I see many houses in my neighborhood like this. At some point the owner got sick of taking care of the wood molding and wood siding and decided to wrap the whole house in vinyl and sheet metal. I have a house from the same period and have been debating the vinyl wrap versus spending more money on repairing the woodwork and installing cement board siding. These houses have so much character under their plastic suits and I don't have the heart to cover mine.

If you are feeling brave, take the sheet metal down and you'll see turn of the century woodwork as part of the former front porch. If you do so you'll need to update the flashing at those porch windows.

I think you'll hear this again and again but I agree, a bright-coloured door! Red or yellow! A couple hanging planters with geraniums or other bright flowers, hanging from the roof? And yes, a window box under the big window on the left.

Cute house! 'After' pics please! :)

Ooo and maybe some funky house numbers?

Ohhh... it's such a cute house.

We had the same problem with our house (didn't like the colors, siding, etc..). Instead of investing in a totally redo, we repainted the trim, door, built shutters and did some minor replanting. It looks 500 times better (at least I think so), and it didn't cost too much.
Certainly down the line we may redo the whole front, but minor changes make a huge difference for us. So I would hold of on the major changes (porch, etc..) and focus on the small changes. They will make a huge difference, fit in with your budget, and you can see what you like.

On colors... I think a yellow door to play off of the foilage near your front door, and maybe some window boxes (looks like someone else thought the same).

And I love your house. It has great massing - I fantasize about replacing your siding and replacing that living room window with something more in charcter with the period of your house. But I definitely understand the budget issue and the patience you need to have with an old house.

Congratulations on your house and the super-cute doggie peaking through the window!
I would replace the steps and the mailbox and paint the front door a fun + contrasting color (a warm orange, or deep purple, or chestnut brown, or electric blue) for now. Get some cute curtains, spruce up the plantings (maybe some colorful planters?) and see how you feel. The trim looks ok in the pictures and from the road. Once you start replacing the trim around the door, you'll want to do it around the windows, and then the siding won't look right... With my house, I'd rather live with a not-so-perfect situation for a while and save the money to make it really nice rather than spending money I don't have on an ok fix.
Putting a roof over the door is an excellent idea. I think it would look a little awkward just over the door though, so I would suggest adding an open porch to the left of the existing one. It could be small and extend just to that big window, or it could span the whole front of the house. You would walk up the steps to the left of where the door is right now, and the door would be moved to the side wall (If that makes sense). That's a bigger project, I know, something to plan for in the future :-)

You can replace the painted metal for a little money, I think. It doesn't seem to be an issue of structure, more like casing for the door. I agree with Medusa; paint that door yellow! It'll really work with the blue.

I also suggest a good powerwashing because you can literally and figuratively wash away the previous owners' neglect.

I've been struggling with the same question. I already put a big pot on my stoop with flowers and a flower box along the window. Took a total of two hours, was inexpensive and it already makes me happier to come home. I agree, a red or yellow door would look nice. Also, change the lighting fixture. That can be done inexpensively as well. Good luck!

Depending on what year this house is from, a wall-mounted outdoor light from Schoolhouse Electric would be nice.

Looks like you don't have room for a pot on the stoop, so a hanging flower basket on the left hand side. If you paint the door red, maybe a matching red mailbox??

My advice is to enjoy the vinyl siding! Sounds weird, but after having vinyl for many years I came to appreciate how easy it is. Unlike aluminum, it is not recyclable, so you can pat yourself on the back for "saving the Earth" if you leave it in place -- plus enjoy never needing to paint! If it is really dirty you might need to pressure-wash, but after that rinsing with the hose will probably be sufficient.

On our plain-jane vinyl-clad Cape Cod, we spruced up by:

changing out the front door (painting yours would be good enough; our old one was a plain slab)
installing a new light
painting the porch railings
getting new house numbers
putting a flowerpot on the stoop
putting out a cute doormat (can be challenging to find something nice that can take an exposed spot like that; we used the black rubber type that imitates wrought iron)

For you, I'd suggest the above plus painting the steps and adding shutters to only the teeny upstairs window. The other windows are too close together (upstairs) and too large (downstairs) for shutters to look natural. You could also replace your doorbell with a decorative one if you want to get very detailed. Oh, and I'd just yank out that overgrown sculpted shrub.

This is what I would do: Paint the door yellow, paint the porch steps, put up window boxes with colorful blooms, add shutters to the windows, clean up the landscaping and add a nice outdoor light in place of the old one. It will make an enormous difference. Congratulations! It's a wonderful house.

