Readers, put on your thinking caps and ready your fingers for your keyboards: Today we’re looking for reader suggestions to help Jordan add curb appeal to her 1955 suburban ranch home in Houston, Texas. Jordan writes:
I love your website and have combed through almost every article! I’m having a problem with our 1955 built ranch house. We live in a small neighborhood in Houston, TX and most of the houses were built in the 50′s and 60′s with a few odd new builds in the mix. My husband and I love the house and really want to be here for quite a long time, but I just can’t stand the exterior of our house. I bought the house because the floor plan was great, the price was good and a fair amount of updates had already been done… but I knew I didn’t like the exterior.
She continues:
My main bone of contention are the glass blocks in the front of the house. They are there to cover up a old wood burning stove (fireplace) but they are so ugly… also, the bay window on the left is in the dining room and that looks a little off to me as well. We are planning to re-pave the driveway and walk way this upcoming spring and want to tackle the rest of the exterior at the same time.
I have racked my brain and don’t have any good ideas yet… if you have some suggestions, I would LOVE to hear them… thanks for your help!!
Jordan
NOTE: The interior photos above are from the real estate listing — not Jordan’s furniture.
Jordan – your house looks lovely, but I have to agree with you, those floor-to-ceiling windows all along the front of the house are new to me. Yes, readers, look closely — those are floor-to-ceiling window / nooks to the right and left of the fireplace, which has the floor-to-ceiling glass block behind it. And in the dining room, that’s a bumped out bay with floor-to-ceiling glass. Someone sure wanted to add light!
What do you think, readers? Let’s assume Jordan says we can get rid of the wood-burning fireplace. I’ll let you run with this one, and my pipe in at some point after noodling the question myself….
Somehow, when I look at the photos, I get the feeling that the house originally had a front porch that was enclosed to include those unusual living room features. I get this feeling because the flooring in those nooks is diffferent, and it really looks like the original wall was turned into those columns/walls surrounding the wood stove (when looking at the photos again, I believe that the front door is still in the original location that the windows should be in). If the stove area had been part of the original plan, I don’t think that it would have all of those strange nooks, it would be more open to the rest of the room. Those nooks are there because they had to leave support for the roof in that area, as they altered a load-bearing wall. I might consider removing that whole area, and putting windows in the area where the original wall appears to have been. This would then add a porch area to the house, which could be a real plus. Also, the house would look more streamlined without that stove pipe sticking out of the roof right in the middle of the front of the house.
As for the dining room window, I think that I would consider replacing it with something that is flush with the house, instead of sticking out so much. It looks out of place.
To also help add curb appeal to the house, you might consider replacing the overgrown shrubs on the right side. They make the house feel like it’s playing hide and seek.
Ponder adding a stone fireplace to replace the wood stove. I could be two-sided and grace your new stone-floored porch. The stone could flow horizontally to the front door with a planter box, like in this website author’s 17 tips to improve curb appeal. It can have a window on either side to preserve that great light entering the front. Throw away those shrubs since they will just grow too big again and replace them with a curving bed with perinneals that drift up toward those right windows. You can take advantage of the repeating vertical element in those right windows with trimwork and continue the stone horizontal under them.
ditto about the overgrown shrubs… outta there. small low individual bushes. shows off the windows.
my suggestion would be to find out what the original architectural design of the home was and if it has ever been remodeled. if it has, which it looks like those windows are not original, you can go back to more the original style. those windows to me look more like an 80′s edition to the home. but that just a guess. glass block was quite popular at that time on certain styles. but yours do not really fit.
I like it…just needs a few tweaks. How much do you really want to spend?
Do you use the stove? Not crazy about the chimney, but it is what it is. If you don’t use it-I would not remove it…but cap the pipe at the roofline.
The hedges are making a wall to the street…and I would keep those on the right for privacy, but redo that area on the left-ornamental tree-maybe? for some height and to draw the eye to the house.
I don’t really understand what is going on with that DR window….but it is not objectionable….if it has to stay- $$$- maybe build it up to a focal point (a la ’50s) with 3 2×4 supports on each side: vertically anchoring the house to the ground.
Make one million copies of that exterior photo and draw different ideas on each. You will at some point come up with a composition which you like. Just make sure you keep it to scale.
Your house is nice, neat and sound. Structurally it seems sound…so there is no rush to change anything, Needs VS Wants is the rule here. Remember that any changes you make to those windows will change the light, open feeling on the inside.
