Front yard design dilemma
Where has the year gone? And why haven’t I done anything about turning the front of my house into MY house?
A year and two months after moving into our new-old house (circa mid-70s) I still cringe when fellow gardeners come over and see the entry, I never blog about it, and what’s more I haven’t come up with a firm plan on how to address what’s wrong with the front of my house.
What’s wrong? While I love the interior, and the back garden is coming along, the home’s entry just isn’t me. So what would I change if money were no object (which it is)?
1. The roofline. It has no dimension and sits too low over the door and windows.
2. The windows. Some are long, some are short; they have old aluminum frames with fake mullions and non-functioning shutters; and there’s that horrible ’70s detail of wood siding beneath the shorter windows.
3. A too-narrow sidewalk that slopes down from the driveway to the squeezed front steps, making a perfect chute of water to the base of the steps when it rains. Adding to the hazard is the lack of gutters, allowing rainwater to cascade off the roof onto anyone attempting to jump that puddle at the base of the steps.
4. Little strips of grass and a narrow foundation planting in a straight line too close to the house.
5. Paint colors and itsy-bitsy exterior lights
Some of these things can be remedied pretty easily. Paint colors and fixtures, for instance, are simply part of making a house a home for one’s own family. But the rest, hmm…
All of it must be done on a budget and over time, as I’ve been focusing my time and energy and limited gardening funds on the back yard. But I’m fantasizing about adding a peaked porch roof or maybe just a trellis over the entry; replacing the windows; and redoing the sidewalk with a wider stone or brick walkway.
And how about turning this little nothing of a space (above) between the house and the garage into a French-inspired—or Southern California-inspired!—gravel courtyard, with some potted succulents and inviting seating?
I would need to do something similar over here, which is trickier because of the live oaks, whose roots I don’t want to disturb, and the troublesome water runoff from the driveway. Also, I’d need a screening wall of some sort at the end of the space to hide the neighbor’s trash bins.
Even designers love ideas and suggestions. You got any?
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Oh, I’ve been dying to have all my designer/gardener/blogger friends over to redesign parts of my yard! We should make a swap of it and trade off — ideas, margaritas, plans — doesn’t that sound like early Spring fun? If we did it as a group, it would be easier to take bits and pieces of advice and then make the new design our own…
Fun idea! Let’s do it. —Pam
Lots of potential here Pam! One thing that stands out to me first is the lack of any major foliage contrast. On a budget, the first thing that I always start with is plants. You can install a few at a time for big impact, then move them as you begin to finalize a design plan. Adding some silver or white variegated foliage would draw from the house colors out into the yard.
Second, there needs to be more use of scale. For instance on the blank walls between windows, you could really use more dramatic height. Espalier? Or large scale deciduous shrub that can be arborized laterally and under planted?
How about a narrow piece of lattice attached to the fence with a lovely flowering vine on it to hide the cans without creating a wall ‘o plants?
Can you add rain chains to the front for the water hitting the walkway issue? Pretty copper ones would look lovely with your homes style.
Lastly, you have great opportunities for adding some scale and dimension to the beds with mounding. I’m a HUGE fan of this technique in tight spaces especially. Adds so much drama!
Hope you find these ideas inspirational- even though I’m not Mulch maven or Susan Morrison! 🙂
Thanks for your ideas, Christina! I was considering espalier on the house too—it’s something I’ve never tried but have wanted to. Otherwise I’m keen to pull the plants away from the house except for some in pots. You are right about there needing to be foliage contrasts. I’m not excited about keeping any of these plants except the Japanese maple and will be redoing the plantings. But the designer in me tells me that the hardscape must come first. It’s hard to wait though, and maybe some potted plants would be the way to spruce things up before that happens. —Pam
As I was scrolling down and looking at the photos, I was thinking of a gravel courtyard and then you mentioned it. I can see a fountain or water feature in the enclosed area (is that the garage to the left?). Do you have to mow here (or is the grass mondo?) I’m thinking of all gravel or maybe pavers.