I wouldn't power wash a frame house from that period. Power washing pushes the water where it really isn't supposed to go and with the wood as old as it is on your house, you don't know what kind of problems it might cause.

Hi -- your entry has so much potential! Lots of simple ideas, that should be reasonably affordable and done as you go.

Window boxes across the front -- flowing vines and pops of red or orange (mums for the fall?). Maybe a matching box on the window to the left of the door too. Leave the white trim around .

Paint the front door. I am leaning toward matte black - to accent black window boxes under the windows.

Paint the steps. White is very clean. Put a pot of flowers on the second step. A matte black pot.

Get a great welcome mat. Something fun with a pop of color.

Consider new a new railings with banisters.

Get a fabulous porch light. Something with character. I'd love to see something like: http://remodelista.com/img/sub/barnlightelectricsconce81.jpg

New house numbers. Stack them vertically to the right of the door. Larger than what you have now. Make a statement with them. Select the same metal finish as your new porch light. If you want to make an investment, consider a custom placque with your address on it. I'd hang it on the door. Something like this: http://www.signaturehardware.com/product5682

Add an iron bracket to the left of the door (pointing toward the left of the picture not out), close to the roof line. Get a great hanging basket of flowers, ones that really flow and hang. For the holidays, I add a grapevine ball and white lights to give my empty baskets some life.

I am sure someone will kick me on AT, but I think wreaths are very welcoming. Not something funky, something natural and simple - just below the window on the door.

I'd like to see you do more with your landscape too. Get rid of that giant bush to the left of the steps. It's just a mound of unfriendly green. It's hard to tell what kind of sunlight you have, but a perrenial English garden would soften your entrance. Soft informal plants, taller closer to the house, and smaller as you get closer to the path.

Hope this helps. I'd love to see your "after" pictures.

Since I live in a place (large properties set away from the road, often gated) where homes scream, "Hey, get away, we like our privacy and we don't love everyone", I found this post very sweet.

That is a very powdery pastel blue. I would suggest staying in the blue to green range for the door, and go for a saturated color...but not a primary. Benjamin Moore Nile Blue or Adriatic Sea (a rich midnight blue), or into the teal greens with BM Baltic Sea or Stained Glass. For a younger look, a slightly muted grape purple (BM Pinot Grigio Grape), but that depends on how color conservative your neighborhood is.

I suggest replacing your rickety stair railings, for safety.

Delving behind flashing and siding can be the start of a nightmare of expense and frustration. If your home is watertight and you see no signs of termite damage, rot, or other pressing problems, you might be wise to wait until you have enough money to cover the contingencies.

Your home is beautiful.

I vote for a yellow door! I think that would be so pretty with your blue siding (even though you didn't pick the blue)! I think it'd make your house look very happy and welcoming. Young House Love used a pretty color: http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/08/old-yeller/

They also spray painted their door hardware which is a simple, cheap fix, if you were interested in that. And this may look weird/not be possible, but are the window panes on your front door removeable? The porportions don't match the windows on your house and it might look better completely open.

I'd also try to move the light fixture to the side of the door and pick another fixture that is more unique and pretty. And move the house numbers to above the door. That's completely personal preference though. I agree with putting a flower box under the large window & trimming the boxwood. Very cute house!!

Cute house, even before you do anything. But since you need to replace the stairs, you could make them more welcoming by broadening them as they go down toward the yard. Then the banisters 'embrace' your guests. I'd also add a great hanging chime or sculpture to the left of the door, and put the house numbers vertically on the right side of the door.

[IMG]http://i45.tinypic.com/xd76zm.jpg[/IMG]

Another vote for the yellow door! New numbers and a new light are also relatively cheap ways to spruce it up. I'd also change the curtains in the front windows. Something white might be nice.

Oh and for what it's worth - since you're considering a porch infront of the sun porch. I think it'd be worth considering a patio area (concrete or stone pavers) on the ground level infront of the sunporch with a couple of chairs and maybe a cafe table/stool right there. Seems like an easier/cheaper DIY effort. You could have a couple potted plants there or hang a planter from your porch roof.

A whimsical doorbell never hurt either....

