Just my opinion, but I think it dates the home. Taking it down and continuing with your plantings would look so much better. Some kind of screening would be a great idea for privacy to son's window. Then he could open drapes and have some light into the room. btw love the pathway you created.

@Angel 18432, thanks that's actually what my husband thought from the get-go, but our son really wanted to keep it (that little bit of a barrier gave him a little feeling of security, I guess). I do hope he will open the drapes some day, but he hasn't once in the past year!

You could also possibly extend the porch area a couple feet to the front edge of the porch roof, so the screen could be integrated with new support for the roof.

I like the idea of a natural screen to transition from public to private. This is a perfect spot for something vertical like a dwarf bamboo or horsetail reed.

I would keep it and rig up some sort of thin vertical structure either in it or behind it to act as a trellis on which you could grow climbing plants of some sort.

I don't know your climate zone and what you like.

I like sweet peas, they are easy to grow.

Climbing roses are nice.

You can do moonflower vine (it opens at night) and pair it with morning glories that are open during the day.

Passion flowers are interesting and a bit crazy looking.

There are all types of jasmine and nicotiana, day and night flowering. Too much of it can have an over-powering scent, though.

Why not invite Dig Doug's Designs into this thread?

He always suggests brilliant things.

@HALLETT & Co., funny, that planter was filled with horsetail when we bought the house 24 years ago! Loved it, but it never did well there. We're mainly doing Calif. native plants so as much as I love bamboo, probably not this time. I will look into vertical natives, though. Thanks for the tip!

Ah yes, I forgot to mention we're in 10b/11 or Sunset 22-23. As far as favorite climbers, we're aiming for Calif. native plants so California honeysuckle is a contender followed by nonnative star jasmine.

I like it. it's everything else around it that needs tweaking.

(i got carried away w/ideas and pictues,,,lol. lots to see)

what are the plans for the dirt area under the tree?

can you do something like this? With the native plants.

See this wood slat w/the address ? just like this

take those slats and cover up the front portion of your planter, and stick your address on the front too. (paint the numbers)

(use your imagination, I couldn't put the wood across the front)

Kind of like this, but a warmer toned wood. Ipe is great (but it's expensive)

Mid-Century Modern Beach House · More Info

Can you do some redwood? make sure to coat it w/varnish. im also in so cal and made one of these slat walls from redwood and one from Iroku

This is the redwood (it's covered w/the orchids now) right after we made it.

and the iroku.

If the wood will get sun, 100% it has to have the varnish.

use your imagination. if you want the screen, you could do something like this (with the nicer wood) on the back of the planter, and plant some trailing succulents in the planter itself. do the wood on the front, with your address in the same blue color as your door

another type of screen

see this address?

bring in the mexican pebbles in the planter (with soil) and space out some snake plants or other succulents in the raised bed

or depending on how high you make the screen, you could do a variety of plants.

If you can redo your fence off to the side to look more MCM, it would work better w/the rest of the design.

right now the older, dog earred posts aren't adding anything to the look

I also like the idea of doing the slat wood around your front door (a more modern front door if you can swing it

a few planter boxes w/the wood around it and metal tops (to match their posts)

Love this wood color. it would work w/you aqua, or any of the warmer shades. love the door too

or, try painting that front door surround area under the porch a dark charcoal or black color.

you could do a vertical board and batten, or vertical planks painted black (see last pic) or even the stucco. surrounded by the white, the wood on the planter, the blue door, and some green plants in those blue pots, it would be striking

I agree, if left as is, or even modified with wood, that you should plant one thing only and something like bamboo or reeds would be perfect (but for the native plant requirement). How about a native grass used as an ornamental? While not erect, some of these are beautiful and a planter full of them would be beautiful: CA native grasses

Designing in a bit of a vacuum here without a full frontal picture of the house. But ... your son's window is a sliding glass door. It is not a window. That alone looks odd so close to the front door. You have lived with it for 24 years it seems, but when you replace the front door, put actual windows in your son's room. Then you won't need a plant solution to an architecture problem.

With real windows in your son's room, you can plant whatever will grow well in the planter box in the shade under the roof and he might open the curtains to see the new native landscape.

Actually if that were my bedroom with that amount of glass facing the street and next to the front door, I would not open my curtains either. Maybe part of the overall solution should be tiered interior shutters of something like that so he could open part of the upper half without exposing the entire room.

It's dated in that it is one of the features that makes homes of that era so very very delightful. I would not consider getting rid of it! It is perfectly comfortable with your hardscape, as much as is shown anyway.

What you can plant depends on the light I guess. But do plant it.

Hilarious reading comment regarding it’s being ”dated”. Planters like that are very current in new modern builds. They provide dimension in otherwise flat & uninteresting yards as well as definition between hardscape & landscape.. Photo #15 posted by Beth is a twin of my home, I have a raised planter separating the driveway & front walway though.

Btw, the red ”door” in the photo 15 is most likely a gate leading to an atrium entry, actual front door further back. Very common here in coastal So Cal in MCM homes.