For some reason- I see brown as an exterior color- but it is still early in the day.
Best wishes in your lovely (and spotless) new home. Good luck!
…or maybe a grey-green exterior.
LOL
Take a look around the subdivision at the other houses … there are probably a few that are this very same model. See what they look like to get an idea of the original front facade, and then see if you can work toward that. The metal flue sticking up is a distraction but if you keep it, maybe it could be disguised with a framed chimney that matches the siding, or has a masonry (either brick or stone, whatever the foundation is) veneer. It’s a cute house ~ I love the horizontal lines.
a new door would be an easy fix. I don’t mind the idea of a free standing fireplace but maybe a retro one from Malm (which can be found on this site) and I agree about the glass brick (you want MCM not Miami Vice
I actually like the glass blocks. I agree the dining room window needs some kind of attention. It is obviously not in keeping with the look of the house. The space added inside is not needed either. I think I would replace it with a flat window with mullions to echo the glass blocks.
If you don’t want to keep the wood stove, by all means restore the flat porch and decorate that for a welcoming look for the front of the house. I see it as a covered loggia going from the front door to include the glass block area and the two insets on either side of it. If you do that, you could leave off the mullions on the dining room window.
While I don’t care for the color of the brick, it may be just fine with you. If not, painting it in a light earth tone would not be too difficult.
I would lower the bushes about a foot on the right side, and replace that palmy thing on the left with a short tree, slender trunk, leaves about eight to twelve foot level, just right to block that chimney, if you keep the woodstove. Dogwood, maybe.
What a beautiful home! I am intrigued by those large windows and those walled off areas. Jordan, your neighbors are lucky because if I lived there, the “kitsch” in me would have me decorating each one of those windows like department store windows at Christmas with a tree and decorations in each one!
The only thing that really bothers me about the exterior is that stove pipe. My eye goes straight to it and it really breaks up the low-slung and clean lines of the house. And the glass block is pretty much a given as not going with the house. I don’t know how much you have to spend and window renovations can get pricey but that window really needs to match the others whether they stay the same or change. And if the hedges were trimmed shorter or replaced, it could balance out the house. Good luck and please let us know what you do!
I LOVE the department store Xmas idea!!!!!!! How fun!
Landscaping with some color, to pop from the green…elephant ears, hibiscus….Pink Flamingo’s by the palm tree, more palm tree’s, perhaps a gazing ball with an old school pedestal. Not sure if it would go with the interior but turquoise drapes would look great in all the front windows against the cream color of the house….stepping stones, small shrubs along the walk way….
I’ve got to agree with Missouri Michael, the glass block, stove area looks like it took over an existing porch. The pipe kind of kills the roof line too. I would restore the porch and install a large picture window, and add a nice bench. The bushes on the right side are too high, I would get rid of them and plant hostas along the house and a flowering tree in that part of the yard. On the left side of the house, I would change the bump out window with something flush with the house and get rid of the plantings to make the entryway look more clean and open, maybe a continuation of the hostas.
Two things —
1. Lose the hedges. Doing so will get rid of a a redundant horizontal line that masks the sillhouette of your place. The hedge also hides the vertical windows that create pattern and rhythm.
2. Landscape with small groups in an asymetrical planting. If possible, use native, non-invasive species. And USE COLOR as much as you can. Your house is an excellent background for bright spots that will create depth and interest.
The glass blocks: I’m not sure. If they’re original, I would try to find out what purpose they served. If they’re 80s updates….. uh, get rid of them and replace them with a window similar to the original.
Get rid of the wood stove if you don’t love it. There are many more environmentally friendly and efficient ways to supplement heat.
Best of luck!
Upon further reflection-
1. Elaine is correct about the height of the right hedge and a dogwood.
2. Brick? Is it brick? well forget what I said about color.
3. The only real change needed here is the DR window and landscaping. Save yourself thousands.
4. It really does boil down to need vs want.
5. Relax and “Love the House You’re In”.
I don’t mind the glass blocks but the bay window is weird-ish. Seventies, maybe? I thought middle-class Fifties houses tended to have picture windows, but not so many full-height windows. I suspect the blocks might look better if there weren’t so many other tall rectangles across the front, which sort of make the roof look detached.
