Are those two trees worth saving? Do I see bare places? Reminds me of Dutch Elm...not a good thing. The shrub between the tree and the deck appears to be a volunteer and can be totally removed. Or is it an ever green with a saplings rooting itself in it? What's your budget? Paint the deck or update with a new modern look? VASTLY different cost.

What is your budget?

As a priority you need to pay a tree specialist to come out and advise you on trimming your trees and making sure they are healthy — so you don’t have heavy things crashing down on your house!

What materials is your siding?

At a minimum, if you don’t want to spend a lot of money, paint the porch and steps a dark color. Get flower baskets that hook over the railings and plant flowers. Remove the trash cans (you knew that!) and consider planting nice flowers over by the garage.

If you can spend more money, get a new, bigger porch light. Get a new storm door. Buy chairs in a bright color to replace the ones you have.

Still got money? Paint the house your favorite color. Get new windows. Put 2 big flower pots at the foot of the steps.

It’s basically a very sweet and pleasant house. Take care the trees don’t damage it.

Your house looks cute as a button from what i see through the trees. I would ask about the trees roots impeding on your foundation and concider removing them if the roots are too big. I second a bigger porch light and container plants on porch.

I would also use a white stain or a black on just your railings not porch floors. I like opaque stains better than paint for easier long term maintance. my white stained deck rails look just like paint but have never needed scraping due to pealing in 15 years. We did lightly sanded and restained once though.

Are you just moving in? Will you be painting the house or just tidying up?

A bit of history about the house and trees would be useful. The trees need pruning or removal if their roots are affecting the foundation. In the meantime, pressure wash the steps and add some cushions to the chairs.

The trees are actually catalpa allowed to grow untamed. Agree, vegetation is out of control!

This old house has been in the family for 90 years. The last owner was not into esthetics, lol. The front porch is fairly new, but looks to me as if it belongs on a back deck. I plan to fix it up, once I have access, starting with the front porch. Trees way over grown. Like the suggestions for painting the porch and plants.

Does your front deck need to be replaced for safety reasons? If so, consider making it a covered porch as wide as the front exterior wall of your house or at lest that right wing of it. IF you keep the uncovered deck, in lieu of painting it, clean it well (even pressure wash or bleach it) and treat/stain it with CWF. Anything painted will, inevitably, need to be repainted and can look awful as it gets that way.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cwf&client=firefox-b-1-d&source=lnms&tbm=shop&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi489iXjOvxAhWCnOAKHQLKDW4Q_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1366&bih=615

Do you like the shade trees? Does their presence affect the home's value and/or your property insurance cost? You might want to have an expert check them for not just disease but to see if they are close to interfering with the foundation of your home. Removing trees can be costly but, if a storm puts them or their limbs on your roof or if their roots grow into your foundation, that can be costly, too. In some rural communities, you might get someone to remove them for the fire wood but you'd be stuck with removing the stump -- there are "chemical" means to expedite their rot but the presence of such chemicals might make it difficult to plant new trees for a time.

Do you like any of the shrubs -- do they bloom -- and if so, could you move any shrubs you truly like to the back yard (or just remove them) and keep only two trees in your front yard? Do some research to know what kinds of shrubs you have and know when they could/should be trimmed.

If you have someone remove the trees, know that they know what they're doing and know, with certainty, that you are insured in case the tree falls the wrong way. Your insurance company may require a pro to trim or remove trees for you to be insured.

Start off with painting the screen door and new address numbers. A bright planter would like nice also

Thanks for you suggestions. I’ll start slow, like the idea of painting screen door, did not think of that. Any ideas for screen door paint color? Also, it needs a new front door. Suggestions on color for that as well?

Hate to suggest it but, yes, those trees in the front of the house need to be removed. Not sure where you are located but if you have a city arborist I would check with them before removing. In some jurisdictions there are strict ordinances about tree removal. Once that is done it will be easier to access what other renovations are needed. Good luck!

I agree with everything that has been said ( except stump removal….they can be ground out). The wood slats at the base of the porch might be a concern. It seems to me that they would hold moisture underneath the porch thus setting you up for dry-rot or mold troubles. Generally you would need some vents or lattice type material in their place.

