HI -- The red door is perfect .... Love the red door -- very pretty house !

HI -- @ Kaja Gam Design , interesting info you posted -- thank you ---- I think a red door says -- passionate friendly people live here !

I agree :)

Thanks Houzz and everyone here for your amazing ideas! You have inspired me....stay tuned. Finishing touches to the back first, then will move to the front!

Looking forward to it ionig.

Mark Levy has 2 great ideas:
1. Tree in the center so the eye is not focused on the center of the house where the door is not.
2. Enclose the porch up to the pathway.

While you are at is, a wider pathway, or......... put rocks or flowers on both sides of the pathway to make it more noticable that this is the entrance. It is not noticable enough so the eye focuses upward to the middle of the structure.

R Robulock....thank you very much for your comments; it is kind of you to make mention of my thoughts on this subject. Since the goal of any of the professionals such as myself on houzz is to offer ideas, comments, suggestions and possible courses of action for the readers and their projects, it is good to have feedback. The interest you show in other readers projects completes the circle; everyone with a common goal of seeing the best to come out of our combined efforts.
I think that ioning's project will be a good example of how divergent, different and yet collective, constructive ideas yields a design that ultimately works for the homeowner, and expresses their aesthetic.

Hi everyone, here are some progress pics! We have removed the concrete walkway which dipped in the middle and leveled it by adding a paver walkway to the house and walkway to the garage on the left side. We also added pavers to the front patio. We used colorful pavers that are bright with red tones to go with the red door. We switched out the light fixture, added red accent pillows and a silver lion door knocker. We also added metal art that we found at an estate sale on the left wall. We built a 16x22 wooden deck in our back yard in the shape of a ship (although we did not plan it that way). Now we are looking for some landscaping ideas. We are not the best with maintance so we are looking for simple economical landscape recommendations to add aditional curb appeal. Any thoughts/suggestions/comments welcome!

Also, I'm not sure if we should remove the shutters from the front windows. We have them on both sides of our door and these are not easy to remove.

Very nice so far! Have you considered changing your shutters or even removing them altogether? Here is an excellent short article with photos on the proper sizing of shutters. http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/residential-architecture-101-shutters/

You will be surprised at how much difference just changing the shutters will make for not a lot of money.
lol, I didn't see your post. Yes, remove the shutters from the sides of your front door.

I totally agree with Denita, and you should peruse the article she suggests. The shutters at the front door as well as the front wings of the house are out of proportion and out of style with the windows.
On the left wing it looks like you have qoins (the white 'stone' embellishments on the corner) but I do not see any on the right wing. You could proportion the window casing in a wide stucco finish to frame the entire window and give it some mass and also complete with qoins on both sides of each wing. The building adornments look unfinished and as an afterthought. - and be careful with the proportions.

Wow! Great advice and ideas - thank you! We are a little nervous about removing the shutters as the entire house is newly painted and we don’t know what it looks like underneath but I am encouraged after hearing from you. I never considered adding qoins to the right side, love it! Trouble is we live in a fantastic 50’s wooded area with top notch schools and minutes from train and shopping, but we will likely purchase something bigger for our growing family so we want to keep costs reasonable since this may not be our forever home. Although we do love it!

I totally understand the budget restraints. But they can be stuck-on - you can actually do it yourselves - since you are at ground level no need for a scaffold. Here is a website with one version of stuck-on qoins. http://jks-precast.com/index.php?p=1_10_Steps-Quoins

My 2 cents. None of the shutters looks right, functional or interesting, so take a chance. While you're painting where the shutters were, can you match the downspouts to the house so they don't jump out at us? I like the quoins but you have to get the right size. Not sure how to calculate that - you may just have to 'sample' several sizes before deciding. I think the wall sculpture is too small and scrawny - having no impact, but your new lantern looks great!

Both of these pictures may be more extravagant than what you want to do, but I like the big flagstone pavers & you could use them to extend your front porch to make a small courtyard. Put a small fountain or birdbath in the center for interest. Add some larger plants & groundcover type flowers to the beds beside the house. For the bed by the road it looks like you need to add some rich dirt then lots of plants. Since you live in a tropical climate you have a lot of interesting plants you can go with. For those not liking the shutters, what if they were painted black or dark charcoal gray to match the roof? Everything you've worked on so far looks great.

Hi everyone, if I can talk my husband into removing the newly painted shutters and putting up news ones (or find a handy man who will), what type of shutters would go and what color? I am attaching one I found at Lowes - they have various colors. Since I last posted, we made some progress but I have not taken a picture yet to post. We planted, put up a flag and rearranged the front porch. We also moved the kid's water resistant toy chest under the iron art on the right wall and it fills up the space much better and much more functional for them. I will update later but it’s starting to look nice!! Any ideas on shutter?? Vinyl, concrete, wood? I appreciate your help!

No, don't put up the one's from Lowes. It is the same issue as what you have right now. Put up ones that are sized-right (half the size of your window) and functional or functional-looking with hardware. Not concrete. Not the stick on vinyl type that is sold by big box stores. Go to one of the shutter pro's to see what the sized right with hardware shutters would look like on your home. Here is an app for you to try on proper shutters virtually (for free) so you can see the difference


http://www.timberlane.com/resource-center/shutter-snapshot/

Here is what a sized right shutter with hardware looks like (also read the article I posted up thread - it has many photos) There are many styles and colors. These are just to show placement and hardware and size

Thanks for the recommendation and for sharing our photos, Denita.