Thanks for sharing your ideas, Phillip! I’ve been fantasizing about a fountain here too. But we have so many deer in the front yard already, and I’m afraid that a water source will attract even more. A dry creek to take care of the water runoff may have to be my only “water” feature in front. Yes, that is the garage on the left. And yes, it’s grass with liriope edging. —Pam
Well, you know I love the gravel…when it’s done well, it can be both stunning and very peaceful. I vote courtyard, for sure.
As you say, paint and fixtures are cheap and easy to fix, so I’d start there, just so it start to feel more like your space right away. Plus, you don’t have to wait until spring to get going on it. Then, personally, I’d go ahead and start on the gravel courtyard. It doesn’t have to be terribly expensive, and you don’t have to do it all at once. But if you get going on it, it will have a bigger, more immediate visual impact, plus then you’d have your canvas primed for the plants.
Starting over can be scary and exciting all at once, can’t it?
Your front-yard wine patio has been percolating in my brain, Susan. I had a small front courtyard good for neighbor-visiting in my old garden, and I miss it. You are right that I could start on a courtyard right away—and I may if I think that replacing the sidewalk is more than a year away. But if I can do that sooner rather than later, I’ll wait. Having a new sidewalk installed can be a messy, destructive business. But I will repaint soon, and can’t wait. Thanks for your suggestions! —Pam
Your number 4 and 5 seem like the easiest and most dramatic (and probably least expensive) things to change. Generally, it seems like creating some curvier lines and berms not so close to the house itself would soften some of the straight lines of the windows and roof. The courtyard idea sounds great, too! Also, maybe the shutters would work in a richer, more chocolate ( a little more red in the mix, which picks up some of what appears to be some red tones in the roof) brown. And/or change the tan paint around the windows surrounding the front door to an olivey-green similar to the big front door urn? Just my initial two cents’.
Thanks, Iris. I admired your paint choices when you redid your own house recently. The roof color is not set in stone because it does need replacing in the next few years, and we will probably change it. The brick is the one constant in the existing color scheme. I like the green idea; in fact, I painted the new gates on either side of the house a mossy green. I may continue the green theme with the front door. I read somewhere that a ranch’s door should not be made to “pop” with a bright color; ranches were designed to blend in with the landscape, not stand out. Considering the humble lines of this house, that’s an idea I can get behind. —Pam
Well at first glance the colors of the shutters and those blank boxes under the small windows are just screaming for some neat color and design. The brick being beige helps a bit since you could go a lot of places with this.. You could jazz up the front entry at the same time. Give the door an interesting color. Cluster some interesting pots of plants right near the entry. I think I would start there and see what cues that gives you for the plantings.
Hi, Chris! Of course I knew you’d be thinking of colors since you have such fun, vibrant colors at your own place. 🙂 I like your idea of clustering interesting plants at the entry, and that’s something I can do right away even if the big stuff has to wait for a while. Thanks for your ideas. —Pam
Yeah. I was seeing gravel and ‘randomly’ distributed agaves and other succulents and pots that would take my mind off the fact that the space is a rectangle.
Why widen the walk when edging it and bringing gravel up to the edge will widen it by a third and make it seem even wider.
How many rain events do you all have that turn the steps into a pool? Do you use that entrance regularly? Spend your money on plants if the rest is passable.
Hi, Craig. Your suggestion about “widening” the path with gravel is a smart one, and I’d be very tempted to do it if the runoff wasn’t such a big issue. True, it doesn’t rain a lot here (though more in the winter), but when it does it tends to come down hard and fast, making drainage an issue for almost every homeowner I’ve worked with. Since this is our primary entrance, I want it to be inviting and not waterlogged or slippery. I’ll continue to mull over that gravel courtyard idea though. Thanks for weighing in! —Pam
Pam,
I don’t know if this would work. Take out the front door and move it out even with the brick walls then redo interior to have a little more heated space inside. Then install a 6/12 Vee porch roof over the door with a small porch. You can enjoy the front yard from and not be crowded inside that recess. The short windows I’d pull them and install full length windows and you would get more light inside.
