Looks nice and hopefully you’ll be able to keep the gravel clean. What are the low green things up against the house? Yews? How close to the house are they? And the little tree in the corner looks charming now but it’s going to grow…is it already touching the railing?

I like the white siding and boldly-colored shutters. The lattice is nice too.

The door sconces look small - I’m getting ready to replace mine and I’m looking at some that are 2-3 times as big as yours.

You have a very nice house and other than adding color & texture to your landscaping, this is one possible idea:

The handrails certainly suit the style of your house, so I would keep them. The spindles could be replaced with plain square ones, which would echo the squares of the lattice.

Larger, rectangular or square lights by the door.

I agree with littlebug, the color of your shutters is very nice (and refreshing that it's not the same-old, same-old).

The garage and shed doors don't complement each other or the house. If you can, think about replacing the shed door with a more traditional style, and removing the windows from the garage door because they draw the eye away from the main house - you don't want that. I would see if I could square off the garage door opening too. Usually I love that sort of detail, but here it also doesn't seem to fit the house overall.

Great feedback so far, thanks so much. To answer a few questions, the gravel is no issue for me to keep clean, I am a very active gardener, I keep this space very manicured so that it is easy to keep up with. I have more extensive gardens in the rest of the yard. The new plantings are young but I plan to keep them small, the pic is deceiving, the hydrangea is not that close to the handrail but it will be trimmed to stay small. I know the lights are too small, they were there when I bought the place, I like the square idea. I also hate the garage doors, it is weird to me that they are not squared out. Maybe I can get replacement plastic to get the glass more square. I have not thought about the shed but that is something to look into as well! I was concerned that just rectangle spindles might look like a prison cell since there is a lot of handrail.

Congrats, you have installed the bare minimum of landscaping with gravel which no good landscape plan ever calls for. The flowering bush is planted too close to the house and will outgrow the space within the year.

Besides the great landscaping on this house below, you might consider off-white shutters instead of blue. It's a more sophisticated color palette solution. BTW IMO you're going to need some type of canopy to keep guests dry at your front door.

Extending the roof line over the entrance would be the most logical solution.

It's personal preference but IMO the house would have looked a bit more upscale with Navy Blue Shutters

The white gravel doesn't help the appearance of the home.

I hardly notice your handrail and spindles. That area just looks naked to me because it seems there should be a roof that extends over the small porch. Adding one would be the top priority.

Just curious why you use gravel instead of mulch? It looks so unnatural to me.

Like your shutter colors and your new lattice.

The previous owners put in the gravel, I have added some white to it so it is not so industrial. While I do not love it tons, it is easy to maintain and one less thing for me and not a top priority. I also live in a cold climate and mulch does not stay looking great, I do have it in other gardens though to soften things. The pictures are all from the winter, in the summer I have beautiful flower boxes that add in a lot of color to the front steps and many of the plants that are dormant in the pictures bloom and add in a lot more color, I know it is difficult to see this from the pictures.

I don’t see anything wrong with your handrails & spindles, they suit your house. I like the blue shutters too. i agree on the garage windows though, can’t they just be popped out? i had similar on my very modern home, i was able to easily remove them , leaving nice simple rectangles in their place.

Some option to go with black shutters

Hi Melissa c-

I like your shutters. If they don't need painting, I would leave them alone and save the money to use on something else.

I think the front of the house could be improved by putting something over the front door. I am not sure what, maybe a portico. If it could be something that sticks out a bit to protect from the rain, that would be great. if not, then just something for looks.

What color is your front door?

If it is wood, then leave it that way.

If it is painted red, I might change it.

Larger light fixtures might be nice.

And big brass house numbers to the left of the front door.

I love, love window boxes.

Some people hate them.

I don't know your climate and the exposure of the front of your house.

Before you decide, think about whether you are willing to water the boxes upstairs.

With the blue shutters, depending on your tastes, you can choose foliage that is variegated like coleus, tradescantia, plectranthrus and intersperse flowering plants.

Or go for something like ornamental cabbage.

If window boxes are not you thing, I would really buff up the area in front of your house with some great bushes.

I am crazy for things in colors of purple, blue, pink and white, and that attract butterflies and hummingbirds like lilac, buddleia, hydrangea, salvia, passiflora, ipomoea, morning glory, jasmine, nicotiana, foxglove.

I would get some solid perennials and supplement with annuals for color and things you can cut and bring in for your vases.

Maybe some things you can sow by seed easily like cosmos.

Drape a string netting against the bush and sow sweet pea, they grow so easily and smell lovely, and not too strong.

If you have lots of money, maybe you can build a little sitting area, maybe even a pergola.

Then perfect your sweet tea and muffins because the neighbors will come running.

I think your house is really pretty. I love the blue and white…happy colors. Love the lattice touch! I don't see anything wrong with the rails and spindles. Could you show what you are considering? I feel garage windows are important, not for looks but for light in the garage to reduce mold growth. I like yours and also your shed doors. I don't think they all have to match. They are all in character with the house. You should see a mock-up before changing them.

Probably not exactly what you asked but I loved creating these renders. Maybe just take it for inspiration :)

Akhilesh- how lovely!

@Melissa c would you consider a little roof over your entry? How would you feel about extending your garage roofline across the front of the house either partway to cover the door or all the way if it would give you a covered front porch? How deep a front porch could you get? What is the depth of the porch in front of your door? I've read recommendations for a minimum of 6'. If it's not 6', stick to just covering the door.