I would extend the roof across the front to create a big covered porch.. or.. a pergola…Or……add some windows..Or…attach upright lattice strips and plant something to grow up them….Or maybe a row of good size pots with tall , narrow junipers in them.. it would also look nice with a matching brick as flooring behind the fencing.. creating a more defined porch

First off, remove that black fence.

Then, as said above, continue the garage roof across the whole area to create a covered porch. Hang a swing or get a couple of fancy rocker/gliders to set in the area in question.

The lavender siding looks strange with the fine brick. I assume it’s not really lavender paint, but it LOOKS lavender, so it’s weird.

There were 18 responses on last month's thread, some very detailed with mock ups. But not one word of response from the original poster as to whether any of the ideas were interesting for them.

I would trim the branches, an expense, for sure, but certainly the first step.

I would remove the shutters and paint the siding & garage door SW Naval a beautiful dark navy blue.

a verticle slatting to join the roof to the porch concrete pad for an interesting trellis like feature

in a natural finish. a colorful front door, Aqua, Lime green or orange for some vibrancy.

I would paint the soffit (overhang ceiling) a Haint Blue.

I would paint the garage doors the body of the house. I also like the idea of a blue ceiling on that front overhang. Railing painted white to match the trim, and some pretty comfy outside chairs with cushions in a nice brighter color. A throw rug, with color from the cushions. If you still need something on that wall, put a canvas painting in the colors you are using on the wall. Please spray it with exterior poly clear spray, for added protection. You can get those reasonablly priced many places.

I looked at the other thread. There's a very important piece that I think everyone there missed, and greatly affects any advice. The 2nd story roof overhang extends out to the garage roof, if not a little past it even. Apparently, I would guess there were columns once holding this roof up (hopefully aesthetically only, and not structurally) that were removed. If so, I would then question what rearrangement was done on the inside where there are no windows to the left of the front door, and only 1 small window upstairs under this overhang.

What that means is the advice of extending the garage roof over for a porch would be a terrible idea. Even a pergola as suggested is strange under that long overhang when it doesn't match any of the other vocabulary of the house. Along the same thought though a balcony might work, with columns, making sense of the overhang.

So to answer the question of what to do up to $10K, IMO it might be best to stick to just some planters, furniture, or small things, and live there a while to understand the layout and what was done, all while saving more money. Maybe then re-approach ideas for the face of the house with some more/larger windows, a good layout of interior spaces, or the balcony idea, and maybe something might turn out to be a huge benefit to aesthetics, your lifestyle, and your ROI.

PS I take it you finally closed on the house 6 weeks after your first thread. But better to stick to the same thread as internet etiquette for people putting in free time for advice.

Oh, you'll have to spend some money trimming trees, there looks to be some problematic ones. Expenses keep coming.

I'd use a proper masonry paint for bricks and blend them into the siding color. Normally I hate painting brick but your brick is more of a decoration than a structural element, and it's not emphasizing anything that needs to be emphasized -- it makes the front bay window area look narrower than it really is. So blend it in. Also I'd take out the black railing because it serves no function. Upgrade that area into a nice sitting front patio -- maybe a colorful bistro set will draw attention away from the 'blank' space. Then live there a while before doing any more. Lots of potential, congratulations!

oh and for more landscape type advice, a picture from further back would help.

@lmckuin thank you so much for the link! i knew id posted it already but i couldnt find it to save my life. Glad there are tech savvy folks like you in the world.