I don’t think it’s that bad, though, and I’ve always felt that if you didn’t want to live in a house that looked (1950′s, or whatever era), don’t buy one. I know it was a good price, but extensive remodeling almost always ends up looking more awkward than it would have to leave the house in something resembling its original format. Some of that may already have happened here, but don’t make it worse by trying to modernize much more.
Are you plant people? Maybe some azaleas to perk up the yard?
Our house is a Seventies faux-Tudor with a spacious but rather awkward and quite dark layout, and old-fashioned trim. One might be tempted to something to make it seem less medieval, but it would be a mistake. The house is what it is, and there’s little to be gained by fighting it.
I agree with Missouri Michael: the extension in the living room area used to be a porch. Here’s my 2 cents: after removing the wood stove (because it really doesn’t go with the style of house, sell it, and invest the money into your project), I would get rid of the glass bricks (mainly because I’ve never liked them as window replacements) and continue the floor to ceiling windows in that space as well. I like the spacers between each set of windows because I think it does make for an interesting interior focal wall. Outside, I would build a privacy screen in front of this area, set back enough to create a small patio area. Personally, I would want a basket weave privacy screen (painted to match the chosen exterior colors) but there are many options to choose from. Now you would have the benefit of sunlight and a pleasing view from your living room. Concerning the dining room window, it doesn’t bother me so much, in fact, I think it is interesting, Maybe another closer view would reveal otherwise. There is a house in my neighborhood (I’m in H-town too), a modest 50′s ranch, that placed privacy screens in front and landscaped around it. I think it looks fantastic.
The house has such great overall lines. I would like to see the dining room window projecting less, so that it stays under the eaves and doesn’t interrupt the shadow line. Perhaps the box-out could be made shallower, with solid sides, and the center could be that common 1950s/60s window arrangement with a lower operable pane with a larger fixed pane on top.
I would replace the glass block with another typical 50s/60s window layout, something like this: http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/0/4/4/8/ar125148246784409.jpg or this (behind the grill in the picture) http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/images/Architecture/RanchStyleHouse2.jpg.
Depending on your budget, the large fixed panes on either side of the glass block could remain as is or be changed to match the upper-over-lower style in the links above, which would make a nice horizontal line across the front of the house.
It looks like there’s some kind of diagonal detail going on along the sides of the glass block; I’d try to make those support walls as straight out as possible to minimize their visual thickness on the front.
If you ever re-roof, I’d consider getting rid of the chimney and stove.
My two cents.
This house has fabulous basic lines. It just needs some taking back to its roots. Simplifying and unifying the windows is a great idea, though expensive, as many have suggested. I agree the many nooks seem to indicate a porch or loggia in the house’s infancy and it would be wonderful to reclaim that.
Regardless of any structural and window changes, I’d suggest landscaping that enhances the MCM lines of the house: Perhaps a low hedge on both sides of the front door, and a small tree (maybe a Japanese maple, snowbell, dogwood or styrax japonica) within a free-standing planting bed further forward on the right side where the bedrooms are probably located. This would privatize and suggest a screen for the less public part of the house. Lose the curving planting beds that hug the walkway- you want straight beds near the structure.
If you decide to re-claim the porch, you could even build a planter along the front of it on the left side of the door and plant a low hedge in it (maybe sweet box, Japanese holly or boxwood.) Then you could plant a similar hedge along the right side, but allow it to grow higher.
But if I lived in your climate, I would be planting wonderful structural rows of agaves, aloes and other sculptural, drough-tolerant plants, instead of a traditional hedge. The look would be current (and sustainable!) but also perfect for the age of your home.
I’d love to have your dilemmas…have fun with your lovely ranch!
1. Get rid of the stove.
2. Restore the original porch.
3. Put in a bank of single pane french doors that would open up onto your restored porch.
4. Loose the hedge on the right side of the house and replace it with a decorative mid century cement block wall painted to match the exisisting color of the house. The bricks will let in light, let the air circulate, give the bedroom privacy, and carry out the horizontal lines of the house. Blocks like these:
http://veryvintagevegas.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/img-66311.jpg
5. You live in Texas, so consider doing some drought-tolerant landscaping to make your house stand out.
6. Replace the dining room window with a simple picture window.
boy after reading the comments I had to go back & look at the photos. budget permitting, I would get rid of that stove/stove pipe and yes, it looks like they bumped out the DR during a renovation.
