Congratulations on your new home! Good idea to redo your front steps and railing for safety and curb appeal. Consider wide stone steps. The steps can be made deeper (mini landing) 1/3 and 2/3 of the way up for safety and a place to put flower pots. You could consider a front porch or tiered stone planters on either side of the steps for two tiers of plantings (ground level and halfway up) to help breakup the height between the front door and the ground. Consider also a wide stone path from the stairs to the driveway.

How many years off is the addition to the front of the house? I wouldn't invest too much money now since it will be ripped out - when - in a few years? For now I would build much wider stairs with a wider landing at the top. Have the stairs come out further into the yard so the grade is not as steep. I'd do wood stairs and inexpensive railing.

Remove the shrubs and do an easy, inexpensive landscape job now since it will also be ripped out - throw in some inexpensive large hydrangia and tall grasses. Because the stairs will start much farther out in to the lawn, make sure to extend the foundation planting bed out to where the stairs begin. It will be a much deeper bed but will help with the scale of the front of the house. Use tall plantings in the back. Make the landing at the top of the stairs big enough for an urn next to the door.

Beautiful home, congrats.

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I would start with a front porch. Adds eaze of entry and curb appeal.

If you know the addition will be in the front, make the porch foundation so that it can be a room in the future.

IMO get the addition planned and on paper to see what is going to be the finished product. I would not be spending money only to rip it out when adding on. I agree there are amny ways to hnadle this but we need a lot more info as to what the addition will do to the front of the house .

You stated that the main entrance will be in the new addition. Can we assume that this entrance will still be there but used as a “back door” entrance? If so, what about building a pretty deck with longer stairs to the ground and landscaping around that?

Love your house, by the way!

For the path to the driveway, plan it out with hoses. Place them to outline a potential path and use it to see how you like it. Unless you're doing poured concrete, gravel or mulch , it's worth remembering that straight lines are easier than curves. Bark mulch is a cheap path, it will probably need new mulch every now and then, but it's easy to remove if the addition makes it in the wrong place.

I would not remove the shrubs. Figure out what they are and tidy them up. You may want to transplant some. The foundation plantings look less-than-loved. If you're not a gardener, I'd stick with the shrubs you have and put mulch under them.

I'd plan for wider steps, with the first one from the door being quite deep, that will give you room for people to stand, wipe their feet on your welcome mat before stepping up through the door.

Hi everyone! thanks for the ideas. to clarify my original post, when i said this wont be the permanent main entrance its because our addition will be built our to the left of the house when looking from the street. the addition will be larger than the existing structur connected by a farmers porch and have its own ”main entrance.”

if helpful at all, i LOVE gardening and want to replant here. whats there now is overgrown forsythia and a type of ilex. i plan to start from scratch. we are in MA if helpful.

How many years is “eventually?” I would do a paintable wood porch if the addition is in the next 5-7 years. And congratulations on the new house, it’s beautiful!!🙂🎉🍾

How do you approach this door? Where is the driveway in relation to the door? Would guests also approach only from the driveway?

Some option for base and steps