Thanks for info on history. I suggest starting with pruning the shrubs to just below porch floor level. Then cut the small branch on the leftmost catalpa that blocks the view of the front of the house. Then take some more photos that show the whole front of the house.

For paint colors, houses built in the 1920's often had a soft but strong pastel color scheme. With the current white paint, I'd consider soft leaf or sage green, Wedgwood blue, light turquoise blue or even a slightly grayed pink for the trim and doors.

IME, stain for decks holds up well and doesn't peel like paint after a couple years exposed to the rain.

Here's a sample blue door in an interior photo:

Lehi, House of Turquoise Blog, Featured Article · More Info

The trees need to go. They are completely out of scale with the house and are smothering it. Then, look at the rest of the plantings.

Do you like to fish? Those catalpa worms could come in handy, but they'll make a mess on the deck every year. i remember them falling down my shirt when I was a kid. Removing those trees is the first thing I would do. Then we can see your house and get busy helping you!

Any tree that sheds leaves/needles/blooms on a deck requires sweeping ... some more than others, usually a porch less than a deck.

Yikes! Thanks. Definitely do not want them!

Having shade trees is a good thing .. but you must measure the shade and visual value against any potential for damage they may do or how they might block other plans you may have. What matters most to you first?

What is your budget?

Are you going to live here or flip it -- would making changes to the house itself be a better early investment?

Are these trees on the south -- direct sun -- side of the house?

Are the trees in the way of what what, if anything, you want done with the front deck/porch? landscaping?

Are there trees you can replant in a size that will give you what you want from trees -- visual or shade -- right away or soon with which you can replace them?

If you wait until winter, are these trees the kind/size/placement that could be trimmed next winter rather than removed and still accomplish your immediate objectives?

This house is definitely a fixed upper. If I am happy with the end result, I plan to move there. I have many good memories from this house. The trees in front of the porch are on the west side, so definitely shade for afternoon/ evening sun. ,mThey are not close enough to house or garden to inhibit either, so far. Everything there is so overgrown. I like your suggestion, will have the trees trimmed by a professional, see what they think. Pruning the trees will cut back on the debris coming off the trees, I hope. Then to the porch! I would like some sort of overhang or extension of the roof, something to keep the rain out while trying yo get in the door. Not really interested in a prefab awning, but some sort of structure. Just don’t have an idea yet.

Is that your garage on the left side of the house?

If you're planning to replace the deck, you might consider altering the steps so they turn toward your driveway instead of forward between the trees, or, better yet ....

What rooms are in the left "wing" of the house? How would you feel about swapping some of your room around and making what is now the living room shaded by the trees your master bedroom?

Could the front and room in that left wing on the north side nearest the garage become your living room with a forward facing front door opening onto a covered front porch in that left front "available" corner ... a bit farther away from the trees and with a roof, a porch there could end up with less tree fallout ... and less slippery steps. You might fill up most of that corner with a front porch but on the three feet or so on the left side, create a landing and forward facing steps from that landing.

If these ideas interest you, draw the floor plan of the house, to scale, on graph paper with measurements listed and noting all doors and windows and any fixed features you would not move and post that and get some feedback from the pros here on Houzz on that. Or even do the interior changes, including possible floor plan changes, that you may be considering as a separate post.

Do you know what kind of bushes/shrubs you have? Do they bloom? Do they keep their leaves and look good year round?

Since someone in your family liked them enough to put them on the lot, consider whether or not any of them could be moved to a side or back property line rather than destroyed.

If you actually are considering interior changes, and if your budget is an issue (as for most of us), perhaps you could plan those changes over time, giving priority to making sure all parts of the home, including the roof, is sound and that the attic is well insulated (yet properly vented) before winter and before moving in. Note: insulating beneath the floor and adding a moisture barrier on the ground underneath the home can also help with condensation issues and help prevent mold.

Because this is an older home, you'll also want to be sure the wiring (older home) is safe before as is before moving in.

Remodeling an interior of a home while living in it is more difficult, especially with children, but worth a thought.

Thank you, great suggestions on tackling the important items first. Will add those to my list . I don’t have children, and have somewhere to stay if it gets too chaotic. Keep the ideas coming. They are much sppreciated.

Appreciated

If you prune the shrubs to show the house and deck clearly and separately, one of the paint manufacturer's websites could be used to show new paint color schemes.

Thank you. Will investigate paint options.