I like the idea of making a million copies of the photo & then marking them all up with ideas. Also see if you can find the original blueprints (are they stuck in a closet, attic, basement somewhere?) I found my original blueprints in the basement above some storage shelves.
As for the front of the house, I see little potted plants on the steps. Instead of green plants, put in a few pots of cheerfuly colored flowers (red, pink, yellow, blue).
those are just my suggestions. (pretty much what Frank said above).
I also have that curvy sidewalk and always wanted to plant red & yellow tulips along the border for the spring.
My $0.02:
The glass blocks are “period enough” and do the job they’re meant to do. The bay window really should be removed and replaced w/a double casement window that matches those on the other end of the front elevation.
Also: Remove the hedges and palm; replace with low-profile landscaping appropriate to the Houston climate that has some color in it. Plant a yard tree in the larger section of the front yard.
Color is subjective but they may want to consider an accent color for the front door/entry.
The house overall is great. Houston has many nice MCM neighnorhoods SW of downtown!
The giant nook windows remind me of Amsterdam with the, ahem, “adult workers” in the windows offering their services. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99837963@N00/676064829/
Don’t worry, it’s family and work safe.
Hmmm. The dining room window definitely looks like a late edition add on. The casement (casing?) doesn’t match the rest of the house or the period. I lived in Oklahoma and Texas for several years and saw a lot of these great mid cent homes “re-imagined” during the late 70′s and 80′s during the oil booms.
I’m not sure if the living room area was once a porch or not. The brick is painted so it’s hard to tell if that brick is original or not. The change in flooring and ceiling material makes me think it’s not original. I think the glass block window could have been a bay window with a seat. I don’t understand the nooks though. One has a little cut out and the other doesn’t. Hmmm again. If both nook walls were load bearing could it have the little cut out?
I owned a house in Collin County for several years and the county tax assessor should have a digitized copy of your original floor plan on file along with any construction permits that were filed for any changes. It may be online as well. If that was a porch they would have needed a permit for that kind of change since it would have changed the square footage of the house thus changing the property taxes.
Does anyone else in your neighborhood have one of those stoves? It feels like a early 80′s country kitsch add on. Can you find out when the stove was manufactured? If it was after your house was built then you know for sure that it was an after thought.
Other than my random musings, the only other thoughts I can add to the exterior landscaping is to lose the wall of hedges on the right hand side. Move the taller ornamental tree behind the shorter shrubs. I’m toddler wrangling so I’m sure my thoughts are slightly convoluted right now.
Oh, maybe turn the nook closest to the front door into a planter? Could there have been double doors there at one time?
I love the curved walkway to the front door. I think if you opened up the front door area with either a raised built in planter or double doors the exterior would feel more open and welcoming.
Can you add some pictures of other houses in the neighborhood that were built around the same time to give us (me) more of a feel for the architecture?
My 2 cents,
The stove and pipe has to go, it’s breaking up the look of the house and not in a good way.
The bay window is doing the same thing, so it has to go.
The hedge on the right is either too tall or it also needs to come out, I’ll leave that up to you. If it stays cut it down to only be about a foot or so taller than the hedge on the left.
The planting beds in front of the hedge are screaming for some color, even solid white bed of flowers would look good, or a mix of colors and heights. Definitely fill those beds with flowers of some kind
Explore Houston Mod’s web site http://www.houstonmod.org and attend their “mod of the month” events to learn more about “soft contemporary” styled ranches that were popular in Houston in the 50′s and 60′s. The Glenbrook Valley area is full of them.
Could that entire window area have been a covered walkway -”bumped out”?
It would explain the structural cubbyholes. Call your Assessor’s Office- in my city, all new homes have been photographed since 1938.
I am beginning to think that your home has had some “work” done. : )
Looking at your furniture, the exterior does not fit in with your warm and comfortable, earthy style.
I would suggest looking into how your house can be painted a warmer ivory color and adding some minor old Spanish or Mediterranean details. A terra cotta tiled roof might look wonderful. This can turn your ranch from a modernist 50′s look, into something more traditional and romantic.
Looking at the landscaping, it would look fantastic. I agree that the right hedges are too tall and overpower the symmetry.
If you want to do something this weekend that will make a big difference, get rid of that palm tree thing, and replace those formal urns with some that have sleeker lines that go better with the sleek lines of the house. If the front door was a lighter color, perhaps it would be more of a focal point, so that you wouldn’t notice the windows as much.