I think California native deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens) would look great in your planter. Its low water use and low care. we have a row of octopus agave in front of our house that have a sculptural look and hesperaloe parvifolia in the back. Both super tough and low water users.

For window privacy: try sheers or woven bamboo/wooden shades or solar shades with draperies ( I prefer black-out ones for bedrooms) over them. Sheers/shades should provide privacy during the day while still letting the light in. At night, draw the curtains shut.

Wow, lots of good input. (Special thanks to @Beth H. : who always goes way above and beyond!)

In no particular order...

The planter (very popular in our area) is staying. That big ol' slider was installed during our 2019-20 remodel, and is staying as well. (This was the former primary bedroom that we hope to turn into a separate ADU at some point.)

Some of you asked for photos. The first photo below was taken when we bought the house 20+ years ago. Check out the vertical slat screen that enclosed the front patio! And see all those little plants? They, along with a volunteer Acacia and Drake Elm, grew into a solid green screen that gave even more privacy (and lack of light) to that northern-facing bedroom.

Photo #2 below was taken post-remodel in 2020--half the landscaping had already been torn out. Prior to this, it was quite a paradise for birds and bunnies!

Our current state is below. Awaiting new landscaping, starting next week, fingers crossed!

FWIW, here's the original plan by our architect. He spec'd ipe for all that exterior wood fence/screening. We had to ditch the idea due to cost overruns. Would love to do at least the screen in front of the slider once ipe prices come back to Earth (hoping!).

With Beth's ideas, you could have an entire vertical garden!

What a waste going to the store and spending dollars for a bunch of an herb when you only need a tablespoon.

You could have your own herb garden, and grow other things as well.

There is a lot online about vertical gardens.

I would for sure pick things that hummingbirds and butterflies like, your son might enjoy that.

And on the other side of the "wall," your son's side, you could have plants that do well in the shade.

You could put a couple of chairs and a table behind this new garden screen that would be cool and comfortable in the hot SoCal sun and all you need is some lemonade.

Oh, and do find a place to plant a lemon tree.

Aside from a ready supply of lemons, the blossoms smell delicious.

It does take a couple years to get going, but it is worth it!

@loobab, this pic is for you. we are on it! 😄.

Also, we have been studying Calif native gardens for years, and our landscape architect is well versed, so the birds, bunnies and beneficial insects will be right at home in our yard. :)

Keep California fire safety in mind. Don't put "ladder plants" or wood screens directly under your eaves. Low growing succulents are a much better choice.

Interesting that when we see the entire front yard, it makes total sense to keep it - it's looks good.

Do you want bunnies in your veggies?

@loobab, I am literally planting a mini meadow of native grasses to attract our local cottontails! I love them SOOOO MUCH.

@apple_pie_order, thanks. The fire risk issue is actually one of the reasons (besides cost) that we held back on all the wood the architect spec'd. We are in a high wildfire risk region and our city is following state's new ordinances and them some. We have a fire sprinkler system inside and out (under the eaves). Thinking positive but yeah...

Mittenscat! hey.

great house w/a lot of potential. Right now the entire left side of the house is yawn. sorry!

Here, let me show you why, and how it could look.

if you copied this landscaping and the garage door (please, that one you have,,,sigh) you'd have a more modern appearance.

here's another simple mcm inspired stucco ranch. With the planter! lol. notice the slat wood

here's my version using everything in those pictures:

That large swath of white stucco near the window needs something tall, or, do some wood slat on that portion of the wall. I did give you slat wood all around the garge door.

but I gottat say, those tall bamboo plants near the window, along w/some other landscaping, low maintenace items, and a better looking door. your door color is fine, the style is not.

I'd also do black trim along your fascia

gave you some more modern blue doors

brighter door, w/the wood slat around that portion.

and modern wood doors. gave you a wood address plaque too.

try doing the walkway like this w/the pebbles

here's a stucco house w/mcm elements. the darker trim, wood slat accents, landscaping. this would look great w/your house even w/the white stucco.

you see how this slat wood is around the window? you may want to consider this on that front portion around your window. I think coupled w/some black trim, a diff garage door (or one painted black) it would really amp up your front.

you can attach it like this. fir it out, nail your slats.

oh, you mentioned Ipe? (do the redwood. cheaper) You know you MUST treat the Ipe w/varnish every year, right?

I have Ipe in my yard.I made a little walkway with it.

After the 2nd year I let it go and stopped using the varnish.

I don't have a current pic on me at the moment, but I can assure you, it looks like this now!

I made a bench out of this wood too and didn't keep up w/it. it's all gray now.

So if you're going to do a fence, just know, every year you have to use a UV varnish on it or it will gray. I use Sikkens, Man oWar, or another good Marine Varnish.

We did make this bridge out of redwood (for 1/3rd the price of Ipe) and I've had this for 12 years? every 2 years I sand it and recoat it w/a marine varnish.

So if cost is an issue, look into the redwood. It will look similar to the ipe in tone/color, cost less, and is much lighter to work with. Ipe is so dense, you can barely screw into it!