Painting the front door, as you said, is a must. I like the idea of orange--it's said to increase enthusiasm and creativity. I love your idea of adding a "bit of a porch"--consider having the steps go all the way across. You could adorn them with potted flowers or stencil the kick plate with an inviting quote. Your instincts are right about the hodge-podge-iness of it. Your home's 'jewelry' --the light, the mailbox, the house numbers--should be more cohesive. Remember. Just because the numbers are where they are doesn't mean they have to stay there. Same goes for the mailbox.

misspoke there--I meant riser not kick plate

Adding to previous...on the porch-before-the-porch idea, you don't want to cover that wonderful flare at the bottom corners of your sun porch. I can see making the entry landing deeper, but I wouldn't widen it. If you can afford it, changing the stairs and landing to brick or stone would give weight to the entryway. Definitely chose a railing in proportion to the framing of the door -- i.e., two to three times the width of your current railings.

Add some thick trim around the windows and paint like this: http://i.imgur.com/Bppeb.jpg

420 is my birthday. your house is awesome for that alone.

Hey, hey! Ho, ho! That giant boxwood's got to go!

The sun porch is great! I think you are right - one of the biggest turn-offs are the front stairs. They are underproportioned. Widening them into a shallow porch might work but deepening them and giving them more substantial banisters seems to me the most important thing. It would be much more practical and inviting if you can actually put down shopping bags to get our the keys (a little bench might be nice for that if you widen the porch) and stand at the entrance with more than one person at the time. If they are deeper and wider, you can add a flower pot or ornament if you want.

If you extend the porch infront of the sun porch, the current planting bed would also move, which I think would be good. The plants are too close to wall right now and look almost scared :-).

When you paint the door (I am an orange fan, but a yellow would work too), consider painting a frame in a dark color around it. I assume that would be the metal parts you mentioned. I can't tell from the pics if it's possible, but it would look best if you could frame the windows then in the same colors.

Also, it would pull the front of the house together if you coordinate the curtains for the porch and other downstairs windows in a color that coordinates with your new door color.

Good luck!

medusa12120 took the words out of my brain!

Replace the trim. Paint the door yellow. Paint stairs dark grey. Add window boxes.

Your house is really cute. It just needs a little sprucing up.

I would remove that single light over the door, and opt for one or two on the side of the door. You could also add columns of some sort coming from the porch to the roof on either side.
Have you thought about narrow trellis on the side of the door with a plant growing up it? Plants would soften the look my making it more natural.
If you redo the stairs, I would elongate the tread length, so a person would feel they have more real-estate when standing on them. You may also get appliqué embellishments for the risers of the stairs (something filigree) to add a touch of artfulness. Depending on your budget I would have your steps taper out at the bottom (wider at the bottom than the top). It would give the illusion that it is longer leading up to your house, and help break up the ‘boxy’ look.
You also may consider getting a rounded wood plaque with your house number above your door. It would help add something in that empty space that softens the starkness.

I agree with HHRI - I would paint the front door bright red, reddish orange or deep purple. Personally, I dislike the 'true and tried' combos like blue and yellow but then I am not a fan of yellow in general.
Congrats on your house - it very charming, including the doggie in the enclosed front porch. That must be an awesome room for reading or having coffee.

You could spiff up the plain flashing around the door with some trim but it might be better to just glue it on with strong construction adhesive rather than putting nail holes in the flashing. I like the basic proportions, wouldn't get too out of control with an additional front porch but it's better to have more of a stoop at the top rather than just steps right to the door. You could also add a small slightly gingerbreadish detail in the peak above the two front windows.

I just love your question! I love how you are trying to make your house more welcoming. (You are already doing great with your beagle!)

You are almost there...

With respect to shutters on your windows: they would not be found on a house such as yours, so don't add them. You can do other things to make the facade more lively and fun.

With respect to the windows: the only window which is not appropriate to the style and vintage of your house is the vinyl picture windows with two side lights on the left. originally, you would have had either a plane large picture window, or two double-hung windows. The vinyl clad window really clashes with the rest of your house, and so if I were you, I would be thinking about how I could change it one day. At this point, the easiest option would be a simple picture window framed in wood to fit the space. It can wait, but it would make the world of difference.

Now... on to making your house more welcoming.

First off, the most welcoming thing you could add are big overstuffed window boxes under at least the windows by your front door; if you feel more ambitious, you could put window boxes under all accessible windows (i.e., the ones on the left side). You could change them with the seasons. You would need to relocate your mailbox.

Next, the front door. Basically, it is like the substitute picture window -- not an appropriate historic or stylistic fit. You could try painting it a strong color (a shade of red fore example), but the best thing would be to try to find a reclaimed wood door which fits the opening and has an attractive glass insert. Something along these lines:

The "before" door on the left in this example:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/85540/marin-home-staging-what-a-difference-a-door-makes-

http://skagitbuildingsalvage.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/32-victorian-entry-door-485/

Nothing too ornate, but a nice bright or rich colour made of wood and glass.