Hi, Randy. Thanks for dropping by and sharing your ideas! I’m with you on replacing the short windows with full-length ones. I think consistent, quality windows would do a lot for the plain-Jane facade. As for the porch, that’s a nice idea, but a shortage of indoor space is not an issue for us. The existing entry is huge; we’ve actually turned it into a small sitting room. —Pam
I am still thinking you should create some kind of wet weather creek to take care of the drainage issue. This would give you the opportunity to create a gravel courtyard to the left. The front path would have to bridge the creek. Some large rocks could break up the areas with asymmetrical plantings. It would need a lot of tearing out and earth moving so I imagine it would have to be first things first- those improvements to the house, including roof line. I bet we could find a few rocks for you over here!
I had fun exploring this idea with you in person recently, Jenny, and that solution worked so beautifully for your home and garden (Jenny Stocker’s garden, for anyone who cares to see their gravel courtyard). I will have to give it some more thought to see if this is workable for our style of house and drainage needs. I do love rock, and thanks for offering to find me some! Treasure indeed. —Pam
Maybe this is me being the devil’s advocate… but I think that you’re actually pretty smart to wait. You’ve lived in the space for not quite a year yet, this is your “public face” that you want to get right the first time, and everything that you think you might want to do there will take a pretty good amount of time/money commitment. All of that adds up to the idea that it’s not something you really want to change on a whim–so taking some time on the front end of that kind of project to make sure it’s right before you start digging seems like the intelligent way to go about it. 🙂
That said, how many of these windows are really the tall/long ones, Pam? Because my knee-jerk reaction is to paint that wooden paneling so it blends in with the brick, and take those long shutters off of the short windows and replace them with window-sized ones. If you have only one or two long windows, you could flank them with trellises, or something else so it doesn’t look like you’re trying to “match” things necessarily, if that bothers you. But in the one photo that shows a long window, it doesn’t look too bad to have the long and short windows next to each other–you just need some plantings around them, I think!
Wise words, Kim. Spoken like an experienced remodeler, in fact. Actually, I’ve been living here for a little over a year, 14 months, but who’s counting? 😉 You are right, of course, that taking one’s time is a smart move. And so I shall, since the budget is not available yet, plus I am not inspired to create a look for this area yet. Hence the trolling for ideas (aren’t blogs handy that way?).
As for the windows, there’s only one long window. The rest are short: bathroom and closet windows. Like most ranches, this house is oriented to the back yard and away from the street. Still, we do use the front entry every day, and I would like to make it more friendly and “open.” Your solution to disguise the windows’ weird ’70s design is budget-friendly and plant-oriented, which is appealing. Thanks for your suggestions! —Pam
aloha,
you need more variegated and color combinations…come over to my place and i’ll give you cuttings of crotons, coleus, anthuriums, tis and rooted heliconia, ginger, cannas…that should give you some color….ooooh what your zone 5???? ooooops sorry!
noel
Aloha, Noel, and thanks for taunting me with your tropicals. Ha, just kidding! We are not so chilly as zone 5 here in Austin (we’re zone 8b, maybe 9 these days), but we do freeze, so I’ll be looking for more hardy, evergreen plant choices. But yes to variegated grasses, sedges, and other deer-resistant foliage! Thanks for commenting. —Pam
Those blank walls cry out for something. If they’re too shady for espalier, you could put up a metal wall art/trellis thing. I saw one that was like branches and twigs and was beautiful with nothing growing on it. You could pair it with a matching screen to hide the neighbor’s bins. Another plus – deer can’t eat metal.
The art idea is nice, MMD, especially if I turn one side into a seating area. And yes, a narrow screen to hide the neighbor’s bins, as there isn’t room over there for a hedge. “Deer can’t eat metal”—thank goodness there’s something that’s deer-proof! —Pam
Wow Pam, lots of great ideas here. I love the idea of a Mediterranean-inspired gravel patio, how wonderful to create a space to mingle with neighbors! But you have a pretty traditional house, so I might overlay everything with a contemporary, sophisticated plant palette to tie it all together. I echo earlier commenters’ suggestions of succulents, pots and foliage plants but would keep it simple with mostly bronze, wheat, dark red and blue foliage via succulents, grasses, phormiums, etc., simultaneously restful and interesting. (And you know me, I’d lose the lawn completely!) Bummer about the drainage – wondering if a dry creek solution plus a gravel patio might be a little much? The space looks pretty small. You’re lucky you have such nice brick color – I keep getting clients with that garish orangey brick trim; it’s a nightmare to work with.
