Cute! if you change the color of the door it will create a focal point. Also on the left and right of the steps you can do plantings. Make beds with evergreen plants anf flowering bushes like rhododendron or Azalea.
Yes, I'm planning on giving the front door a color--possibly wine/burgundy and also a charcoal gray color for trim around the windows. Maybe adding window boxes too?
I like your idea with the gray trim not charcoal. I would use that for the concrete steps as well. Try going a little different using a blue for the door. It ties in with the white siding.
Could you a bit more info, in particular, in which direction does the front of this house face? My house faces mostly north/west and I have rhododendrons, azaleas, and some arbovitae. Granted these are spring bloomers so save yourself some space and fill in with annuals: impatience and other sun/shade plants. I would also try a sun-loving annual providing you get six hours of light (not necessarily sun) and see how that works itself out. I also am a fan of texture - different shrubs have different texture so that adds interest. Also try not to have them all "even" - that is boring - you need some high and some low - check out a few of the gardening books or my favorite magazine Fine Gardening. Oh and I almost forgot - you might be able to handle hydrangeas providing your house does not face west - if they get morning sun; they will love the exposure. Hydrangeas are tricky - you want the newer versions that bloom on old wood/new wood - I think they are called "ever blooming" - and there are so many different types. I have a mixture and my most favorite are the Oakleaf and Tardiva Hydrangeas - they have huge cone shaped flowers but are tricky to prune - right now I only have 2 flowers because I pruned at the wrong time . Anyway good luck ...
This part of the house faces south--full sun. I absolutely love oakleaf hydrangeas and plan on adding them to the eastside of the house for morning sun. Thank you so much for your suggestions.
FUll sun too hot 4 hydrangeas .. unless it is morning sun...douth/east .. re shrubs ... thise with tiny leaves like japanese holly take sun ..larger leaves like rhodos take morning sun only .. check me at a nursery and not Home Depot .. a real nursery
Don't be shy about cypress - they are beautiful shrubs. Watch out for hemlock; they are prone to disease. The "Japanese" type shrubs and there are many of those types, are mostly disease resistant and hardy. Speaking of hardy, you choose what to plant based on your ZONE! Know that first before you spend money on shrubs that may not survive. KNow your planting zone and which way your house faces.
I would definitely paint the door, but I would also paint the house with a color scheme. The back/upper part slightly different than the front maybe. The trim a different color for a total of three (or four) colors: door, trim, base (2?).
get some landscape edgin and good thick landscape fabric, place the edging in a square pattern at the front of the house up to the house as far out as you would like to put perennial plants for every year bloom and green, place down the good landscape fabric a top the existing soil/dirt, if you get a good enough fabric it helps prevent weeds from growing through, the less holes you create in the fabric the less undergrow/weeds/grass will come through, before you cut it plot out how you want your plants to sit, tallest in back and so forth, take into account future growth and estimated height, blooming times for color and season wise overall look as you do this, sun exposure ect., then cut just enough of an x to plant each one, I placed mulch instead of rock because the heat rock holds from the sun, you could also do this in just circular patterns around the trees and seed grass for where you want it to grow, keep an eye out for wooden bridges or wells you might want to use for a bit of yard decoration when our and about, sometimes you can run across them at rummage sales or off season for a steal! you can also buy some bigger pots to place as you want for annual flower for the pop of color and beauty, less holes in the fabric, less weeds, less time weeding and you can change them up every year, don't get to much green up by the house if you are in an area with snakes as they love that full cover along with other critters, you just never know! little shrubs, bushes, and I have shorter Lily flowers. hope this might spark some ideas for you!!!
i would trim back that tree that covers up part of the front of the house and change the paint color from white. Any color and trim in white. Add stone path or concrete or pavers walkway up to the house and some flowers will go a long way!!
Aside from the planting, if you could build a roof over your front door or some sort of lattice/trellis work and paint it an inviting color to make the the entry stand out, that would help.
I watch a lot of HGTV. The darker the color of the house strangly the bigger it looks. I would paint it a dark navy blue or charcoal gray and use white trim on peaks and windows to frame them. Use a combination and heights of plants putting taller ones placed extended past ends of house by 2 to 3 feet which makes house look wider..bigger...even putting smaller plants in half circle around past these. I would use rock rather than mulch. It lasts forever and mulch has to be replaced every year.
This recommendation may require more work and money than you are wanting to spend, but I suggest building a terrace across the entire front of the house. Replace windows with French doors on the left of the front door. Also, you could add a trellis over the porch. To save some money, you could add the raised terrace only on the left.
I hate taking trees down , but I would suggest removing the evergreen and replacing it with an ornamental tree such as a dogwood or a japanese maple further away from the house. Also small boxwood bushes are good foundation bushes if planted with small spirea bushes for color. make sure they are not too close to the foundation.
For me, you need a better entry to the home. Consider a deck/porch running the length of the house with perhaps a pergola for shade and something to shield people entering the door from wet weather.
I would also get rid of that pathetic sidewalk and swing a nice walking path parallel to the house front from the drive to the front steps.
Ideas: flower boxes under the windows, change the color of the door, change the rail, add a non linear flower bed in front with various sizes and colors, line the edge of the flower bed on each side of the steps with decorative bricks or stones, windmill or well in front yard, paint the fence, a wooden bench or glider, or black metal glider if you keep the black railing, flower beds around the trees with the same decor type bricks and mulch, drive around and get ideas from other yards you like even if you get only one idea you esp. like.
