This house needs curb appeal!

Patti Paints
by Patti Paints
My husband and I are purchasing this house, but it needs help with curb appeal. I’m considering extending the front porch across the entire front of the house by extending the concrete then adding a pergola over the porch. It’s hard to see in this picture that the porch is 6 ft in depth giving it ample room for a bench or couple of chairs. With so many creative folks out there I’m calling out to you for other ideas you might have....bring ‘em on!
  19 answers
  • Denise Denise on Jun 01, 2015
    I would consider having a front door with color, perhaps even removing the storm/screen door. I would also do some foundation plantings with color, as well as thinning some of the plantings that are near the front of the garage. Add some colorful potted plants on the little porch to the right of the front door. Consider adding some color to the walls of the house, maybe a green (not dark, more of a sage) to give some contrast to the driveway. Right now the house is pretty bland. Good luck!
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 01, 2015
      @Denise Thank you for your great suggestions. I am definitely removing the metal screen door! The front door is painted the same brown as the house trim, so agree that a pop of color is needed there....thinking a sage green.
  • Patti Przybylinski Patti Przybylinski on Jun 01, 2015
    The roof is really lovely and I have no doubt you can spiff up the rest of the house to match the classy roof. As with Denise's great comments above, I would paint the house--perhaps a lighter shade of the terracotta tiles, paint the door in another darker shade in terracotta family. If you have enough money, I'd replace the garage door with a dark wooden door with nice hardware. Along the driveway, I'd lay out a hose to make the outline of a garden bed (nice curves, not straight) and plant with perennials native to your area.You can stain the driveway, too, so it's not just a wide expanse of dull concrete. Tape it off and make brick like design, or stain it with broad strokes. Add in outside lights for sparkle, and make curtains to tie back in the front window. The blinds make it look too much like a fortress. Can't wait to see your updates. The house will be beautiful! Congrats!
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 01, 2015
      @Patti Przybylinski Thank you Patti for your comments. The roof is the best part of this house. I love spanish architecture so will try to keep my changes in that style. I picked up a color chart for stucco and I too would like to go darker. Had not considered replacing the garage door and budget won’t allow for that right now, but I could at least paint it brown to break up all the white. We’re in a severe drought in California, so anything I plant will be native and drought resistant. I’ll post “after" pictures of the improvements!
  • Glenda Marks Glenda Marks on Jun 01, 2015
    I love the roof. I would beef up the porch supports, tile the porch floor, then add colorful pots with climbing vines such as Wisteria or Jasmine. If the house structure is not brick, I would change the front windiw and front door into Frnch doors, remove shutters, and add some glass panels to the garage door.
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 01, 2015
      @Glenda Marks Thanks Glenda, I love the roof too. We’re removing a back patio and reusing the posts in the front, they’re 6”x6” and will work nicely with a pergola. I’ll add some spanish style accents. Yes....tile the front porch! Love that idea.... saltillo tile would look beautiful. We are planning to add window panel to the garage door. Thank you for your input!
  • Pat Pat on Jun 01, 2015
    Pots of flowers and a painted door in a cheerful color. A larger shrub on he left to balance e rest and hide the equipment there. The flowers will break up the large expanse of cement.
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 01, 2015
      @Patmacb I have my eye on a couple of turquoise glazed pots for the front porch, and yes flowers like bougainvillea would add some pretty color. Definitely painting the front door!
  • Buster Evans Buster Evans on Jun 01, 2015
    I think a Large aloe plant center of the opposite side of the drive way OR a nice birdbath with large aloe plants on either side would be nice... also some border plants up that side of the drive way as well.. I have discovered one that blooms all summer .. called Oxallis ( I like it anyway) its a very hardy plant that spreads.light purple with leaves that look like shamrocks... mainly color and balance is all that is missing here. hope this helps
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 01, 2015
      @Buster Evans Thank you Buster. I agree, the house is needing some balance. I plan to remove all the shrubs on the right side...I hate junipers. Love anything in the succulent family and they work so beautifully with spanish style. I’ll check out oxalis plant.
  • Sandra Sandra on Jun 01, 2015
    The driveway and the house sides are the same color, as is the garage. I'd make the house and garage a different color, take off the storm door and paint or add an ornate front door with some black iron accents to go with the Spanish tile roof. Add big ornate pots of colorful blooms and the porch idea is a good one. It's a great looking house with tons of potential. Use the paint tools for Sherwin Williams or Behr and you can picture the house before you decide on a color.
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 01, 2015
      @Sandra Thank you Sandra. I agree that the sea of white needs to be addressed. Since the house is stucco, I’m going to paint it a darker warm shade of beige (I think). The metal screen door is definitely going away! Now to pick a pop of color for the front door. Forgot about the new paint tools, sure beats holding a tiny paint chip up to the house! That will make my selection process so much easier! Thanks for your suggestions, especially the paint tool one!
  • Me Me on Jun 01, 2015
    a window box under the picture window would help play up the 'euro" charm. Keep that beautiful tile roof visible, as it's got lots of character...perhaps consider a porch in the back instead?
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 01, 2015
      @Me Thank you. I love the tile roof, so it will always be center stage. Our view of the mountains is out the front of the home, so wanting a place to sit and enjoy it. No view in the back yard and we do have a patio there. Bringing in colorful plants and flowers on the front porch is a must.
  • Debra Gaunt Debra Gaunt on Jun 01, 2015
    You might paint the trim from dark brown to a more neutrual beige. This would lighten up the outside and if you tried some terra cotta pots with one large on each side of the front window and two small with light green fern bushes this would lighten the front entrance but still keep with the southwestern look. As far as the drive you might think about making a slight curve towards the garage so it does not look so squared off.