To your point about not wanting to attract deer with a fountain, an idea I’ve had success with is a simulating a fountain by surrounding a tall olive jar with blue fescue, blue rye grass or Mexican Feather Grass (although that sometimes gets too big). Just an idea to play with.
Not that you need any advice, don’t pictures of the gardens you design win almost every Gardening Gone Wild photo contest?
Hi, Susan. I was hoping you’d have time to comment. YES to losing the lawn! That little bit of lawn isn’t doing anyone any good, and it will definitely go away. Your color suggestions are good, and keeping it simple is excellent advice. I do like the brick color; got lucky on that one.
I love your idea about surrounding the olive jar with a bluish grass to suggest water. Something else that works like that is blue-toned Mexican beach pebbles. In fact, I wonder if I could run a beach-pebble faux pool from an olive jar into a functioning dry creek for my drainage issue? Hmm… Now we’re getting somewhere.
As for the GGW picture contests, you are very kind to think so, but no; I’ve won one of their contests with a picture of my own former garden. I do love to design gardens and have no problem with other people’s spaces, but for some reason I’m stumped on my own entry. Mostly I need architectural help and a makeover for my poor ranch. If I could afford it, I’d overhaul the front in a contemporary style and run with that idea with a contemporary-Texas garden. That would be fun! —Pam
The question is, what kind of emotion do you want to present ?
Do you want the entry to say slick, modern, cutting edge and innovation ? That’s easy to do with strong bold patterns of colored pebbles and or crushed tumbled glass as a surface material . Add in some large scale sleek zinc or core ten containers planted out with some big bold agaves and you got yourself a designing calling card at your front door. And or use some large scale colored concrete orbs in a sculptural manner juxtaposed against an art gallery type installation.
Or do you want something subtle, calm, introspective and pleasant to the eye ? Then stick with a neutral color floor surface such as a warm chipped limestone gravel and maybe some terra cotta inlaid pavers to extend the width of the path.
Introduce some warm rust colored tones via a sculptural element(s) and you’ll have something that still says a designer lives here but she has restraint. Top it off with an appealing tapestry of site specific xeric plants and you’ve furthered your investment * . *( that’s how I view a landscape designers front entry yard ; as a marketing investment …. an extension of your business card , especially if your design office is in your home .)
I’m professionally drawn to your path. I think that it can be remodeled into something exceptionally eye catching by working with the terra cotta tile in an innovative patterned way.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with and the type of emotion that you want to express.
Michelle D.
I’m so glad to have your perspective, Michelle, designer extraordinaire! The way you frame the question is helpful: what emotion do I want to express with my design? While I am drawn to modern and cutting-edge (but always with a down-home Texas twist), I do not think that style works with my house and neighborhood setting. If I lived in SoCo or some other hip Austin neighborhood that style could be made to work, especially with some complementary updating of the house. But my neighborhood is more traditional, and I want to respect that.
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head as to why I’m waffling over my front-entry design: it says a lot about who I am as a designer; it is my “calling card,” as you put it. When I started my former garden, before I began designing professionally, I jumped into the front-garden design feet-first, with no hesitation; I had nothing to prove, and it was all for my own enjoyment. Moving into this house, with neighbors, clients, and blog-readers “watching,” I’ve felt more hesitant to commit. Which is somewhat odd, since I haven’t felt hesitant about creating the back garden, but then that’s a more private space.
Anyway, you’ve helped me think more introspectively about this space and what I want—and need—it to accomplish.