I'd give the front steps and railings (perhaps beef up the railings) a fresh coat of paint, and cover the steps with an outdoor sisal runner, installed so as to not be slippery.

Good luck! You have a lovely home!

Instead of making that front porch bigger (which was tacked on at some point), consider turning the sunroom back into the front porch as the house was originally intended. That will take care of that door problem and give you a real functioning Victorian front porch.

Great potential! I agree on a new light, even home depot would have some good options for this style house. I would go for a muted, not bright door color. Maybe red. New more simple numbers, put them on vertically instead of diagonally. New paint on the steps and railing. Window boxes can be expensive and more maintenance, I would redo the foundation plantings- either go with a repeated single variety (like smaller boxwoods and or lavender) or go crazy with naturalistic gardening- prairie flowers and beautiful grasses. Just commit to a garden style and go hard in that direction.

I agree with the first thing to do is power wash the whole house including the roof. Then replace the stoop, steps and railing, paint the door a bright inviting color, replace the outdoor light fixture and consult a landscape architect for plant and flower suggestions/ideas but you do all the work and only pay for a consultation to save money. Believe once you do these few little things you'll see what a gem you have. Please post after pics no matter what you do.

First, decide whether or not you will ever want to commit to removing the vinyl siding and metal flashing. If removal is NEVER going to be an option then power wash and paint (do not bother power washing or painting if you plan on removing the vinyl.

If even power washing and painting is not currently in the budget then paint the door a nice colonial deep red. I think the yellow would give you more of a country feel so if that's your style then go with yellow.

After that consider removing the boxwood and wrapping the porch around so that extends past the large window. This will give that welcoming feel you were talking about.

Please, please whatever you do do not put those stock shutters that are nailed to the house and could never cover the window even if they were functional. Those are a curb appeal crime.

I'm sure everyone here has a lot more valuable/well thought/harder to implement advice, but my immediate reaction is that I would paint the door a, attention-grabbing sort of color, with panes in an accent color. It might be difficult to mesh this with the rest of the house, but I am looking at it and thinking dark navy blue with white or light teal pane, then adding some big brass hardware. That's just me, though.

paint the door and under part of the overhang a deep navy blue. get an inexpensive barnyard-style down light ($45ish at home depot) and hang a bright yellow wreath over the window.

ps—cute doggie!

here's a link for a quick and dirty photoshop mock of the navy door, overhang idea.
http://assets4.pinimg.com/upload/25121710392332544_0erWM9z4.jpg

let us know what you decide!

We just bought a similar home and had some of the same issues. Most of our attention (and redecorating budget) went to the interior, so we had to be creative with the exterior until we can afford a more substantial re-do. I would suggest repainting the front door and/or the front steps, adding some bright flowering potted plants, and replacing the house numbers. You could also paint the mailbox in a color that matches whatever you paint the door. We found that making just a few inexpensive changes made a huge difference!

I love the red door idea and window box. I would brighten the stairs with a fresh coat of white paint, take that large shrub out and plant some nice flowering hedges, or non flowering if it's too much, along the left front instead. You could put a cool bird bath in place of the big shrub by the stair.
[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/14m6h75.jpg[/IMG]

Something that may have been overlooked, add thin wood strips to the inside of the porch windows to give the illusion that each glass pane is smaller, similar to what is happening with the door window. This will provide more pattern and unify the look. Second purchase new house numbers, align them in a vertical format and install them on the other side of the door. Move the mailbox underneath of them but not too close. Of course, paint the door. I would choose a dark color to give contrast to the rest of the house. Those are simple fixes but if your budget allows it, replace that door with something less contractor grade.
Good luck!

Also, a new porch light is needed for sure. Don't be afraid to go big or bold. Buy a few styles, install them and take photos. Determine which one you like best and return the others.

