Cute house! What do you like about house? What sort of style do you like? It feel very cottagey to me with the garage door, shutters and circular vent. Were there a couple of additions at one time do you know? It looks like the upper story and garage could have been added later.

It is so cute - you are wrong about the symmetry. . . that makes it interesting. If you were going to do some shake do it on the last gable on the left bump out only. No board and batten. Stick with horizontal siding and personally, I love the classic pale yellow and white trim and would just try a bit lighter tone - a charcoal like sw grizzle gray - gray shutters instead of the black to give it a bit more soft cottage charm. Just paint the front door you have since it is such a great open / glass / style. I'd go navy on the front door - a bright navy not a dark one - like sw commodore.

Your house is darling - use the brick that looks antique in your landscape out back - add more cottage landscape instead of worrying about the house. Arbors, picket fences, more brick paths, a herringbone brick patio out back?

Some suggestions I have would be the leave the windows same style, but I notice the trim around them is wider at top & sides than bottom. Shutters need updating, they are too narrow, and I would remove stutters from second storey window. This storey is one reason why the house doen't seem symmetrical.. I would then paint front door a bright color. It is set back and seems dark. As other suggestion, yellow would make it stand out.
Add shingle style siding to gables, and vertical or board/batten to rest of house.
I think the garage door is off centre. Is that right? If that's the case, paint it to match whatever siding you pick. Change light fixture to something larger that casts downward. Something like this:
[houzz=]

For landscaping continue color of steps in a stone walkway. Remove bushes in front. You can add more symmetry with landscaping. Plant two taller evergreens, one on each side of window closest to front door. then some smaller shrubs and plants under windows. Plant a larger tree on left corner of house, and then add other plants based on your how much gardening you want to do.

One more piece of advise. My hubby was a siding installer for a number of yrs. Make sure you have someone qualified to install siding. It may look easy enough, but isn't, and there are a lot of bad installers out there.

My goodness. This would be some people's "after" picture! Such a darling house. Other than colors perhaps more to your taste, and upgraded shutters, there's little to not like. You might try expanding the entry landing area a bit with the used brick it appears the steps are made from, and adding some classic urn pots with color. A larger lantern style fixture over the garage would complement the carriage house style hardware on the garage door. Doing more detailing on a home with this face would clutter, rather than enhance, I fear.

Cute house indeed!

Please don't add awnings or break up surfaces, your house looks fine as is!

I agree with all the enthusiasm for your house everyone else has expressed. All I'd suggest is painting your garage door the same colour as the walls to make it draw less attention to itself, and painting your front door an attention-getting colour to draw one's eyes to where they should be. The current white on the garage door is a bit of a 'dead' colour anyway.

The "lack of symmetry" is about 80% of the charm of the house. They meant to do that!

Unless the siding is in poor condition , don't mess with it. Use the money where it makes a real difference - the traffic flow.

What I notice most - as a design flaw and a lack of curb appeal - is the tiny, cramped doorway with the steep steps. The door is buried in that little tunnel and there's not enough room for an easy entry. If you are coming in with a large package, how do you do it? If a group of people come, do they line up on the driveway and come in single file?

Painting it a bright color only emphasizes the cramped feeling effect.

I would give the front more importance, appeal and traffic room by making a larger entry porch of wood with an appropriate railing and short columns. Basically a "deck", but in front of the house.
1 - Extend the top step out to the corner of the house for ease of entry.
2 - Then drop down a couple of steps and wrap the next level around the wider of the two bays. Make this wide enough for at least a bistro set or a park bench ... inviting seating.
3 - Have the final run of steps in line with the door and a ground-level "entry pad" so people don't land in the mud when they get out of the car.

4 - Add LED strip lights under the steps for safety and ambiance, and appropriate downlights on the columns.

5 - Add a pergola if you want, but at the street side of the porch, not attached to the house (your windows and roofline would make construction very tricky) ... I'd extend it from the corner all the way across the driveway and plant something vining and appropriate to your climate. Virginia Creeper has splendid fall color.

Repeat the shape of the eaves in the crossbar of the pergola.

6 - Plant around the base of the porch with a mix of evergreens and deciduous shrubs, perennials that bloom at various times.