I’m still mulling over the path. I’m not averse to the terra-cotta tiles, but the poor drainage from the driveway down the path will take some regrading or elevating of the path. It’s probably the trickiest part of the puzzle, and the solution to the drainage issue will direct the scope of the entire scene. Thanks again for your insights. —Pam
Hey Pam! wow, I’m coming in late to the conversation but I TOTALLY agree with the courtyard; it would be super cool. When there’s such a small area I don’t like to use grass, so i’d take it all out, add gravel like you were thinking, with some oversized flagstone pavers so you can walk easily. A bench, water feature in glazed pottery with river rock at the base, evergreens anchoring the corners and some smaller pots arranged in groupings. About the drainage,I think you can use both gravel and a dry creek bed. It does, admittedly, run the risk of too much rock, but the trick is varying the sizes. Use 5/8″ pea gravel for the main area and then medium-sized Cibolo river rock for the dry creek bed. I would snake that dry creek bed through the courtyard so it doesn’t look only functional. Hard to describe in words, but when I create a dry creek bed for drainage purposes, I try to make it look like it’s a design element in and of itself.
Have all the Austin garden bloggers over and we’ll help!! But we have to have happy hour at the end of the day. 😉
So glad to have your opinion, Jenny! And I totally agree about the decorative functionality of a dry-creek bed. In my reply to Susan’s comment, above, I expanded on her idea of a faux water feature (so as not to attract more deer), running the “water” into a dry creek that becomes functional as it moves through the space with the drainage issues. Yes, I like the way this idea is going! And you are right that varying the sizes and types of rock is the key to using lots of it.
That happy hour sounds like a good idea no matter what. Next spring, I think! —Pam
Pam, This has been a fun post to read and the comments have been great~~I’ve nothing to add to the mix; but i sure look forward to seeing what you decide. gail
Isn’t this fun? I love hearing all these ideas. It’s really got me thinking and feeling inspired. Thanks for reading through it all, Gail. —Pam
Ok – my 2 cents worth without the margaritas! I’d take out that walkway and replace it with something with an interesting curve and give it a little bridge-like effect with the “dry”/sometimes wet! riverbed to provide a nice framework for the gravel courtyard. Raising it adds interest and solves wet front walk problem (just like mine). If you don’t immediately replace windows, I’d make shutters fit existing window and paint them a less stark color — they are drawing all the attention there in lieu of other interesting things. Love the imitation fountain idea with urn/grasses. Other ideas could be prompted by a visit and a cocktail!
Thanks for your ideas, Diana! Yes, I’m in agreement that the sloping pathway needs replacing. Not sure if there’s room for a curved path, but the dry creek would certainly add softening curves. And don’t worry, we’ll still have cocktails in the spring! —Pam
I can not make any suggestions to you about plants but I do think the court yard is a great idea. A little seating area in the middle with beds at the corners and walkways coming in from more than one direction. A metal trellis on the side of the house would look good. The trellis should look really good so you don’t care if plants grow on it or not. Matching trellises at the side yard with plants on it would hide the trash bins.
The walk way seems to me to be a fairly easy fix and should be done first. I would tear up the tile. Form it up to the height of the lowest step and pour it in concrete with a couple of pipes under it for water flow in a nice little dry stream that would go under the walk. You could scribe lines in the concrete and stain it with brown tones to go with the beige of the house. If you could find brick like the house the walkway could have a trim down the sides to blend it with the house better as well. The brick could be used to trim the walkways into the seating area of the court yard as well. You could build the walk way up to the top of the porch landing more like a ramp if wheel chair compatibility was an issue but I think the first step would be enough height to solve your water issue.
I’m with the others that said go slow. These things can get expensive and time consuming. No reason to do any thing until you know it will work for you and that it will please you for the long haul.