When it comes to big changes, such as to the windows, it sure would be nice if you could get some professional advice from an architect. You want to make sure that whatever you do on the outside is going to be pleasing to you on the inside as well.
… I have to echo removing the fireplace/stove thing. First off, it’s Houston. When is it really cold enough to use it? 3 days out of the year? You won’t miss it. The metal flue chimney visible from the front and the whole concept of the country stove just isn’t an asset for this house.
I also think the boxed out window in the dining area doesn’t benefit the house either. It looks like what it probably is. Something tacked on later without much thought to the overall design of the house. Sorry if that sounds a little harsh, but It just sticks out like a sore thumb to me. I would replace it with something flush with the house. Lastly, I concur the glass block/front window set up is not working. Many of the big ranches I see have a solid plate glass window in the middle flanked by casement or double hung windows of some sort. I don’t know if that is the best response. Maybe a row of plate glass windows. That is the part that stumps me a bit. I know the current set up doesn’t work, but I am not sure what the best look as a replacement is. I also think the suggestions of redoing the landscaping would help. I can’t see the front door but of course Crestview has lots of options if that needs help. If you need help with a local Houston architect, I would try Kathy Heard over on Richmond.
Those windows …. are the only light. My back side of house is like that and I’ve created a wonderful scene with spectacular viewing. Keep your windows, build a private courtyard in the front and obliterate your street view from the inside with terrerium, stone walkway, small patio seating, water feature, etc. It will be marvelous looking out to the serenity you’ve created. And yes, lose the wood burning stove. If you are replacing glass?… an alternate clear and opaque reed adds nice geo texture? But, if the glass blocks are staying (which actually are used a lot in Palm Springs and were here and used in the 50′s Atomic Ranch) … add one more glass block wall, so that one doesn’t look so all alone.
I’m with Denise in addressing the problem of the dull front with landscaping. Does the house have historic status that would prohibit masking any of the facade? That’s important. My property taxes are 50% off in Tucson, in exchange for me not hiding or changing the front of my house.
If you aren’t bound by those types of restrictions, I’d say that the ideal situation would be a garden that featured interesting plants and a wall; you could create an amazing space to wander through.
Ripping up houses is a big deal. Putting in a garden wall and planting some trees and tall things to mask the boring front is easy.
Glass block is really one of the least inspiring things man has ever added to architecture, isn’t it?
I believe your home’s original front must have been similar to ours. Our 1955 ranch living room is set back 4+ feet from the edge of the two rooms adjacent to it, creating a shallow front porch. Your front door is in the shadows. I would paint it a brighter color to draw attention to it.
I’m certain the previous homeowner wanted as much light as possible with a little privacy, so they opted for glass block. Since you can’t put window treatments (fabric or shutters) behind a wood stove for obvious reasons, glass block serves both purposes. I’m not as offended by it as some, but you have a lot of it. Our front window consists of 9 awning-style windows (stacked 3 high). Our home faces West, so we get afternoon sun, but that 4+ foot overhang certainly doesn’t help much with the light. Maybe that was intentional.
Don’t know much about Houston plant material, but I would love to see a gorgeous Japanese Maple or a Smoke Bush (limbed-up like a tree) in front of the glass block window. I think the soft purple of the leaves would look beautiful underplanted with some low-mounding chartreuse ground cover. Those colors would look nice from the inside, too (could just be my screen, but your walls appear soft green to me). I would play with leaf color and texture more than flower color. I, too, think the shrubs on the right need to go. I think I’d replace them with low-growing evergreens (mix it up, not all the same) with clusters of one flower color every so ofter. Using plant material to guide your eyes away from that which you find objectionable will give you time to think about what to do with the facade.
Your house is very nice but the nooks are odd from the inside. I agree with some others that perhaps your porch was enclosed at some point. How long will you live there? Could you make a investment in the house?
Our ranch used to have a shallow covered front porch with a shed style roof that drained lots of water toward the front of the house. I never liked the look of the front exterior due to the strong horizontal line and the water was a concern for the foundation. We’ve been here 10 years.
So when the three pillars began to rot and the porch ceiling was cracked out and needed replaced I took pics of some other front porches in our area that had a small triangular peak roof. We had our old porch roof removed and built a new triangular roof with two pillars on the existing porch and it looks GREAT. We also added beadboard to the ceiling of the porch. Best of all it looks like it’s always been there and creates some VERTICAL interest and curb appeal. Although costly we plan to live here a long time. It’s nice that you don’t have any steps to your front door for the sake of future accessibility for elderly guests. Whatever you decide, best of luck with it.