While changing the color of the door will definitely add to the appeal, it will not get rid of your problem. It will only make it a more colorful problem. Go to the library and look at houses that you think have wonderful entrances. The one thing that you'll notice is that a good entrance functions as the focal point for the exterior of the house. That means it is the most important feature and that other features frame it, point to it, lead to it. bracket it and highlight it. Think of the door as the end of a runway. The details point the way in and it makes you feel welcome. The actual problem is that your door is not a focal point at all. It is no more important than the windows. In fact, the windows seem to have greater prominence, leaving the door as a poor afterthought hanging off the edge of the wall. Fixing it is easy. Fixing it on a budget is harder. I'm in favor of peeling off the cladding around the door to see what you have on the wood underneath. That may be the best way, but it is financially risky as you have no idea what is under it. Whatever you do, you need to highlight the door as a major part of the design. How? 1) frame or bracket it. Install either half columns or wide, and I do mean wide, trim to the wall beside the door but at least maybe six inches away from it and not touching it.. This can be as simple and cheap as buying 1 x 8's from the local box store and installing them flat beside the door Use trim to fancy up both the top and the bottom to give the look of a stylized flat column. Even better would be to spring for wide trim pieces in place of the 1 x 8 and still trim out the top and bottom. 2) You need to crown it somehow. Ever wonder why an awful lot of doors that are not on porches have a bump, arch, or peak in the roof right above it? They do that to crown the door. Bumping up the roof with a dormer type peak above the door would match your house roof line beautifully, but may be too expensive to contemplate. Leaving the roof alone, you can crown the door with applied molding forming a rectangle or an arch above the door. Paint the inside of the shape for instant pop. Not nearly as good as fooling with the roof, but not a bad compromise that will not affect the structure of the house and can be gotten rid of or redone when the mood hits. You can do it around the light. 3) Point the way in. I saved one of the biggest design sins for last. I'm sorry, but the stairs and especially the railings will have to go if you want a welcoming entrance. A straight run of stairs that is only a little wider than the door is a major no-no. Again, you don't have to pop for a grand sweeping entrance. Just making a graduated stair case with the bottom stair wide, the middle stair less wide and the top stair still smaller will be enough to add importance to the door and point the way in. Going up the scale in terms of expense, adding even a small, 3 foot deep landing in front of the door would make a big difference in how the door looks and functions. It will not only add importance, but give one or two guest a welcoming place to stand while they wait for you to open the door. Don't get me wrong, even length runs of stairs are ok as long as it is substantially wider than the door but you don't have room to go much wider. before you extend past the end of the porch. You can consider curved steps, decks and other embellishments that cost more, but the stairs have to go if you want a welcoming entrance. I wish that I had a cheap alternative to replacing the rails, but I don't know of any. Lumbar from the box store will not do it. Unless someone else can make a suggestion, you need to spring for premade rails. Anything else is going to look amaturish. Congratulations on the new house and good luck.

I like a black door because the door is your Mouth of Ch'i and on your house it's located in the center Career position. Black or dark charcoal. Then add black windowboxes as others have mentioned with some deep purple pansies or other dark blue flowers.

HGTV featured this door in their email the other day: http://hgtv.sndimg.com/HGTV/2010/04/15/HCRB102_yellow-front-door_s4x3_lg.jpg

It's a-door-able. (I couldn't resist.) I'm sort of over red doors, so I vote for a daffodil yellow or a burnished gold color. Just make sure you're not clashing with the tone of your house color - I would say mellow your yellow to keep from making your house color feel washed out and old. Good luck!

Paint the door a slightly metallic blue-green tinted black. Barring that, I'd go natural and get a reclaimed wooden door.

I've always wanted to get one of those old school red mailboxes that say "post."

Oh my gosh folks!
it was such a wonderful surprise to come home to all of your wonderful and well thought out ideas! we are over the hill that this post even made it onto the site. ok, ok, ok.
i have managed to finally explain the problem with the front steps to my partner and we are going to do a widened step at the door as well as have the steps taper out. they will be painted (white or grey- we have a saying in this house" if something is not right, paint it white)
there will be not one but two lights in the hanging bell shape type- i'm not sure the technical term.
the door will be painted some wonderful shade (I painted the interior door- to our actual house, a golden yellow a few weeks ago!)

ALSO... thank you for disliking that boxwood (we refer to it as 'george bush' there are a lot of jokes around the conservative neighbor loving it, and my utter disgust of that horrible shrub!) it's hideous and i only kept it because of the mass amounts of bees that inhabit it. if you can believe i cut it in half in the spring.
i just really wanted to thank everyone for the excellent suggestions. also for the time spent drawing and Photoshopping ideas!
and if you're ever in the neighborhood stop by to pet the pup. she's the sweetest thing.

moon not hill. being over the hill is something else entirely.

Citrus Blast BenjMoore paint for the door. Cloudy Sky or Kitty Gray for the steps. The rails should be white like the trim. Get a good light fixture - maybe the Vintage Barn Sconce from Restoration Hardware. New house numbers and a good mailbox that adds a little punch. Trim up the boxwood, put matching flower pots on either side of the steps. Very cute house.

