Needs color! Help!!

Question

Just finished the screened in carport. I love it but this house needs a pop of color. My front door is beautiful and new so I don't want to paint it. Thinking of a window box maybe.. what color would you suggest? Or do you have another idea?

Donna Keeling · Answer

I can see one large metal star between the front door and the window preferrably red to go with the brick color and a window box.

The Garden Frog with C Renee · Answer

For all year interest I would think about 2 large evergreens on each side of the window to give some height. I would paint the pots and wrought iron furniture in bright colors to give some pop! a window box would be great too or buy Henny Penny Hydrangeas which are grown at Monrovia nurseries and sold at Lowes. I tell you they are the best hydrangea I have had yet and put that under the window between 2 large evergreens -even Emerald Green Arborvitaes are not that expensive and would give you green all year. You have a cute home and just some touches here and there...where the flag is and the pot, I would think about a bigger pot with some color. good luck

Jeanette S · Answer

What an absolutely adorable house! That porch is wonderful! Great use of space! And we here in the 'Sun Belt' are beginning to get perfect porch weather! Were I you, I would NOT touch that house! It is perfect! With that new porch, you do not need to clutter your small front porch. Remove the chairs and put in a bench and maybe a plant stand or large pot. The walkway is beautiful. Now take up everything in front of the house. Put in color with plants. Look for plants with color that will last all year and require little maintenance. Use variegated Liariope (border grass...trim back in spring), Dusty Miller (trim occasionally or let it grow tall), and Cordyline a beautiful maroon spike plant (just trim off distressed spikes when necessary). Then just add some of those Flaming low growing Nandina and you have it made...Or use varying shades of green. Some bushes come in green/cream leaves, some are chartreuse, wine colored...space them around and then stick the low growing ones in front and between. In spring, set a few pots of flowers in there!

Marion Nesbitt · Answer

Looks very homey. Think you just need some plantings with height under the window on the far left. You already have a tree started at that end of the house to balance off the screened in patio. Some wall art between the window and the column might be nice. You have the flag so a large red or blue star as previously suggested might be nice.

Melissa · Answer

Your Adorable Cottage reminds me of our first home! We had a garage right where your new screened porch is. I LOVE how you screened it in!! We didn't have a clue about making a pretty yard for our cottage back then. So, I embroidered one a few years back. Your home has great bones and just needs a few appointments. The ones I embroidered onto our house can be seen on Pinterest......take a look and see if you want to borrow an idea or two. http://www.pinterest.com/cottagebliss/embroidery/

Marianne · Answer

Add color to your porch decorations! Right now all seem to be black and white. Add some reds and blues with a pop of yellow. Add a small table with red checkered table cloth and some colorful chair cushions. Add flowers to your white flower box. Maybe a small rug. That's what is going to perk up the porch, in fall change to fall colors and a wreath. It is so much fun! Your house is the color of mine right down to the gray porch which is my favorite place to be.

Anna Erishkigal · Answer

You need something to balance out the new screen porch on the opposite side of the house. Suggest just off the left corner you plant one of those tall arborvitaes or a purple rhododendrum (they get huge) or come forward to your mid-front yard approximately lined up with that corner and plant a weeping cherry tree. As for colors, your pretty red brick walkway catches my eye. Perhaps a red or green window box for a little pop of color?

Debra · Answer

Enlarge gardens in front of total length of house! Extend your brick walk to driveway. Get rid of those patches of grass so will look more fluid!

Barbara · Answer

I love the style of your house. I saw a house somewhere on the internet similar to it and it was pristine white trimed in a birds egg blue. With flower boxes under the windows. They were white. The window frames and the door frames and the screened porch were painted the same color, the facia board too. I thought it was so pretty. You could even paint the ceiling of your screened porch the same color blue. If you don't like blue try another color. Good luck you have a beautiful house.

Nivasi Frankly-Speaks · Answer

to keep the clean lines, I would get some super huge numbers going straight down on the side that the window is on (far left) Perhaps a box under the window but I would set it slightly off center as the window isn't in middle of that wall. Pops of color in your vegetation but I wouldn't go hog wild.. bulbs come back every year.. planting evergreens eventually will take over the pretty entry way... so be very careful of your choices consider a water fountain ..

