Catchall

Reply to: Given the home's size, I think I would resist adding stone to the sides. You may wind up with very busy patterns in a relatively small space. A few suggestions: Paint the blue in a soft mossy grey/green. Wrap the white columns so they are larger. Switch out porch light and numbers as already mentioned. Switch the lattice for your vine for a panel that has larger "squares" rather than "triangles". Remove river rock edging. Consider adding larger "boulder" stones (say 3, rather close together) in the landscape by the walk. Could use the river rocks artfully piled/used around the boulders' base. Painted rockers for the porch. (I actually think your house is retro-cute as it is!)

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Reply to: A few quick fixes. Remove the hanging plants, the rock border, lattice, and replaced the screen door with a full view one. I would also update the house numbers and the light next to the front door. I think the porch posts are too little, a quick fix from the home improvment store. Add a great big planter overflowing with flowers. Are the shutters blue because the house siding is blue on another view?

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Reply to: We have a similar house. Because your porch is raised, you have more wiggle room than we do. The door should be the focal point. I would suggest something similar to what we are doing - a portico over the door with two 4x4 beam posts, and a pergola over the rest of the porch. Landscape in front of the porch and windows on left side of house with tall grasses or native shurbs that are not too dense - you want to soften the edges of the house with vegetation, without created new mass aka a new focal point. If you don't like the idea of a pergola, I would just rebuild the overhang to be the same height as a new portico (higher than it is now) so that the windows are not obstructed from the street view, and so that more light is let into the house. Also, a porch rail would be an opportunity to maximize charm but I would not do it with a pergola - only with an overhang. hang an outdoor pendant light beneath the portico directly above the door to maximize this area as the focal point. Brick is gorgeous - never paint it. Consider complimentary colors like sage green, creamy white, and slate gray for modern but also timeless appeal. If I had a limited budget and wanted to start now, I would paint the shutters sherwin williams alabaster white, paint the door a sage green with cool undertones (we have used sherwin william undersea on our house and liked it), have someone handy put up 4x4 posts where the metal ones on the overhang are instead and paint them alabaster, and add rails along the steps also of wood painted alabaster. Window boxes (maybe in a natural wood that is golden stained) on the two windows on the left of the house can help add mass to that side and create some balance. You'll be suprised at the time and effort only this very limited facelift will take, but it will greatly improve the curb appeal. Good luck!

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Reply to: There's plenty you can do without investing in a new roof. You could consider painting the brick and updating / painting the shutters to increase the contrast and show them as a feature. A new door or a freshly painted door can be a fun place for colour or more contrast. Landscaping is essential no matter which direction you go in. Plant life makes all the difference and really makes a house feel cosy, lived in and well taken care of. Here are some inspiring before + after photos that really show the potential for transformation. Good luck Nicole!

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Reply to: Your long low bushes in the front visually stretch out the house. I would pull them out and plant ornamental grasses and other plants that are more free form. If you pull out those shrubs, make sure your edging curves. The more your eye moves in and out, the less it notices the length. You can add something with height at the back of your border between the picture window and the window nearest the garage. You could do a narrow trellis planted with clematis or morning glory. It's a pretty house.

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Reply to: My hamper in the master bathroom. The kids, and we have 3, have their laundry baskets in the closets because their bathroom is too small. However, doing laundry everyday...Lord help me if I miss a day...doesn't make the closets gross, smelly, or musty. Having a basket instead of a hamper helps them to visualize when they need to bring down their laundry. Also, with the color code things. They have a dark laundry basket for their dirty clothes and a white basket of their clean clothes to put away. I sort, and check pockets, in the mud room. Color coding the towels helps, too. ( I have a fold away hamper tucked in the corner for when I sort.) Each of us have a different color towel. If one ends up on the floor instead of on the towel rack or in the hamper, I know who did it!

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