New coat of paint would freshen up home
This is a column in which designer Suzanne Rowe selects homes that could benefit from a little inexpensive help in increasing their curb appeal. After examining photographs, she then proceeds to sketch out an artist’s rendering of what they could look li
Understated, soft
beige stone are great for driveway
Black bean soup is the name of the colour of the paint recently used for the garage door and shutters. I usually don’t like to emphasize garage portals since they are so massive and become overpowering if the hues are too colourful or dark. Since the owner has so many complements on the colour, dark brown, it will stay. I would prefer, though, to see the distracting white contour and the siding strips directly above the doors in the same tint.
To freshen up the entrance, the aluminum door should be removed to display the more elegant, hidden one. For balance and a stronger impact, the two side windows and all contours would also benefit from being painted dark brown. The triangular supports underneath the small roof look weak considering the size of the house. A couple of smooth simple square posts, painted or stained opaque white, would nicely frame the entry.
On the left side of the porch, between the post and the wall, a white railing will be installed for security and on the right side, for symmetry. The small, newly purchased white light fixture was lacking originality and presence. A medium-size chandelier imprisoned in a glass cube, with reflective metal trims in the same finish as the door handle, would look much richer.
The horizontal siding, the bay window’s vertical cladding and the triangle inside the overhang should be painted with exterior acrylic neutral mocha in a matte finish.
The owner was about to have his driveway repaved and was asking about the configuration of two new walls. I’m partial to a clean and tailored look, especially in a small space. Understated, soft beige stones with a step near the street is a sleek design and surely less expensive than a complicated one.
On each side of the main path, two long beds will be introduced and filled with citrus yellow Happy Returns Hemerocallis. These generous day lilies will relentlessly flower until frost. A second, identical walkway will lead to the yard. The two slanting but neatly trimmed cedars will migrate to the right corner of the facade. The smaller brother could coexist next to the taller one but slightly retreated toward the back.
Planted in a line, airy Microbiota decussata evergreens will gently soften the foundation without obstructing the precious sunlight from entering through the basement openings. A ribbon of white flowering silver ground cover will wrap around the L-shaped path while enlightening some shading from the honey locust tree. This guy could benefit from having a little haircut, though.
To prevent a jumble of different vegetation, a divider between the lawn and the silver Lamium and also one in the boundary between the Lamium and the Happy Hemerocallis are necessary. As always, a thick layer of brown mulch around the plants will keep the roots cool and fend off a weed takeover.
Along the top of the other retaining wall close to the driveway, the existing shy Juniperus could be relocated on the left corner of the house. If the transplantation is successful, starting at its base and all the way to the road, a fourth linear bed could feature a repetition of the actual apricot perennials that would be divided and placed in a line.
Deep and tall custom-made flower boxes will be secured lower so that, if the original slider windows are ever replaced with crank-style windows, the new opening panels wouldn’t injure the colour- ful blooms. Chunky dark brown ceramic containers will guard the entryway only if decorated with upward grasses and blazing tangerine cascades.
Vegetation (from left to right):
Owner’s Juniperus (pyramidal evergreen)
Owner’s Hemerocallis (perennials, apricot)
Pelargonium x peltatum (cascading annuals, white, flower boxes)
Calibrachoa x hybrida Million Bells (annuals, yellow, flower boxes)
Calibrachoa Million Bells Tangerine (annuals, tangerine, flower boxes and two containers)
Senecio Mikanioides (annuals, cascading greenery, flower boxes)
Calamagrostis Karl Foerster (ornamental grasses, two containers)
Hemerocallis Happy Returns (perennials, citrus yellow, eatable, walkway)
Lamium White Nancy (perennial ground cover, silver, white)
Microbiota decussata (several evergreens, near foundation, copper in fall)
Owner’s pyramidal Thuja (two pyramidal evergreens, right corner)