Jordan, If you don’t object to the look of the block from the inside, I could recommend a decorative concrete block on the outside in front of the glass block, freestanding out far enought to get access to it to clean it from the outside, of course.
Or, you could remove the block altogether and replace it with a thermopane single sheet of glass and still use the decorative block on the outside as a screening material.
A-1 concrete block or other companies have it many midcentury modern motifs.
Also, removing the stack for the wood stove when the stove goes will clean up the lines of the roof as well.
The landscaping from what I see looks good, perhaps some color added would be nice.
Wow, what great ideas, except for most of the plant choices. If you’re in Houston, you definitely should NOT be planting things that come from the Appalachian forests like azaleas and dogwoods. Also exotics like Japanese maples. The climate’s all wrong and I’m guessing the soils are too. You’re just setting yourself up for increased maintenance . . . then you’ll REALLY hate your exterior. I’ll bet you can get great inspiration and guidance from your extension service and/or the Lady Bird Johnson Center.
Good luck – you’ve got a great house there!
I agree that someone must have enclosed a porch, but if you’re not interested in un-enclosing it ($$$), I think that replacing the DR window and getting rid of the tall hedge and that funky tree in front of the glass blocks will work wonders. As for what kind of window to replace the DR with — depends on whether you also want to get rid of the other floor-to-ceiling windows. If you do, replace them all with size and style appropriate to the period. If you DON’T want to replace them all, I think you have to match the DR window with the others. I also agree that adding landscaping with lots-o color would be groovy.
Three things I would do:
1. Get rid of the stove and flue. Period.
2. Get rid of the sago palm and the high shrubs to the right. Replace with something lower.
3. Replace the front door with a Crestview Door! http://www.crestviewdoors.com
front bed:
I’m guessing the 3 windows to the right are in a bedroom, which would be nice to keep some privacy for – even if they aren’t, i have the same idea.
Pull out those shrubs and plant a new line of shrubs further out into the lawn, maybe 10-15 feet out from the house. You could follow the curve of the bed on the left and and make a giant “S”. Then, plant a secret garden back there just for you to see from those windows and from the front door – guests could even see it as they approach the front door. You might even give it a path into the garden from the front door area.
In the end, you get some privacy from the street for those windows, a beautiful garden to see from indoors, and a better shaped landscape. And, I’m guessing ripping up 10 feet of lawn isn’t going to hinder too much football in the frontyard.
glass blocks:
Can you paint the grout between the windows? – leaving just 1 or 2 vertical white lines so from the street it looks like 2 or 3 tall windows instead of the black and white grid.
garden bed – you could plant the new shrubs without pulling out the old and let them grow a year or 2 – then pull out the old
renovating my 1960′s ranch and looking for advise on exterior paint color. adding a wrap-around deck with screen porch off the back, and a very asian landscape with lots of Japanese Maples and bamboo with 2 levels of decks (eventually)! trying to decide which way to go. Have a tan brick now with brown shutters and brown roof. getting new roof with addition and also have to paint the unmatchable brick. looking forward to reading through your website!
thanks!
Melanie
I think it needs a double front door with an accent color (brunt orange) if the inside can tolerate a wall blown out. The door is almost not visible.
Also nuke the narrow walkway and put in a cascade of large rectangular cement pads. Bring in some soil and add some mounds to give a little 3D. Then add a Japanese black pine or Japanese maple and lava rock circular island inside the lawn.
You don’t need to rip the hedges out just trim and thin them out so there is more bonsai going on than topiary madness with the electric hedge trimmer.
I am getting in on this conversation two years late. The curb appeal has probably already been improved. The home looks very neat and well kept. I think the landscaping needs improvement. Looking at the home, I would remove the hedges on the right and increase the flower bed on the left to fill in the the complete area between the walk and the driveway using ornamental trees and lower shrubs. On the right, I would also pull the flowerbeds out along the side of the walkway and use lower growing plant varieties but again would use ornamental trees. It would be helpful to either put a color on the door and dress up the hardware and use decorative potted plants. Large lanterns beside the door on each side might work as well. Its not going to be symetrical but not balanced can work and be very interesting. It could use some warmth…maybe painting the brick (I know..no one likes to paint brick) but it might add warmth which is needed.