Go fix the cold beverage of your choice, sit on your front porch and watch the neighbors :)

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ADDING: If you want that little bit on the roof to go away, remove the shutters and paint it the same color as the roof.

Real shutters will make a huge difference. The way the hinge sets the shutters at an angle alone adds character.
I would consider exposed fake rafter tails at the gables.
It would give it a beachy coastal look if you like that.
If you want more formal maybe add cornice boxes above a the front two windows!

Thank you for all of your suggestions and positive feedback. I would like a more cottage like style. My home is in a neighborhood full of lovely four squares and craftsman bungalows - because mine was built in 1989, if feels a little out of place. The garage door was recently replaced which really helped (and is why it hasn't been painted). I have been considering painting the exterior gray - suggestions for colors are greatly appreciated. I love the idea of creating a front porch/deck - but am having trouble envisioning the design. I didn't think it was possible to create. I have no vision for landscaping so really appreciate the suggestions. The top floor with the window is what I think looks so off and I'd like to minimize - removing the shutters sound like a good option - all ideas appreciated. Been thinking something over the garage (pergola or awning) would help - maybe moving the lighting to the sides (rather than on top of center). Real shutters sound like a good option - suggestions for style are appreciated as well

I would not add shakes or any other new kind of siding. You have enough detail and charm right now, and I think that adding more will just make it look busy. I totally agree with comments about the shutters - it is so common to see undersized shutters (especially) and putting up the correct size and mounting them correctly will make a world of difference (I, too, would remove the shutters on the upstairs window). Adding hinges and shutter dogs, whether real or just for looks, would be nice, too. Paint will be your biggest friend: a soft yellow, as someone else suggested, would be nice, but so would a very soft gray. Really any color would work - just depends on what you like!! With either I would do bright white trim and a rather bright accent color on the door, since it is recessed and in shadow.. I can't see your door too well, but I would think you could paint the existing. Other than that, a larger light fixture over the door would be nice. Trim up the shrubs, add a pot of bright flowers below the stairs, and maybe build matching (solid) window boxes under the two windows. It's a charming house!

A pergola over the garage door would look nice and would suit the house, but I'm a bit concerned about whether it would create an awkward line on the front door side. You don't have a lot of room on either side of the garage doors, and in order for the pergola not to look skimpy, you would want it to extend beyond the supports. You would have to play with it to see how it would look (or maybe someone here with some photoshop capabilities could do it).

Another idea: replacing the black wrought iron railing with one that is chunkier and white to match the trim would be not only a better scale, but would brighten that area up a bit, too. I would also cut back or remove the last shrub so that it doesn't block the path to the front door. Since you only have a one-car wide driveway (it looks like), it might be nice to bring your front walk all the way out to the street. People getting out of the driver's side of the car would then have more room to step, and it would feel larger and more welcoming. Add a planting bed on the inside of the walk. This may be a longer-term improvement, but it would be nice to tie the driveway, walk and front porch/stairs together, e.g. either making all of the same material or bordering driveway with brick which continues into walk and stair. A nice light post nearer to the street would be nice, too.
https://www.houzz.com/photos/2009-showcase-home-victorian-exterior-new-york-phvw-vp~52283


You could bring your planting beds all the way around - kind of a C shape - from the front of the house, down the side and across the front. It could be very pretty and create even more interest - of course, more work, too ;-) but it would be worth it.

just prune up your flower beds. Add more interest to the front entry.

A new color palette might bring all the change you've hoped for:



https://www.houzz.com/photos/2000-showcase-traditional-exterior-new-york-phvw-vp~66599

Looking at the recessed location of your door, would it be possible to just move the door out even with the front of the house and make the new inside space a nice entryway? Then I would build a substantial covered porch and enhance the landscaping. As far as paint, I'd consider something muted and in keeping with the other houses in the neighborhood. I think the house is simply charming!

