Your front entry should be defined by an entry porch. Look into a design that would lead your guests to the correct door, And something that would give your house some added curb appeal.

Shed Roof Portico (Georgia) · More Info

Nothing wrong with the stone planter, unless it is causing water damage between the dirt and the siding.

Next time don't use the red mulch ... it stands out, but not in a good way.

Go to a local landscape/garden center. Preferably an independently family owned one that has been around for a long time. There were a handful of good ones when we lived in the Boston suburbs. They usually have an in-house landscape architect. Pay for a plan, plant the basics and then purchase more plants as the budget allows.

if you don't like gardening, don't do any landscaping.

I would save up for new siding.

For now, I would remove the shutters on the little window, the plants and stones in the 'box', all the little containers and decor, and replace the red much with a brown.

Get a new larger rug for the door you expect guests to use and put the house numbers and a mailbox at that door. a small simple mat at the other door.

That's a nice looking house. There are some things you can do to put the focus on the house side and away from the garage side. Here are some suggestions:

You seem to have two front doors, Is that correct? If so, then paint both the same blue.

Hire a garden designer to create a plan to pull the eye to the house side with a mix of shrubs and perennials on that side. Here are some ranches with landscaping that enhances the house rather than the garage.

Garage door painted same color as siding:

Get more modern outdoor lightsin black over garage, and both doors.

Remove the stone planter to open up those great windows.

Remove the bitty shutters on the far right window.

Paint the garage door the same color as your siding. Eventually consider a different style garage door to complement your big windows.

Steel Garage Door Ideas From Pro-Lift Garage Doors of St. Louis · More Info

Winding Way 3 Exteriors · More Info

In the meantime, no red mulch. Mulch should be the color of soil to showcase plantings. A good garden designer would suggest ground covers so you don't even need mulch after everything grows in.

The red mulch is an eyesore, brown won't be a big improvement. Just plant it up with a groundcover. Kinnikinnik/bearberry is native and attractive, green year-round. You could do creeping phlox with some summer bulbs. Creeping phlox is close to evergreen --- it can get a bit brown if there are cold winter winds with no snow cover, but it greens back up quickly. If you want to hide the planter, put in shrubs. If the house is not south-facing, then rhodos and Mt. Laurel should thrive with little care --- everything needs to be watered the year it's planted and when it's dry in year #2.

Euononymous tends to spread. It's not native and I hate the stuff, but you could encourage the one you have near the garage to spread.

Thank you all and yes I would love a small portico and/or new siding! There are indeed 2 front doors. The little one in the middle of the house is rarely used and the bigger one near the garage enters into our mudroom so would like for it to indeed stand out more. The large space between the little front door and the small window begs for something too? If new siding is affordable, would you go with vertical to elongate the short height of the house?

Great ideas from all!

I, also, had a nondiscript house that looked long and low from the street. I added a front porch to break up the exterior horizontal plane. It gave the house a more approachable curb appeal and kept me from getting wet in the rain when entering.

I also spent some money on a cedar garage door. I still get comments on it from visitors. I stained it the same color as the siding.

phassink's ideas · More Info

That's beautiful! Love the vertical siding as well!

To: @Patricia Flaherty. A great garden designer will know what to do with the expanse between the second front door and the little window.

I disagree that landscaping will require a great deal of work after it's upgraded. OP can ask garden designer to do a mix of rocks, mulch, shrubs, grasses, and perennials, interestingly spread out. The average American lawn is what's a huge amount of work.

Charming One Story Home · More Info

The average American lawn is what's a huge amount of work.

Not in the northeast. ANYTHING else is more work, since it can't be automated. Lawns are easy. All you have to do is mow, and it is simple and relatively inexpensive to find someone to do that for you. Expanses of mulch have to be weeded, and remulched every year. Stones are even worse, since doing the weeding is extremely painful :-(

As for the house, there is a mudroom door, and a front door. I know which one is which, but I admit to being confused as to why the mudroom door is masquerading as the front door. It makes a nonsense of the entire front.

The black ornamentation on the garage door simply emphasizes the garage door. Getting rid of it would be a relatively simple improvement.

I'd also want to get rid of the raised bed, then find some simple, low growing plant to fill the entire bed. It will have to be weeded occassionally.

We haven't been told which direction the house faces, to get an idea of how much sun the beds get. That helps with specific plant recommendations.

Wow, never thought of that front door not making sense @mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY) TY! All thoughts and ideas are so helpful! AppreAppreciate it very much!

That has to be one of the stupidest AI designs I've seen in a long time. A firepit with no place to sit. The various shaped green balls, proving that AI has never and will never prune anything. Different shades of gravel, all of which will either need to be weeded or get doused with chemicals, not to mention get tracked all over the place and can't be easily raked or leaf-blown. Gleaming white gravel that will remain gleaming white for under a season.

A lovely picture created by a machine that has no clue about what real life does to landscape.

Well said Sigrid😉

The long low ranch style is a classic, so don't think of it as a design flaw. It was meant to look wide and sleek.