As far as the shutters go on your home, we would recommend a Wooden Shutter (preferably Cedar) as it is very durable and highly regarded by many homeowners. As for the style, we would recommend a Board and Batten style. Your home seems to have a craftsmen- like feel to it, which the board and battens will only accentuate.

Like Denita said, feel free to use our Shutter Snapshot to see what color shutter and style you like best on our home!

Hi ionig,
Thank you for the on-going update. Do you have any in-process photos to show your fellow houzzers how the project is coming along?

Thanks,
Mark

Ohhh….I love these!! So sharp and modern, thanks everyone! I uploaded the pic to the Timberlane site, let’s see the outcome. I’ll post it here if I am able so you can all see. The only downside is that we will be looking to buy a bigger house in the next 2-3 years for our growing family, so we have to take budget in consideration since this is not our forever house and we have already put a fair amount in. But let’s see what happens. Mark, I posted some pics up top that are progress pics but I have to take new ones to update. I will do that this week;-)

That courtyard has a lot of potential!

And, I suggest removing the shutters. Not to the style of your home, nor fitted correctly.

Great house!

I took some pics tonight to show our progress. As you can see, we rearranged the front porch, moved the toy chest under the iron art and added a flag. We also opted for smaller plants that will grow over time and fill in the landscape rather than a larger investment in mature foliage. Much of the selection was based on the advice we got from a local nursery and our local farmer's market. What do you think?

Looks really nice...

I would build a pergola out from the front porch entry. Paint the shutters....

I would put a railing with side posts across the porch the enclosure will give you more privacy. Another great idea is to "brick" the concrete with colored stain to imitate the actual stone path. Don't forget to seal it, it will last for several years.

Why not replace the little window with one that matches the other side? That's the first thing I'd do. Then properly sized shutters. Or none at all.

I personally love the idea of adding a white arbor with some vines over the open porch. I would also add some big leafy (maybe tropical) plants where the plant beds are now, lining the walls to give it a pop of color. Have you thought about adding a picket fence?

Here is the snapshot picture from Timberlane Inc. with appropriately sized shutters. I submitted a photo of the house to them prior to the progress shots I posted last night. For your review, I have attached a picture with proposed shutters, a picture with current shutters and, just for fun, a picture of what the house looked like before we moved in. What do you think, is this what everyone had in mind?

Two comments: 1) So glad you uncovered the house! The landscaping of the original covered up the entire exterior :(

2) If you are going to use shutters, the wider shutters look much better - don't forget to add the hardware to the shutters to make it look functional (makes all the difference).

Def add a pergola in the centre. ,stain it blue

Wow! You have done a lot of work on the house. It really looks good & I'm also glad you uncovered it from the way it was before. I know taking those evergreen bushes out was hard because I've done it before & I have 4 to take out now. A job I'm definitely dreading!

My only comment on the shutters is that they should be close in color to your door if you go with red shutters. You don't want 2 different colors of red. The shutters would also look good in a contrasting color. I love the up close picture of your door. The red, blue & green are so vibrant that they look computer generated.

You could add some annuals with red blooms in your bed near the road to extend the red out more.

Sorry to hear you're going for the shutters. One more attempt here to convince you otherwise!
http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/residential-architecture-101-shutters/

Decoenthusiaste, thanks for the message. I used an app on the Timberlane site to see what the house would look like with custom shutters but am undecided. I love the shutters themselves but I am not sure they are a good fit for our house since they seem to accent the different sized windows even more. I do like the idea of removing the current shutters all together and painting red inside the window boxes like Kaja Gam Design suggested. But wanted to see what my fellow Houzzers thought. I like the idea of a pergola for sure!

Have you used the app to see what awnings might look like?

I like the idea but it won’t work because there is an overhang above the window which is part of the roof. It’s a tricky problem to have.

If the small window is on what is the garage, then it's not critical to be there. If I couldn't put a window in to match the other side, then I'd cover it with a set of closed shutters that matches the other window and put shutters on the sides of that one.

Kaja Gam, happy to report the shutters are finally off and that you were 100% right - it makes such a difference!! Thank you for being the first to give this advice and thanks to the other fantastic Houzzers who also gave me a nudge;-) Turns out the wooden shutters were nailed through and not too bad to remove. Can't wait to take pictures after second coat dries for you all to see!

you are very welcome, I am looking forward to see the result!

Here are the latest photos. Based on your recommendations, we removed all the shutters from the house, painted underneath them and planted two Italian Cypress trees, one on each corner of the house to accent the front entry. They are four feet now but expected to grow to 10 feet. We also purchased the red house numbers from numbermyhouse (who I found on HOUZZ). I am so glad I took your advice and removed the shutters, thank you! I'm really starting to like the outside of our home!

It's looking great! I think I'd plant Cypresses at the other two corners or move the one to the outside corner.

Please ignore my previous comment!, I just saw the other cypress. I'm so sorry! It looks great!

Looks great!

The removal of the shutters gave your home a total different look. I love it.

Good morning ionig,
The photos showing all of your updated efforts really highlight the beautiful transformation. The changes you have effected bring real curb-appeal to the house. Thank you for keeping your fellow houzzers updated; I personally look forward to following your journey in creating your completed home.

Wow - this has been an amazing transformation and kudos to you for your persistence. The whole thing now looks beautiful.

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Thanks so much everyone!

If you want a little privacy for the front porch consider one of these...

I think that a great way to add curb appeal would be to add a fence around the yard. Not only would a fence add great curb appeal, but it would help protect the home. There are so many different kinds of fencing , you are sure to be able to find one that you like. Getting a fence would also be a great way to improve the look of your home and stay within your budget.

http://www.townandcountryfence.net