Ok, I love the posting community here. You guys are awesome, thoughtful, creative, encouraging. Photoshop pictures, actual paint chip colors...so cool. Thank you.
I would put plantings along the front walk that give you the sense of being in a garden. Depending on the length of the wall and distance from that tree coming across the front, you could plant 2 small shaped topiary size trees on either side of the walk. Then fill in along the walk with looser plantings like grasses, sedum or other zone appropriate plants. The spiky foundation plants in the photos aren't what I would like. Ligularia desdemona (bigleaf goldenray, big dark green purple leaves provide excellent folliage and it has golden yellow flowers) or baptisia (false indigo; airy shrub with pretty blue flowers in early summer that develop into purplely seed pods that look nice in the winter) are two of my favorites.
That big window is going to look a little naked when the big shrub goes because the current plantings are so small. Any chance you want to put a seating area there? We snagged a beautiful picnic table from a neighbor and put it in our front yard. Having a place to sit is very inviting.

ok everyone, so far this is what i have gotten done on my one day off this week.
(also we are searching high and low for a barn style light in brushed nickel or pewter. And though we really really want/ need to redo the stairs it's not going to happen for a bit.)

painted the door, re-purposed existing flowers and moved plants around in the beds.
cut down that horrible bush!
removed a bit of the flashing to expose beautiful wood work that we are going to slowly restore once we find the perfect light fixture.
thanks again for all you advice. seriously the best feeling walking up the path to our house!
http://ayearinkingston.tumblr.com/image/29788084715

Very nice!

Doing things like painting the door and steps, adding light fixtures and numbers may help in the short run...but I would not spend the money to rebuild the steps just yet. (And you may not want to paint the steps white or a light color - hard to keep clean.) You may like the sunporch, but it looked to me, as someone noted above, like it used to be an open porch. I can't imagine this house was built this way, and that is why the front looks just wrong, and won't ever look right until restored to something like its original structural integrity, that is, with a porch instead of a sunporch. I'm not saying you need to commit to this expensive project now, but realize that as you live in this house for a few years, and see others around the area, you are going to begin to have an eye for what is the original style of these houses, and which ones thus look good (and are worth more) because they haven't been muddled with (or have been restored to something that looks like their original integral structure if they have been muddled with in the past.) When you start to get this, you may realize that your rebuilt wider tapering steps just don't look right, either, and want to tear them off when you redo the porch. I think you'd be better off looking at houses, figuring what looks better than what you have, and give up on ideas like putting a porch outside a porch that has been turned into a sunporch ... it just won't look right. Besides, eventually changing it back to an open porch in front would be not only better looking, it would be more welcoming and increase curb appeal, and give you a seasonal outdoor sitting room that is up, not at ground level like a patio would be. (If you need the sunroom type space for mudroom type purposes, think about adding on at the back.) Start thinking about how you would like to restore your home to look more like it did originally, as that will increase its value as well as its aesthetic. Figure out, perhaps by talking to local workers who have restored houses with porches you like, how you might design the porch, what sort of steps it originally had, and what looks appropriate. Then save for that, and don't spend a lot on rebuilding now.

Agree that the trim, all of it, would look better painted a darker color, a darker blue, a teal, or a purple. Perhaps with a second trim color for the door or some of the trim around the sunporch windows in the meantime. Think victorian color combinatioins when choosing - use darker colors, since your blue is light. You can look up specific color combinations appropriate to the era of the house. Don't think yellow or red is best with it. Also agree a long window box on the left, and perhaps one on the window above that. No shutters.

And, when you learn what the house originally looked like, I'm guessing that you will find that the steps to the porch where in the center of the porch, not on the side of the (now enclosed) porch where they are now. I think they look lopsided where they are, and that they were probably in the middle of the porch. I think that whatever you do, your house will look lopsided with that sunporch, and will not look right in front until you restore the structure to its original shape.

I love the painted door idea. I think it is a fun and super simple thing that you can do that makes things look young, fun and artsy. I just finished renovating my place last year and built a small business because of the need for address numbers. Not sure if you are into the mid century or modern look but have a look and let me know what you think, www.modernaddressdesign.com. Otherwise, highighting the railing might help. Another idea would be to build a brick planter or a small wooden planter with some bright flowers.

Justin
jbsmith@modernaddressdesign.com

Choose some fragrant plants. Rosemary smells great thoughout the year. Alternatively a climber like jasmine smells great at night. What could be more welcoming...