Oh I just love your house. It's cute as a button. How about Valspar Oyster Pearl for the exterior walls and Bright Semi Gloss White for the trim and maybe Aqua for the front door. I'd do stones around the house instead of mulch until it's budget friendly to add a wrap around front porch. You can always add potted flowering plants for pops of color. It's going to look BEAUTIFUL when you're done. Best of luck.
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Cute! if you change the color of the door it will create a focal point. Also on the left and right of the steps you can do plantings. Make beds with evergreen plants anf flowering bushes like rhododendron or Azalea.
Could you a bit more info, in particular, in which direction does the front of this house face? My house faces mostly north/west and I have rhododendrons, azaleas, and some arbovitae. Granted these are spring bloomers so save yourself some space and fill in with annuals: impatience and other sun/shade plants. I would also try a sun-loving annual providing you get six hours of light (not necessarily sun) and see how that works itself out. I also am a fan of texture - different shrubs have different texture so that adds interest. Also try not to have them all "even" - that is boring - you need some high and some low - check out a few of the gardening books or my favorite magazine Fine Gardening. Oh and I almost forgot - you might be able to handle hydrangeas providing your house does not face west - if they get morning sun; they will love the exposure. Hydrangeas are tricky - you want the newer versions that bloom on old wood/new wood - I think they are called "ever blooming" - and there are so many different types. I have a mixture and my most favorite are the Oakleaf and Tardiva Hydrangeas - they have huge cone shaped flowers but are tricky to prune - right now I only have 2 flowers because I pruned at the wrong time . Anyway good luck ...
Don't be shy about cypress - they are beautiful shrubs. Watch out for hemlock; they are prone to disease. The "Japanese" type shrubs and there are many of those types, are mostly disease resistant and hardy. Speaking of hardy, you choose what to plant based on your ZONE! Know that first before you spend money on shrubs that may not survive. KNow your planting zone and which way your house faces.
I would definitely paint the door, but I would also paint the house with a color scheme. The back/upper part slightly different than the front maybe. The trim a different color for a total of three (or four) colors: door, trim, base (2?).
get some landscape edgin and good thick landscape fabric, place the edging in a square pattern at the front of the house up to the house as far out as you would like to put perennial plants for every year bloom and green, place down the good landscape fabric a top the existing soil/dirt, if you get a good enough fabric it helps prevent weeds from growing through, the less holes you create in the fabric the less undergrow/weeds/grass will come through, before you cut it plot out how you want your plants to sit, tallest in back and so forth, take into account future growth and estimated height, blooming times for color and season wise overall look as you do this, sun exposure ect., then cut just enough of an x to plant each one, I placed mulch instead of rock because the heat rock holds from the sun, you could also do this in just circular patterns around the trees and seed grass for where you want it to grow, keep an eye out for wooden bridges or wells you might want to use for a bit of yard decoration when our and about, sometimes you can run across them at rummage sales or off season for a steal! you can also buy some bigger pots to place as you want for annual flower for the pop of color and beauty, less holes in the fabric, less weeds, less time weeding and you can change them up every year, don't get to much green up by the house if you are in an area with snakes as they love that full cover along with other critters, you just never know! little shrubs, bushes, and I have shorter Lily flowers. hope this might spark some ideas for you!!!
i would trim back that tree that covers up part of the front of the house and change the paint color from white. Any color and trim in white. Add stone path or concrete or pavers walkway up to the house and some flowers will go a long way!!
Aside from the planting, if you could build a roof over your front door or some sort of lattice/trellis work and paint it an inviting color to make the the entry stand out, that would help.
I watch a lot of HGTV. The darker the color of the house strangly the bigger it looks. I would paint it a dark navy blue or charcoal gray and use white trim on peaks and windows to frame them. Use a combination and heights of plants putting taller ones placed extended past ends of house by 2 to 3 feet which makes house look wider..bigger...even putting smaller plants in half circle around past these. I would use rock rather than mulch. It lasts forever and mulch has to be replaced every year.
This recommendation may require more work and money than you are wanting to spend, but I suggest building a terrace across the entire front of the house. Replace windows with French doors on the left of the front door. Also, you could add a trellis over the porch. To save some money, you could add the raised terrace only on the left.
Forgot to mention that if you did add the trellis, you could over the area over the entrance with a piece of Plexiglass for protection from rain.
I hate taking trees down , but I would suggest removing the evergreen and replacing it with an ornamental tree such as a dogwood or a japanese maple further away from the house. Also small boxwood bushes are good foundation bushes if planted with small spirea bushes for color. make sure they are not too close to the foundation.
For me, you need a better entry to the home. Consider a deck/porch running the length of the house with perhaps a pergola for shade and something to shield people entering the door from wet weather.
I would also get rid of that pathetic sidewalk and swing a nice walking path parallel to the house front from the drive to the front steps.
Love the idea of window boxes. A nice burgendy door with the gray and white palette will really pop. Nice!
Ideas: flower boxes under the windows, change the color of the door, change the rail, add a non linear flower bed in front with various sizes and colors, line the edge of the flower bed on each side of the steps with decorative bricks or stones, windmill or well in front yard, paint the fence, a wooden bench or glider, or black metal glider if you keep the black railing, flower beds around the trees with the same decor type bricks and mulch, drive around and get ideas from other yards you like even if you get only one idea you esp. like.
Have you considered a full porch across the front of the house with sitting areas under both windows? Gardens on both sides of the walkway.
Oh I just love your house. It's cute as a button. How about Valspar Oyster Pearl for the exterior walls and Bright Semi Gloss White for the trim and maybe Aqua for the front door. I'd do stones around the house instead of mulch until it's budget friendly to add a wrap around front porch. You can always add potted flowering plants for pops of color. It's going to look BEAUTIFUL when you're done. Best of luck.
Great idea!