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 02, 2015
      @Debra Gaunt Thanks Debra, it hard to see in this picture but once I remove all the shrubs from the right side of the garage you’ll be able to see that the driveway does curve nicely. I’ve been looking on Pinterest & HGTV photos for ideas of paint colors and one spanish house was a light sand color and slightly darker trim. It looked lovely, so may go that route.
  • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 01, 2015
    Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. I do believe I have a plan now. “Before & After” pictures will be posted. Now I need to get to work!
  • Lzabelle mae west Lzabelle mae west on Jun 01, 2015
    The color needs to be cleaned up a bit. Not white but an off white on the peachy-coarl side of the color wheel. Also paint under the front window,,,,,,that looks funny a different color. Paint your front door a spicy color that is on the same hue of the color wheel or completely opposite the color wheel and get rid of the screen door and replace it with a full view glass one. Look at your yard as if it were different rooms but all the rooms should flow. Base plantings will be your "wall" and everything in front to and to the side will be your furnishings. Put in a cool stone sidewalk curved from the front door away from the drive but just slightly and curve into the driveway. Clean up the over grown shrubs by the garage or even better remove them so as all the new plantings grow, they will all grow together. In front of your base wall throw in some intense color so the front of your house will pop and be completely different and better than anyone else on the block!
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    • Lzabelle mae west Lzabelle mae west on Jun 02, 2015
      @Patti Paints Go to Home Depot and get the colors you like the most….get some poster board or old cardboard and paint each piece a different color. Tape them up there are and decide from there. I think a tomato spicy red would be best fot your door. Leave the trim the same color. You want your focal point to stand out and it should not be tour windows. The eye instantly goes to color, so mask it special!
  • PattyV PattyV on Jun 02, 2015
    Before I even read when your intentions were, I thought the same thing. I'd concrete and stain the "patio" area, put a rustic looking pergola over across the front of the house and get some begonvilla or small climbing white roses to trail across the top. I would also create a berm on the left side of the driveway and put some plants and greenery (to give it some dimensions as it look a little flat. I also consider getting rid of the brown trim. I think it breaks up the house too much. That's my two cents.
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 02, 2015
      @PattyV Thanks Patty, I like the idea of the berm, it is flat in the area on the left side. As for the brown trim, I think painting all the vertical wood trim the same color as the stucco will help a lot. Lots of trailing vines to choose from here in sunny San Diego. Star jasmine is so fragrant and I love mandevilla, two ideal options for the pergola. Thanks for your 2 cents!
  • Marion Nesbitt Marion Nesbitt on Jun 02, 2015
    Love the roof. Agree to paint under the window. Would add some similar shrubs on the left of drive to balance. Large enough patio area for some great wrought iron pieces - table and comfy chairs, really big pots with some flowers, maybe an outside carpet.
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 02, 2015
      @Marion Nesbitt I’m trying to keep with a spanish style. Nothing screams spanish like wrought iron! I’ll be scouring craig’s list for porch pieces. I love large pots too, can’t wait to bring in color with flowers and such! Thanks for your input Marion.
  • Loretta ellsworth Loretta ellsworth on Jun 02, 2015
    A new front door in a bright color
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 02, 2015
      @Loretta ellsworth When I remove the metal screen door and paint the wood door behind it a bright color you’ll be able to see the pop of color! Right now it’s the same brown as the trim....boring.
  • Cat King Cat King on Jun 02, 2015
    You could change storm door with all glass with a nice new front door with some color .. but I wouldn't remove it .. they are there to protect your frame from rotting and rain coming in plus they are great to let the sunshine in. plants and more plants ..maybe some shutters
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 02, 2015
      @Cat King Thank you Cat, IF California EVER gets rain then I would be concerned about rotting. I do like the idea of replacing the metal screen door with a full glass storm door to bring more light into the house, as the front door is solid wood. Rustic shutters painted the same as the front door would look very nice!
  • Michele A. Horsfall Michele A. Horsfall on Jun 02, 2015
    My first thing would be to replace the dated lighting with something bigger & more Spanish to go with the roof, and then replace the house numbers with something bigger on the other side of the door, where they can be seen.
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 02, 2015
      @Michele A. Horsfall Thanks Michele, I hadn’t really noticed the placement of the house numbers, but I like your idea! Yes, I think replacing the light fixture is a must as well.
  • Dee Beckham Dee Beckham on Jun 09, 2015
    Begonvilla are beautifulll. They have long sharp thorns and are a "B" to trim. You will look like you have been in a cat fight. Make sure if you add the pergola you don't block the entrance to your garage. Maybe do it triangular so you still have access.
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jun 09, 2015
      @Dee Beckham Thanks for reminding me how thorny the bougainvillea is! There are lots of other colorful vining plant choices. The picture of my home doesn’t show how deep my porch really is, 6 feet which leaves plenty of room for a bench seat and the pergola won’t impede my driveway at all.
  • Bunny Bunny on Aug 20, 2015
    I'd like to see a planting box built under the window and make it tall enough to enjoy the plants from inside. Maybe a succulent garden that will not require much water. That would also stay green year round in California.
  • Kayo Frazier Kayo Frazier on Aug 22, 2015
    Here's my 2 cents...I would do a raised flower bed along the side of the driveway & the length of the driveway where the gravel is. You can do drought resistant plants, flowers or whatever you like.
  • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Jan 26, 2017

    We finished the update on our house exterior and shortly afterwards we listed it. It sold in 1 day. The new curb appeal paid off. We replaced the front porch tile with slate, planted colorful mandanvilla and new paint. Going dark on the garage door help to ground the house.