putting a bright colored belt on a fat belly. It stands out too much in a bad way. Consider staining the driveway so that it's all a dark grey. I love your wild landscape and I believe that the landscape colors will really pop with the dark walls. Don't screw around with the window locations. It's not going to help enough for the cost. With the darker solid color you don't need to spend money on changing siding, changing windows or removing brick.

I would for sure change the garage door to make that area flow better with the architecture of the home. Get some ideas for custom garage doors from our previous projects: http://www.houzz.com/pro/dynamicgarage-door/__public

Great ideas here! I would definitely go darker and the gridded detail between the windows is a good idea!

Don't know where you're located but you have a good start on xeriscape for your place. Remove any plants that aren't low-maintenance and low-water types. Your front bed could use a good cleanup and a better plan. You might enlist a local nursery to draw up a plan using what you have and adding more plants from your local area that can tolerate the conditions.

i agree with the grid idea. This house was featured this week on Houzz...maybe some of these elements can be added on a budget?

Hi there, our team of designers has concluded the following: if you are just looking to make some simple, cosmetic changes, paint the brick and trim white. Paint the house the following color below, and put some black shutters and a bright colored door. Bright green doors are a big hit these days!

It's hard from the pics to tell the exact shade of grey on your shingles, so these choices may not work. The grey would have to be leaning toward the blue, rather than green end of the spectrum. But the best bang for your buck will come from just painting your house. I suggest Winter Lake by Benjamin Moore (Candice Olson Collection) for all the walls including the horizontal band dividing the 1st and 2nd floor. I would also paint out the brick in this co,or. It will probably appear slightly darker than the walls because it is a different surface, but that's OK. Paint your trim Winter Snow for a crisp, fresh look. Then do front door in Baby Seal Black. Your driveway is fine (other than you could use some Round-up to kill the grass growing in the cracks). The shrub/flower bed could use a little cleaning up for sure; removing the rocks across the border would also spruce things up. If it were me, I would rip out the whole bed and do mixed shrubs in groups of 3 with a small feature tree or upright shrub as a focal point. I get the xeriscape thing though, and if you like what's in there, maybe thin it all out a bit and lay landscape fabric and a few inches of brown decorative gravel (please don't do white - it's very artificial looking) and it will look fine. A couple of big pots of flowers in the driveway area always looks inviting, and that's about all you need to do.

Also, changing out your house numbers to black in the largest size that will fit will also make things more modern.

Oh, and changing out that "jam jar" light to something more modern, again in black, is another quick, cheap fix.

Paint your garage door a shade lighter than your siding color. The Winter Lake was a stand-alone color that didn't have a strip showing tonal changes, so the paint store can help you get the tint right.

Megharadi has it in one ! Address that elevation and the silly window layout looking like eyes with the garage door a mouth . Big sliding shutters (modern sun screen type) would help . Then choose a great colour scheme and land scape in due course ....maybe you can tame what is already there and add a few strategic spiky things.

I think one of the cheapest ways to change the exterior with maximum impact is painting the house. I would probably use greys to match the stonework (I can't see it properly) and highlight the facia and trims with a darker grey. Good luck.

In following this it will be interesting to see what colors you choose for the outside..

I would also remove the large shrubs, leave everything else. You could replace the garage door with one that has the Opaque Glass panels...grey, and paint the house grey with darker trim. I would advocate using high impact color on the entry door.

Here's what Sustainable Dwellings is suggesting in terms of garage doors with frosted laminate glass panes and aluminum framing. They can be made in almost any color and the glass options can range from frosted to tinted, to clear depending on what your taste is. The garage door will make an enormous impact because of the span of space it takes.

I agree with mcbriec. Definitely declutter the landscape. If anything, the two huge bushes that hide the entry. Horizontal wood panels would look great. I would go with wide planks and add a thin band of steel between each panel. That will really pop as modern. I would also replace the plant shelf with a planter box made of galvanized steel. Build a pergola over the garage for depth and shade relief for the garage doors. Of course change the paint color.

Don't know what the large bushes are..that being said, what would you think of giving them a "severe" angular shaping before yanking them out? The worst that can happen is that you end up removing them anyway, right? I'm "thinking"(dangerous) they could be a mature "asset". Looks to me that the landscape is ripe for the xeriscaping referenced above by decoenthusiaste. Historically, somebody already had that horizontal vision when they graded the place. You have a great jump on it but agree a clean up is needed. SO WHAT ABOUT MAKING ART OUT OF THOSE "BUSHES"?