Ann · Answer

Perhaps line the walkway with some colorful annuals. Maybe paint the pot with a bright pop of your favorite color. Really cute house. Love the screened in room.

Martha Overby · Answer

Very cute house, and yes some pops of color will greatly enhance its curb appeal. I agree with the need for plantings of shrubs/flowers along the front. The red star idea is a winner and paint the pot. Then add color on the porch and you should be good to go. Yellow is always great in the garden/porch as is red..... good luck and post when you get this completed.

Lynn Saye · Answer

You need landscaping !!! You could plant box woods to the left of porch to cover the concrete,  plant something with height on right end of home and left end (next to porch) plant smaller bushes along base of house..you may also want to plant some type of monkey grass along the walkway. I love a home that is framed on a lot

CK · Answer

With black and white exterior your options are unlimited, just like with a b & w interior :-) So find your favorite color palette, find what plants grow in your planting zone,and have fun :-) As far a decorative add ons, to me that depends also on what type of a 'feel' your want your home to have. Example: we have a neighbor who has a LOT of garden accessories. To me it's a little too much but she loves it. We also have a lot of neighbors who have wagon wheels in their yards (we in a sort of historical 'western' town). On the other hand, I'm trying to create a cottage style garden that will soften the rather 'modern' look of our house and yard. It all takes time. But once you figure out the look you want, you start working towards that and eventually your home is just what you imagined :-) I think you home is very nice! Thank you for flying Our Colors!

Sue Rogers · Answer

If you have a blueish shingles - paint the house in a Dove grey or a bit darker.  White trim

Cecilia Oakley · Answer

I have house envy, your house is beautiful!  In my opinion I would add a tall planting by the porch and one by the edge of the house.  In between I would plant knock out roses in back and in front I would plant annuals. Day Lilly's are beautiful in my area (zone 8) in the spring to mid-summer.  I would add color, color, color to your porch. All in all it looks lovely.

Bibi Sweet67 · Answer

Plants and flowers always gives the front of the house a pop of color like in this picture.

Centrd · Answer

I would not start adding a bunch of stuff to the walls around the window. There's enough going on already. Except for the window box idea, which I like a lot. I'd keep it black and bring your color in through the plantings. All you really need is foundation plantings. A tree or large shrub to the left, to balance the weight of the porch on the right. It will also visually extend the length of your home. And some pretty flower beds in front, mixed with some year round foundation plantings. Here are some ideas, including a before and after, to show you what a difference plants make.

Lori · Answer

I, if it were mine, would start with an anchor shrub( my words) right at the other corner of the house, about 2/3 the height of the window, then fill in around it, gradualy decreasing in height and spreading towards the centre of the house.  Then when you are happy with that I might plant another similar anchor shrub, not as high at the other end, where the steps are.  Then 'I'd' stand back and look at it for a while and see if it needs anything else. I call it, jewellry, like a fancy number plaque or a nice gnome(just kidding).

BootzB · Answer

So adorable! A black window box at the left. Select seasonal flowers for spring, summer, autumn, etc. Then, accent the chairs on the front porch w/pillows in color of plants selected... could be ever changing accent colors! I would put (2?) window boxes on the ground at the base of the side porch carrying across the color story. For Winter... small evergreens and you could use poinsettias at Christmas. It's a story book house... tell a story! Of course, all the other ideas are excellent. Personally I find the flag, lamppost, flowerpot and shepherd's hook in the yard are little distracting, could you have the flag coming off the left side of the (same) post rather than off the front, then the siding of the house would be the background and it would show well. Good Luck!

Rose · Answer

I love a grey house with burgundy shutters white trim or the grey with the black shutters.

Gwen · Answer

I took one look and fell in love. No houses in my area resemble this house. I love the crisp white and dark shutters and door. You have a storm door so I assume that means snow. My cousin had frost and snow fell late this spring. What a short growing season!!! If your plants in front are new they will grow. You have a red sidewalk. That's color. You have a flag pole. Its color. You have stuff on the porch. That's colorful. I just find your home so peaceful and pretty. I'm no help am I??? And I usually want to spend your money on landscape!! I guess I'd say:  put in bushes that bloom. Example new lilac breeds don't grow so huge nor are invasive yet what spring color!! Forsythia is gorgeous bright yellow. A small tree with vivid fall leaf colors!! I'm trying to think of easy to care for perennial color. Roses? Hollyhock? Hydrangea?? I'm in a different zone. But keep bushes as your source of color. For example I have a mini blue-ish mini bottle brush making another showing of red bottle looking flowers. Lilacs are no maintainenve yet I love them. Snow ball or wedding veil (viburnum ??) make a beautiful spring show. Sedum and asters make a show in fall. Best to you in your new space!!!!