As was already suggested, the black trim on the garage door is the wrong style, and should be painted out or removed. Similarly the shutters, the brass knocker on the blue door, and the brass kick plate, are also not in keeping with the style.

Your large front window and the 3 pane door are great, and should be emphasized.

Despite it being the door you use the most, I would de-emphasize the blue door. I would paint it, and the trim around it, the same colour as the siding and remove the knocker and kick plate. The other door is centered in your home and should be the one that stands out with a different colour.

It looks like the stone planter is integrated into the house. If you're going to re-side at some point, I'd remove it then. Until then, de-emphasize it. Remove the white stones inside it, and plant it with evergreen vines that will trail over the side. Or plant low evergreen shrubs in front of it that will hide it, and plant something very low and inconspicuous in it.

I'd contact a stone mason and see whether it would be possible to put a finish over it, e.g. attach wire mesh to the stone and cement right over it with some kind of parge/stucco/plaster finish. Or another kind of stone. Might not be that expensive since it is a small space.

What direction does your house face? Choose shrubs whose eventual size will not be too large so they don't need a lot of pruning. Plant them so their final size will not touch the house. Curved beds are often recommended, but with a mid-century style straight lines also look good, with repetition of the same shrub/plant.

It would be helpful to have a straight-on picture of your house, with the sun shining on it rather than shade. In this mock-up the garage door and the door nearest it are meant to be the same colour as the siding, so they don't stand out. Oversize house numbers emphasize the nice door, and are in keeping with the style of that time.

@partim -Another GREAT comment and being able to visualize it helps tremendously! The house faces North! I have some work to do but will start with de-emphasizing the garage and mudroom door and repainting the center door. I will post another picture asap straight on with the sun on it. The planter and mulch will be different as the first picture was shortly after we moved. Thank you!!

As house looks today....

Planter is whitewashed in this picture as I disliked the stone and wanted to try and make it blend in or better yet disappear!

Thanks for the updated picture. With a north exposure, yews might be a good evergreen choice since they grow well in the shade. Another advantage is that they can easily be shaped, so if they shoot out in a direction you don't like, they can be trimmed. There are different ones, some grow taller and some wider. Most are dark green but there are some yellow needled too. A good nursery can advise you, if you bring the measurements of the beds. Fall is a good time to plant. The only thing that yews won't tolerate is too-wet soil.

It would be good to see a view of the right side. Depending on how much room you have, and what else is there, that might be spot for a good size tree. Evergreen or deciduous. Its larger size would give a pleasing balance to the bulk of the garage on the left. Just be sure its ultimate size won't affect your roof and eavestroughs, so choose the size and planting spot thoughtfully. Be aware that most nursery tags show the tree size at 10 years old, not its ultimate size. Don't do what I did and plant too close to the house based on that size.

Or if you prefer not to have something tall, bring the bed forward at that point and plant some medium size shrubs, again to give some heft to the right side, balancing the left.

Thanks again! Here are the pictures of the side yard. The white fence in the back right belongs to the neighbor and property line runs just behind large tree in front of the fence.

What a difference as in 'simplynatural's' rendering, really pretty.

You have plenty of room for a good size tree at the side to balance the house visually. Keep us updated as you make changes! Many of these are not expensive or hard to do.

Great idea by @simplynatural to paint the gable to reference the roof colour, and a good visual of a larger bed on the right side too.

@simplynatural Thank you so much!

I am so happy I posted here! These comments have inspired me to get moving right away!! So many of the ideas are diy possible and I will def post updates as soon as I can!!!

👍😃

BTW....We love that old stone church too! Such a beautiful spot being right on the reservoir! 👍

Look at photos online and pick out what YOU like, or look at neighbors homes. So many options. And - do not use red or colored mulch - looks bad enough in front of cheap apt bldg and office bldg - looks worse near homes.

Love @simplynatural suggestion. For me, the planter can be hidden behind low growing shrubs. It was the void on the right side of the house below the small window that needed attention and the plan suggested solves that problem.

One suggestion based on my own personal pet peeve. Please get the mildew off your roof. I have the same problem and have to have it soft washed with a mildew remover every 3 - 4 years . It makes the house look so much fresher once it's done. The roof is a prominent feature of your house so make it shine. Do not let anyone power wash it, find someone who does a soft wash with a mildew remover. Takes several rains for the mildew to completely disappear but once it does, your house will look ten years younger.

I absolutely love mid century ranch houses. If this house was mine I would put vertical siding on the front, and paint the whole thing charcoal, maybe with a cedar accent. Only the front door would be painted a different color, like lime green or orange. The mud room door would match the house, as would the garage door. No shutters, no metal colonial looking hinges please. Go to Etsy and get some mid century house numbers. Embrace and enhance mid century.