Something about brick on this "climate" doesn't do your house justice . I really kind of like the wide plank banding with steel suggested by "brickvilla". Got a feeling something between that design and garage door elements, there's an idea for between thewindows , like a band of wood with garage door section of metal and frosted glass mounted on wood or attached by tight cables to wood between those windows...or the wood planking with bold thick squared house numbers in very modern font, an architectural look to the numbers. I'd cleanly, boldly shore up your landscape bed from running into the street. Again, using wood or metal. I'd be bold and thick with these materials, not streamlined. Your areas seem to have spread and sprawled a bit. It looks lkke it needs to be brought back together and "Claimed". What about a super modern door, one that is perhaps metal also with 60ish cut outs in glass. Trim could be some great punch color to brighten area up. It would help to bring the appearance of your door forward out of the darkness.

Details are a bit hard to see; is your roof a light gray?

Are those jalousie windows?

What's behind the plants? Under that window?

That white area at top of lawn, is that a walkway to your door? Tell us about it. Is it sand or cement ? Is it used for lounging???

It might be nice to distinquish your drive a bit from the road. They appear to look so similar in photo. Perhaps you could price the cost of having stamped cement for your drive and possibly for your walkway if its used and assuming that IS a walkway.Again, I notice brick by the drive.

Still got to try to chisel the bushes into an artform or yes, get rid of them. Try your artsy side out first.

Check out the super article featured on the front page of Houzz for absolutely STUNNING plants!

Can anybody else see the before mentioned pergola in the front of the house and replacing that brick around front door or at least paint brick. Its a beautiful house that looks so "hot weather", like desert or coastal so to me the brick looks more northern, traditional.

Yes, I suggested painting out the brick in my earlier post. I also like the IDE of the pergola - it might distract from the upper windows being so far apart because moving windows is a really expensive option, probably not worth the cost of doing it. My feeling about the landscape materials is that I can picture those plants behind a stucco hacienda-style home, but not this home. A classic shrub border would look best IMHO. I still feel that paint is all this home really needs to have a modern, fresh look.

Thank you guys! These are all great ideas, we live by the ocean in California, so we want to keep things simple with the marine layer and cleaning. The whole front is succulents, there's a flat surface of crushed granite where we have chairs so that we can see the water.
We had some ideas that would have to be done in stages such as replacing both windows over the garage with sliding glass doors and a three foot(as per regulation) deck out in front of the sliders above the garage door. Potentially another ten foot slider to the right of the house with a low six foot deck.
We were thinking to paint the house a mushroom color. We're going to trim the shrubs today (artfully :) ), will let you know how it goes. They're pittosporum silver sheen, receptive to trimming.

I think changing those uppers to sliding glass doors would be awesome! I can imagine what wonderful views you will have - it will totally change the look of the interior spaces and really play up that Oceanside vibe on the exterior as well. I think I see where you're going with the mushroom color. You're looking for a kind of driftwood grey-taupe color? What colors are the neighbours using? Is this an area with homes in muted, natural tones, or are they quite colorful? At the end of the day, you want to blend in with the neighbourhood. Looking forward to seeing the landscaping changes. In the context of your ocean side location, the yuccas and xeriscaping make sense.

They've got to be very high end gliding doors or it will look awful! Get wood framed gliders then replace the garage doors with a complimentary wood door. Sliding doors facing the street at the front of the house are not something most people find desirable, so you've got to hit it out of the park.Keep the brick. It adds interest to the exterior.

Once you're ready for garage doors, we would like to help.

Keeping your California locale in mind, thought I'd post some further inspiration pics. Painted front doors add soul to a home and are lots of fun. Note some of the other details that are adding to the appeal - door hardware, outdoor lights, potted plants, etc. I find the 4th pic intriguing. I picture the walls of your home in the clay color that was used on the door, your brick in the same warm white as the brick in the pic, and the dark color used on the shutters on your front door. Lots of choices - enjoy the process!

Move windows , add awnings if you can't or can move windows...make the corner outside window wrap around if you can , or still add a side window if you can move the front ones closer. Change a few plants ...overgrown ones go...grasses always look nice. Something to "cozy" up the front of the driveway..make a statement coming in...not cement lions....lights of some kind. I wish your roof line extended over the house a bit...it would make it look less boxy. I know the money pit right...I have one too. Seriously awnings can change the face of a home!!!

