Take down the gable that highlights the side door. Put up a fence so no one can reach the stairs. Where does this door lead? Laundry room? foyer????? where does the door you are not showing us lead?

Please post a pic of the other sides too.

Create a small enclosed yard with a fence or a hedge with a locked gate at the path and a sign that says "NO access, please use other entrance."

Deliveries tend to follow the driveway. We need to see the front of the home, the door you want people to use. I would be focused on beefing that up making it more welcoming vs down playing the view given. Do you have a walkway to the maindoor? Is it substantial enough to say HERE I AM USE ME? We have no idea.

Thanks guys. more details: Side door leads to small mudroom and kitchen, front door leads to dining room. Its a clear front door with steps and walkway but not visible when you come up the side street.

So if I were a friend coming to your home for the first time where would I park? I see the sidewalk does not wind around the corner. It doesn't appear your driveway is wide enough that one would park on it. If you say the walkway is visible (it's not in the pic) should it be widened? Maybe a welcoming curve? If I did park in your driveway I likely would not walk across grass to get to your front door. Is the crosswalk and fire hydrant keeping people from parking in front? Perhaps that street is too busy so people park on the side street?

side street is busier actually. Those that park on side street walk up our driveway towards the door to a small parhway. The goal is to make the side look more private and ”yard” like so that theres less confusion and for it to be a more appealing space also. thanks

People will most always take the path of least resistance, so if they see your driveway and park on or near it, they will walk toward the closest door. And actually, that side door looks much more like the front door than the front door does.

So you will need to disguise/hide that side door somehow and ALSO create a wide welcoming walkway to the real front door.

Where Visitors Park is your first concern - then offer them an option from there. As is, nobody is going to walk across the grass to get to a door.

It is definitely confusing. Do people do fences in your area? If so a fenced back/side yard would make it seem more like the back and side. If that isn’t a go then plantings to create a yard would also help

Color is your friend. Pick colors like blue, aqua, coral or yellow then mix or match.

A brightly colored awning for the front door. Move the light fixture if you need to.

Paint the front door a bright color.

Two oversized bright glazed or painted planters on each side of the front porch.

Colorful flowers on each side of the front path.

Disguise the utility boxes....paint them the house color and use a shrub or a trellis (leave room for the meter reader).

Gorgeous house by the way.

Do you have a path to your front door? Hard to tell from the pic. What is your address? On the side street or mail street? Where's your mailbox? I'd expect delivery vehicles to go to the door with your address. You could put some trees/shrubs at the edge of your property on the busy street. If you didn't want that much landscaping, you could do an island bed in the middle of your side yard in front of the door. That would make it less apparent to people driving up.

That said, anyone coming from the busy street and seeing the driveway is likely to pull in an see your door. So if that's where the majority of your visitors come from, a garden might not work.

Jennifer Jamgochian/ Multiflora · More Info

Whole Home Garden Design and Installation; large trees, flowers, shrubs in beds · More Info

Here is a rough sketch:

Do you need a screen/storm door? A solid front door would give a better impression.

If no path leads to the front door then no way to get that used so make theat path the path of leastresstance which means you make it wakward to get to the dise door with maybe plantings big pots almost anytihng that makes ghoing there a PITA then a nice wide walkway with beutiful plantings all along that walkway tht makes people want to see what is at the end of that path h Make the walkway so wide that that skinny little pat is just not a good choice . Run the new walway both from the street and the drive way but furhther back on the driveway so people park near the new path . A pretty awning maybe iron and glass aboove the front door and a door with glass always a more welcoming look and nice wide stoop to let people have a spot to stand when waiting for the front door to open I think maybe something more substancila for the front entry maybe something like this to really protcet visitors and make it look a lo different than the other

Some architect was smoking something or drinking koolaid when he did the drawing and design! A new roof will be expensive when you need one due to all the valleys and changes. UGH! No suggestions other than do some landscaping and flower beds.

Begin by removing the short stairway to the deck from the front of the house to the side door.

A solid matching railing where the steps used to be. Create a surround of tall junipers near the side door to give privacy and discourage strangers.

My home has a similar side door near driveway set up. I put up a small sign on the door directing to the front door. Helps a ton!

@HU-284538810 we had a landscaper come and this was basicasly what they suggested as well. thanks!