The first thing I want to do with a 50's house is change the windows and doors to Industrial style with clean lines, uncluttered and suitable for low roofs. Ferns are your best bet for looks and low maintenance landscaping; they even spread on their own. They like shade and love nesting together, especially great around trees,

Use your money judiciously, no new garage door(unless needed), maybe new siding(vertical?) and hard landscape. A good nursery will help you w planning and you could plant most things yourself. They’ll come out and give you a plan suited to the site. You’re not really in the shade, it seems, just facing north. A rhododendron on the blank wall space or an ornamental tree (dogwood, redbud, magnolia, tall japanese maple) would be lovely. Really like simplynaturals pic.

I didn’t mean hard landscape, just larger plantings: shrubs and trees, new mulch (easier to weed than ground cover).

Like the idea of reversing the emphasis on the doors. Making the garage blend into the siding is helpful too. You need to balance things. The planter and door to the right should be the "middle" of your house where your eye goes. Whether or not you use this door as the main entrance doesn't really matter. A semicircle or F shaped walkway with some arborvitae or something on either side of the door would draw attention to it. Lighting would do that also.

—POSITIVE FEATURE is natural woods in back of house…

Emphasize Natural-look by having tall trees and ferns next to garage for easy maintenance.

If you choose new siding, use natural or light wood (yellow looks dated) authentic-wood-look vinyl for low to no maintenance (power wash). It won’t go out of style and lasts longer these days in iffy climate.

— You can use faux stone to draw eye to entry door. No planter needed if you don’t like it or want it.) Definitely no shutters. (I like the above picture using stone!)

—Consider, if budget allows, raising the interior living area ceiling — adding see-through glass apex at entry door. This will add to street-value plus natural light inside.

-If that is mud/laundry room next to garage, lose that outside door for a connecting door to/from the garage. You might just plant thin tree or bush to hide that door if you don't want to re-do exterior?)

-Replace windows and door for uncluttered look of Industrial-style; black frames emphasize the natural-wood siding (and woods).

-A large, neat, front lawn is attractive and sufficient for total appearance. No further landscape needed with low care-free evergreen spreading bushes and small, colorful flowers—or ferns need very little weeding or care (no mulching). I recommend you pay someone to install evergreens... Digging is worse than weeding.

Seeing budget is a concern, I would paint the trim, a darker color and the garage to match or wood look panels. If you can paint the windows a darker color that would be good to. Also you can white wash the stone to bring it in line.

Stage 1......just painted garage, removed black hardware, painted side door to match siding and removed small shutters.

What do you think?

Wow, so quickly! Looks great!

Yes Wow! What a difference, looks wonderful.

Maria Killam is a fabulous designer. Check out her "before & after" of her own ranch, it looks just like your exterior.

https://mariakillam.com/my-house-is-completely-renovated-here-are-all-the-before-afters/

Wow, Patricia, beautiful job with Stage 1!👍🏻

simplynatural, great inspiration photo!👍🏻

Wonderful! Looks great already. Fall is the time to plant. Looking forward to the next installment.

Thanks everyone! I am trying to embrace the actual house style without adding structual changes (not in the budget) and your ideas have been invaluable.

New front door light and house numbers are tomorrow’s projects with landscaping consult/design on Wednesday! Will follow up with pics soon!

As is, the garage still dominates. (It's the multi-small-windows in garage that throw off your long, elegant look?)

Just add tree to cover that mudroom door (looks like you can dig out the sidewalk for nice tree) -- three trees; one each end of house and one by garage with mudroom will balance it all! Most cost-efficient and "picture perfect." Painting the window box was good idea!

Totally agree about the garage windows as said by @simplynatural and Sherry! Will def look into that!

In the meantime, TY @tozmo1 for info on roof mildew!! Had no idea how bad that was and looked! Just got estimate for that and landscaper will come next week to fill in some areas as well! New pics will follow! You guys are AWESOME!

Can't wait for final PICTURE PERFECT of your wonderful home, Patricia!! Thanks for this opportunity to contribute. ENJOY!

Thanks Sherry! Just a quick update...Stage 2 consisted of landscape design and plants (low maintenance, I was told) at the entrance to the driveway and to the right of middle door.

The Japanese Maple, although small now, will eventually help to fill in the void between the door and small window on far end of house. I updated the middle door light and house numbers and the roof and house is scheduled to be soft washed in 2 weeks!

I hope to address the garage door windows, stone planter and new wider walkway in the spring. For now, this is such an improvement and I am so happy with how it is beginning to shape up. My sincere thanks to all who contributed to this discussion! Bless you all!

Very, very nice indeed! Wonderful progress. Looking forward to seeing it after the soft wash. It takes several rains for the mildew to completely disappear so keep us posted.

Good job!

Fantastic work!!!

Looking fwd to the final result!

following along

You’ve done a great job and the improvements are transforming. But, Japanese Maples grow very slowly. The JM would be great moved to the bed to the right of the driveway entrance. Then I would put a taller, faster growing ornamental specimen tree like a dogwood, redbud or magnolia in that spot, a bit off the wall (1/2 the mature width of the tree).