Joyce Galloway Parker · Answer

I love your house and that screened-in porch! I think I would leave the house white, but paint the shutters, porch, and steps green, and go with container gardening. There is such a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors, etc. of gardening containers, so you would be able to do a bit at a time instead of having to do it all at once, and you would be able to take your time in deciding what you feel would look best. It would also be much easier to maintain, and to move the containers around when you decided 'oh, this would look better over there, and that would look better over here, etc'. And if those containers are colorful, that will give a lot of color, as will the plants/flowers. I would just make sure that all of the containers aren't bright and colorful (some solid colors to match the shutters would be nice), or it may be a bit too much color. But at least you would be in control of how much color, and where. And it would be easy to change your mind if you decide there are some plants you don't really care for.

Tegma · Answer

You definitely need some flowers to perk up the colors, both in the flower bed, and in a window box on the far left window. Also, even tho' the door is new, with good 'door paint', I would seriously consider painting it. I think you'll be glad you did! A flower bed along the walkway would really give a lot of curb appeal, too! It's just how far you want to go with things, and what your budget is!

Cyndie S · Answer

Looks like you may have new young landscaping already. If not, buy large plantings. A fan trellis with greenery or even an old bike with a flower basket could fill in temporarily, while you're waiting for for growth. Love the window box idea with some trailing vine and flowers. I'd love to see a Japanese finger leaf red maple between the porch and the front window. They are delicate but showy and will give alot of volume, as will a rhody someone else mentioned. BTW--I am IN LOVE with your screened in room! Very well done with fan and screening floor to ceiling, transom effect. Love it!

PattyAnn · Answer

You have a lovely home and the screened in porch is too much fun.  I like the idea also of painting the shutters - how about a bright color like a caribbean turquoise or a citrus green or a coral.  Be bold.  My door is turquoise and it is beautiful.  I would also paint the chairs on the porch a favorite color too, throw some colorful pillows or throws on the chairs and add some art to the walls.  Pick 3 colors that you like together and go for it.  You have the white and black neutrals so any color would look great.  If you do any planting at all I would go with a climbing vine of some sort - trumpet vine, clematis, climbing hydrangea and put it in a big big pot.  You can spend the evenings on your beautiful porch planning on what you want to plant in the spring.   Just enjoy it right now while you can.

Opal · Answer

Your house is so charming, I just love it. What I would do in addition to landscaping is 1.paint the front porch furniture either black or white, or place an outdoor large black carpet across the whole thing and under the furniture to make it stand out more. 2. Paint the porch railing black. 3. Add red cushions to the porch chairs (I would just slip cover the ones that you already have), I see something red in the screened in porch on the floor, plus the red in the flag would tie the whole thing together. 4. Put something sturdy ei. large rocks, railing, planter/plants in front of the screened in porch to keep anyone from hitting the framing of the porch from the driveway (I like a combo of rocks and plants not any higher than the bottom bar of the screening), plus I think it would complement the other side of the house. I would extend your flower beds out to the red brick sidewalk. Please post whatever you do, I can't wait to see it.

Jamoschini · Answer

I would change the color of the shutters to a grey/blue for a softer look. Also, I would extend the garden under the window on the left with low lying annuals and perennials. A window box the same color as the shutters filled with colorful annuals would wake up that side of the house. From the door to the new carport I'd leave it alone it's perfect the way it is.

Kelly French Johnson · Answer

I would go with a burnt orange / rust color on your shutters! The color will pop for sure and will also pick up the brick walkway as well as whatever it is that I am seeing on your screen porch that is in the orange/brick/rust color.

Linda Jones · Answer

I will add more pics soon :)

Needs color! Help!!

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Needs color! Help!!

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