@Beth H. :, you're so kind! I haven't even answered your first set of suggestions. But I should probably start with this: whatever we do has to be on the low budget end as we are likely selling by the year's end. Replacing the garage door (and front door) was one of my top priorities from the get-go, but it got placed on the back burner after the remodel went 60% over budget. Our town is filled with modern ranch style homes (and our architect is known for it) so we are very much wishing we can go that route. If not this property, then maybe the next! As for landscaping, we are staying away from bamboo due to aiming for a drought tolerant landscape but we are doing tall, columnar plants by the window (I'm spacing on the names).

Did you see the photo I added above of our architect's original exterior for us? Wood, wood, wood, including the garage door. Your photo of the house 4604 is exactly what we planned to do!

Love your screen and so glad you kept that planter; it’s the defining feature of your hardscape and your house would look imbalanced without it. Also yay native landscaping!

mittens, that looks so good! perfect stain color w/the front door color.

Looks like you planted a lot of trees?? why not some succulents or mediterranean style plantings?

I love that wood screen. Looks amazing! What kind of trees did you plant? I don't want to criticize, but did you check their planting specifications? Looks like they are very close together and a couple way too close to the house? Most of them should be at least 15' away from a house and each other. Or are they shrubs?

@Beth H. :, kind of hard to tell from the photos I guess, but we planted 30-35 Calif. native plants (in one gallon containers) that take a year or so before they bush out/pop up. Ceanothus, manzanitas, sages, flowering currants (which look like little trees?), etc., with more coming tomorrow. @kayozzy, there are only two trees in front: a dwarf Horstmann Blue Atlas Cedar (grows to about 6-8') and a Blue Atlas Cedar "Karl Fuchs" that in our area grows to about 20-25'. Plus, a couple of columnar Icee Blue Podocarpus next to the house that can be kept around 5-6' tall. Our landscape contractor has been the arborist for our city for 40+ years, so I trust he knows what he's doing! But fingers crossed!

Love the screen!

Good to hear! Looks great!

If your son never opens his draperies, is it because of the lack of privacy? If so, a screen makes a lot of sense. There are some very interesting metal ones available these days, with laser cut patterns. Instant fix that would support climbers and perhaps a small wall fountain that would attract birds.

Thanks @Jessica Fullerton, I posted the finished product a few days ago (above).

You (and your son) must be so happy with the choice you made. Everything looks wonderful and will continue to improve as things grow and fill in. Great results.

I like the screen you built at the back of the stucco planter, giving privacy to the sliding door. But the photo you posted showing the whole front of the house, with the screen in place, now makes the house front look unbalanced. I agree that perhaps the same effect with framing around the garage door would make it seem more balanced. And I like the house numbers that Beth H. added in one of her mock-ups of your house (to the right of the window under the light). And perhaps building a planter with similar slats as the screen and garage door framing at the base of the mailbox. Those three additions would all tie in nicely, I think, and give a professional first impression, especially with all the new landscaping.

@Sharma, thanks! Good suggestions all. We're waiting (feels like forever) to see how the house looks once the landscaping is done before making any more decisions.

Regarding the "unbalanced" issue, oddly enough two architect neighbors encouraged us not to work toward symmetry. Asymmetry is quite a thing, apparently, at least around here.

I've wanted a freestanding, wood slat house number for ages, but so many of our neighbors have them, I'm not sure I want to follow the trend now.

Hello,

Well, apparently "asymmetry is a thing" in your California neighborhood. I live in Ohio and having worked as a realtor and appraiser first impressions are an important fact when wanting to sell your house and get the best appraisal. I recall you said you would be selling by the end of this year. You also mentioned possibly replacing the garage door. That would be the time to choose something other than a solid, white door that blends in with the white exterior color of the house. One of the examples Beth H. gave in her mock-ups was a more modern door. A black door with frosted glass windows or a wood-tone door. It gave the contrast, read that as balance/depth, to that end of the front facade. Also think about...if others in your neighborhood have followed the asymmetry trend, by your house having symmetry it would stand out in the neighborhood vs. blending in and being "just like all the others."

You've also mentioned cost being of concern, unless the garage door has mechanical issues and needs to be replaced, it might be less costly to add the wood trim around the door for affect. And if planning to sell later this year you wouldn't want to expend monies you might not be able to recoup from the sale.

It's an exciting adventure to make improvements, be creative and see it all come together nicely. I've rehabbed/remodeled, both interior and exterior, five houses and then lived in them for a time (not investment/flipping properties). Then sold them for a profit and moved on to the next home project. Hope my input is helpful to your creative thought processes.

Someone may have suggested this already (you have too many comments to read them all) - but how about a wood slat bench in the middle 2/3 of the planter - set right on top of it, and then just some tall grasses on either side of that. That way you can sit and look out over the yard, or add some seating since you have the sliding doors there and you have an easy conversation area with extra seating built right in.

@Stephanie Reck, not sure if anyone mentioned it in the comments, but my nextdoor neighbor (an architect) suggested that very thing many months ago! I liked the idea but we decided to go with a wood screen and native plants (irises, honeysuckle and dudleyas).