Hello again! So how was your day in the front yard with the sea breeze? I'm anxious to see some new and improved photos. I know it can take more than a day for sure but getting a start can sure feel like progress. I've got a few images stuck in my head and it's a pretty picture. I really do like the colors and photos Karemore55 has posted, particularly the first photo. It looks so fresh and happy. I think that base color would look wonderful under the sunny days. I just kept thinking some suggestions to paint the house gray and some were suggesting"dark". I think unless you had a lot of green in tree branches around you, your house would look like a big drab hunk. Even if you did do horizontal wood accents (planking) I think the base should remain light and on the creamier side. You already have a gray roof(I'm assuming). The dark would be dramatic but would fade quickly. I think coastal and the age appropriate color is to be found in the colors Karemore55 has shown you. The other picture I could not get out of my head today were the brilliant plants featured on Houzz this week and again referring back to those submitted by Decoenthusiaste. Some of them were the hot pinks and blues and sunny yellows. They don't look like the sun has beaten them down but rather are brighter for it. Using these combined ideas and you've transformed your house! Certainly until you can throw some major money at big structural projects. Another color I really like is Sherwin Williams Waterscape #6470. On the same strip is Hazel #6471 or Dewy #6469. (Extra Pure White for trim)

Karemore55's first photo with the periwinkle trim and tasteful pergola are outstanding. My second choice would be to look into these shades I just listed. In the next two years everybody is going to have a gray house and that can be boring unless your beach house is cedar :) I notice one neighbor has some screaming bright YELLOW. If money is not too restricted, then I do like the sliding shutters on rails. They would help with that center space between the windows when not in use for window shading and might help if you have too much sun and heat during certain other times of the day...oops, backtrack a bit, let me add they would have to be remote controlled since you don't have your doors yet with your walkout deck (yet)

I did get a glimpse from the old photo of what's there under and around the OTHER window! You know, the one that none of us are fixated on!!!!Ha Ha...honestly, that was part of my point. I'm not sure I have any ideas but I would like to visually put some weight on that side of the house to help balance it. It's really nice big window and that's why I wondered about the granite top of the mound. Perhaps another pergola over there where you could increase your outdoor area use? Somebody else needs to give you some ideas on this. I'm not qualified. Brickvilla did give the OTHER window honorable mention when they referred to the "plant shelf". I went back to the photos thinking, "what plant shelf?"

Was that YOUR gate/fence to left of house in the old photo and that's your wall? Do you have a driveway to the rear of your house also? I'm asking because of suggestions about landscaping in that area and wondering what all you'd need to paint. Did you take it down for some reason? Would you put it back? Would you paint the brick wall? Is the ocean in front of your house? You face West?

Take care. Send photos. Let's see your genius, talent and sweat equity :)

Is this northern or southern California? SoCal is more temperate. In Northern California we can get temperatures in the 100's and periodic freezes, even on the ocean. Home exteriors and landscaping take a beating from the weather, wind, salt air, birds..... For that reason, I would leave all of your brick work alone. You'll be taking something that is now maintenance free and making it something you'll have to repaint more often than you think.

Did you create the mounds and let the trees go for a wind break? It's a challenge to block winds yet still keep your views which you obviously enjoy. I think it's time to take the pittosporum out though. That's a tree that can grow up to 30m and it's planted too close to the house. The roots will eventually start lifting your entry and driveway. Replace it with a wood screen painted your house and trim color. (see picture)

I'd go with a soft greige for the body of your house like Benjamin Moore AF720, Sparrow. and trim a cream like Benjamin Moore OC17 White Dove both on the first house shown below.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/1095-royal-york-contemporary-exterior-toronto-phvw-vp~1859300

http://www.google.com/#q=window+awnings&biv=i|37;d|9vLvs6lhvbAMkM:

I think decorative awnings on the two windows over the garage
Would dress up the home, also a darker exterior paint as previously suggested would look good. I could not open the link I attached above.

Take you house picture to a paint store like Benjamin Moore, have them help you with the paint colors for your area. You may want to pick colors that de emphasize the second story

one suggestion might be to use bermuda shudders...on the windows over the garage...and maybe even add a faux window with a jutting bermuda shutter...if you want to go that direction...the other thing i was thinking..maybe go towards the Frank Lloyd Wright ..arts and crafts look...study those houses and come up with some ideas..i think this house would lend itself to that look easily...and of course edit the landscaping...I think low and horizontal would be nice..

Seems like a window in the middle is missing. ...If you want to maintain smart economical practices, you can review our Flex Stone as a part for the walls!

Since your house has very horizontal lines I would think about removing the brick and adding horizontal wood siding.