cbaer: I thought a little more about this today. If what you want is a front gathering space like the other "porch" houses in your neighborhood, you could create a front courtyard ground level patio that runs along the front of the house. Rather envisioned it this way....Remove shrub on the right currently crowding walkway, and trim the rest in a natural, but less overgrown looking way. Take out concrete pad at the bottom of the stairs, and replace with used brick. Connect that walk to a used brick patio that runs the full length of the front of the house, at about 8' wide. In your ideabook there is a walkway on the white house done in herringbone style brick, which would be quite pretty and cottage-like. At the street edge of the brick patio, do a low fence, with height as a deck rail, or about 3', with open square panel trellis style insets (the rail on your white house pic has the idea, but those insets are metal grid). In front of the low fence piece, you could plant Knockout roses. If you are not a gardener, particularly, they are a reliable choice. In between you could do seasonal annuals. A kind of simplified cottage garden, if you will. The courtyard would, I think, make your whole home entry seem bigger than just the concrete pad/steps/recessed door. Some cute chairs in summer, and a pretty colored bench and pots for other seasons would do the trick. If you want to check out shutter styles, Timberlane.com has a very nice website. They have board and batten styles as well as a myriad of other choices. As far as paint, libradesigneye's suggestions are quite nice. If you are not feeling the yellow, what about a very pale blue, with soft charcoal grey shutters and white trim?

I think you should replace the light over the garage with a beautiful lantern. I went with Lantern & Scroll and they were awesome to work with. (Find them on here or Facebook). I would definitely use ones with scrolls on either side. Check this one out (obviously you would use electric). Good luck!

Paint it yellow! Only because you would then have my dream house ;)

I would also suggest removing the part of the shrubbery that is in front of the entry area, and add a little round brick "landing pad" extending from the bottom of your steps. Create an opening sweep, and your home will look very welcoming.

I work with a company called FLEXFIRE LEDS based in CA, I work with architects and contractors daily to try and enhance clients property. My opinion is that Under Eave lighting would allow the fascia of the property to come to life.

Feel free to email me ollie@flexfireleds.com

http://www.houzz.com/pro/flexfireleds/flexfire-leds

Adding stone veneer to a section of the front of the home- possibly where the room comes out into the yard on the left, would be a beautiful way to update the exterior. You could also line bottom 1/4 or 1/3 of the house. What color siding are you leaning towards? You could choose a color to match/contrast, as well as a stone style that complements the siding you go with.

Interesting looking house...i'm liking it, but the front door is out of place..It stands out too much, it looks too small and it is recessed in too much.

Thanks for the recommendation, nwduck! We have to agree that a Board and Batten style would look great! Cbaer, have you thought about replacing the existing shutters for properly fitted shutters?

So much potential in this home! I agree with some of the above comments; paired with a pop of color in shutters or the front door, new siding siding color could make all the difference in the world!

Have you done anything to your house yet? I think its really cute & if you are going to change your siding color, a light gray would be nice. These 2 houses look similar to yours. I really like your garage door.

Some changes to consider if you are still looking for suggestions: cut back the shrub so you can see the steps up to the door better, paint the door a brighter color (red?), put a light over the door to brighten the entry & put a matching one over the garage, & put a flag on the house.

First of all your shutters are not quite large enough. I would replace them with more cottage looking shutters, you know made with planks and use cross bars near the top and bottom. when putting them next to each other they should be enough to cover the entire window. I would use a lighter color too. A white wood rail on the steps with brick steps would add a lot.

A New England style picket--one that has swags at the tops--would make it more cottage looking. Shingle siding would look nice looking down the pediments would also look nice, yellow exterior with white shutters would add some color. Some softer bushes and flowering bushes mixed with daisies and black eyed susans would help too. Love the garage door! Good luck.

Update w/pic?

Nice home. Wouldn't "do" for the sake of doing if it adds a cluttered look.

Replacing the shutters on the larger downstairs windows with larger shutters could help.

What color siding and shutters did you choose?

A trimmed hedge rather than the more ragged uneven shrubs you have would make a difference. Did the bushes survive adding new siding?

Repurposing a bush or two closest to the driveway and adding a paving stone sidewalk directly in front of your front door and alongside your driveway as well as to outline your planting area beside the house could create a better groomed look for your landscaping as well. Wouldn't add plantings that are just clutter and add work you might not have time to do.

This is a very old thread, alas.