I think big front yards need a big tree. I'd set it off to the left. I like Tulip trees, but there are a huge range of choices. Fruit trees give your free fruit.

Then you need some foundation plantings. Some people like a row of the same thing, but I like a mix. I'm particularly in love with Clethra at the moment. I'd move the plant just to the left of the door and have a quarter circle garden with perennials between the porch and the lower window. That would hide the gas? thing and give you a more pleasant . Echinacea is always nice.

I understand you not liking it but that railing was there for a purpose!! What you have now is a serious trip or fall hazard. You can get around that by increasing the soil level surrounding your entry patio so that it is more or less level or at the same grade as the surrounding lawn or planting beds.

What you could include as plantings will be dependent on your location but strive for at least some evergreen material by the entry so it looks less barren and 'dead' in winter.

IMO the railing was needed and this is one of my faves for MCM landscaping for some inspiration a new MCM front door and some more modern chairs would aslo help.

It was a mistake to paint the concrete such a bright white. You have an amazing MCM, and the features are harmonious, earthy materials--stone, wood, poured concrete--that all echo each other. The white sticks out like a sore thumb. See if you can pick out paint from some of the light stone.

Rethink some of your landscaping to enhance your fantastic house. Notice the cedar wood railing here.

Saratoga Edible Ranch Garden and Meadow · More Info

MCM style railing:

Invisible Wire Railing · More Info

Mid-Century Modern · More Info

I think you'll be fine without the railing. Some boxwood around the stoop will be nice and define the edge.

A nearby house is somewhat similar to yours in vintage and materials. The new owners have put in a "winding river" of plantings between the house and the street with ground cover, large flat stones that you could stand on, and two new trees in the "river". Picture housegal's first picture but parallel to the house. We have enjoyed walking past though at first while they were working on it we doubted it. It really enhances the natural features of the house.

I'll have to look at what they did for foundation plants, I'm usually to enchanted by the "river"to notice lol

Thank you all so much! This is our first home and we planned to flip it and sell in a couple of years, but I am completely lost with the outside.

as for the railing, i did hate it so we removed it last year and planned to replace it with something more modern and less rusty. We are in Pennsylvania so we have very rough winters and the seasons seem to fly by! I have no idea about this style of house and I just wanted to bring it out of the 50s but everything just seems “too modern” if that makes sense

It's not a MCM home - just a traditional ranch style - so trying to convert to MCM will be expensive and not well suited to the situation anyway. I think you can successfully bring it out of the 50's by just updating or modernizing the landscaping.

IMO, you'd be best served by hiring a design professional to at least consult with you if not develop a full landscape plan that you can implement as time and budget allows.

But I will stand by my suggestion that porch needs some sort of protective barrier to prevent someone misstepping off the side. Just planting shrubs alongside will not accomplish that satisfactorily.

This type of mid-century traditional is very popular right now where I live. I think people are wanting the cozy, natural feel of it, especially those moving out of the city to the suburbs.

Yes we are likely only going to be doing simple landscaping without Major excavation etc. I wish hiring a profess was in the budget! I would love to paint the stone, but that isn’t smart in our climate. I’ve gone back and forth with painting the front door to brighten it up, but cannot commit to a color. I suppose the possibilities are endless lol

Here's a midcentury house with golden stone and very nice landscaping. Note the tree in the middle of the lawn, which breaks up the expanse of green and adds contrast with the house. Start an Ideabook on midcentury houses so you can see different ideas about how to best bring out their qualities. Landscaping is a big part of any upgrades. Now that you have an open porch, you'd probably enjoy looking at enhancements with the landscaping. And, yes, get a consultation to choose local native plants of different types and sizes as you see here--perennials, shrubs, grasses, and a tree or two.

If you bought it to flip it, may I suggest you don't try to modernize it? Whatever modernizing might mean to you? As others have pointed out, it's a traditional ranch built in the 50s. Nothing wrong with that and plenty of people appreciate the style. Glad to read you won't be painting any stone. Focusing on non-permanent changes is really the best way to go.

ETA: Hiring a professional to help you with colour palette or flipping advice might not be as expensive as you think. You could get a consult for a couple of hours. Spending a couple of hundred dollars for advice is probably cheaper than many mistakes that could be made.

Please don't even think of painting the stone. It's part of the 50s vibe that is incredibly popular with young people and is maintenance free. Less is more with this style, so bone up on it so you can appreciate the materials, lines, and design in keeping with its architecture. Sometimes people try to turn their 50s house into farmhouse or some other style. It will mean less work for you to honor its bones inside and out. I have an Ideabook on MCM, so browse through to get a sense of houses built at that time. It is true that not every house built in the 50s is what we think of as MCM, but that style of stonework, wood trim, straight lines, small windows was very popular and has come back in a big way.

A small garden center can help you create a couple deep garden beds with a mix of shrubs, grasses, perennials. If you don't want a lot of work, then mulch the beds with yellow/tan stone to echo your stone façade. Put the focus on the left side, along with planting a tree "island" in the lawn. But do have a plan ahead of time for planting.

I do hope you'll consider repainting your porch in a color from the stone and getting a dark railing. A bright turquoise door would add a midcentury feeling and opening up the front a bit. Your house is wonderful from the outside anyway. Don't "remuddle" it.

430 Lindel Modern · More Info

Turquoise/teal door yellow stone MCM style. Door makes entrance more prominent.

@housegal200, let's remember that MCM = mid-century modern. This house is simply mid-century. It wasn't modern then and it's not modern now and that's fine. Thank you for advising OP not to "remuddle" it. :)

thank you! We most definitely will not be painting the stone, but when I say “modernize” I mean just a little update to flow with the rest of the neighborhood. There are several new builds on my street. the whole house was very 50s-70s and we recently redid the yellow kitchen and are moving rook by room. We are just trying to do basic changes for resale while “updating” the very outdated spaces on the inside. in my area, these older ranch style homes are not popular with first time home buyers, so we thought updating would help!