Going slowly once I get inspired is counter to my damn-the-torpedoes-full-steam-ahead nature, Bob. But I really appreciate your ideas. I’m right with you on replacing the path and elevating it, but it will have to go up to the top step, I believe, in order to avoid that annoying downslope. Running the dry stream under the path via pipes appeals to me for a smooth, accessible entry; you never know when accessibility will become an issue, after all. The trash bin-hiding trellis is a good idea too! —Pam
Mmm. Maybe a dry streambed on one side, a lower than the rest of the area, and gutters that channel the water there so you end up keeping that water on your property and adding to the groundwater instead of having it go down the drain? The dry streambed could then be surrounded by succulents, in fact, mounding the earth you take out to lower the dry streambed would give you some 3-D effect. It’s hard to see how much space you have, maybe just 2 cafe chairs would still fit into that area?
I knew you would have good water-saving ideas, TM. Thanks for your suggestions. Keeping all the rainwater on my property is a goal for me too. But without some expensive regrading, I think I will have to route water into my back garden, where I’ll work on slowing it down with berms and rocks so my plants can use it. Our house sits slightly lower than the street, so runoff from the circular drive flows toward the house. An existing drainpipe (currently clogged) at the entry steps is supposed to funnel the water to the corner of the house, where it dumps it. The water then flows down into our steeply sloping back yard. I love the elevation changes on my lot, but figuring out the water runoff is a delicate business. —Pam
Pam, having dealt with those wonderful wooden chunks of nothing below the windows myself (what an odd way to save money on bricks or limestone)the best thing for a ranch home is to try to make them disappear until you can replace them them. Get some paint matched to the bricks and paint away on those things. Take the shutters off completely; if the bricks aren’t damaged underneath, your home will look more open immediately by doing those two things. Then an espalier planted with your touch will show up dramatically, without competing with the shutters. Definitely “less is more” with ranch homes, and I would paint all the wood except for your front door the same brick-matching color to open the entire visual area up.
Looking at your front door, it is interesting how almost, but not quite, the two panels beside the door resemble the front door. If it were all painted as if it were one huge entrance, then you might create a dramatic and inviting entrance with only the price of paint. Your eye wouldn’t notice the lower roofline if the door appeared to be dramatically oversized.
Also, can the faux panes in the windows be removed easily? If the glass is actually one large pane of glass and those could come off, then again it would remove visual clutter and ease the eyes.
Paint the wood parts first before you decide on a door color…if you provide some rest for the eye in the facade, then you’ll know what you want to draw people in.
Yes, what is WITH those “chunks of nothing” under the short windows?? I don’t understand 1970s exterior design at all, but believe it or not we had a ’70s house with a worse facade in north Allandale when we first moved to Austin. Egad.
Thanks so much for your color advice. You know one day soon I’m going to have you over to pick your brain further about colors. Meanwhile, if I can convince my DH to go along, I’m going to wrench off a few of those shutters to see how the house looks without them.
Intriguing idea about the door panels too. I’ll give that some thought. —Pam
Oh, one more thing! Replace those two lanterns flanking the door to something larger and more dramatic – again, not a terribly expensive thing to do, and will bring attention to the doorway. They don’t look like your style anyway, at least not from the photo.
That’s a given, Robin. Those dinky little lights are driving me crazy. —Pam
I love your idea for a little courtyard. I think it would have so much more of your personality than what is there now. Also, did you mention a dry creek bed to handle your drainage problem? I have seen some lovely ones with natives interspersed throughout.
Hi, Jenny B., and thanks for sharing your ideas. Yes, a dry creek or a French drain is necessary, and I’m leaning toward the dry creek. They suit Austin’s climate and rocky landscape. —Pam
I’d pop over and join in for the margaritas, put me to work, whatever, but I’m intimidated to offer you design solutions! I think you do awesome work and I know you’ll come up with just the right look for you. I loved your gardens at your old house. They absolutely inspired me every time I saw them. You’ve been making nice changes here too. Good luck ~ I’ll be looking forward to watching what you do.
Oh, don’t be intimidated, Kathleen. Every gardener I know has good ideas and a feel for what they like and don’t like. I’m going to do what I want in the end, of course. But first I’m just casting my line for a little inspiration, something that strikes my fancy. It’s working—I’m feeling the urge to go sketch out a plan! —Pam
I’m astonished at the absence of guttering; that wouldn’t be to code here (but Sydney rain can be very heavy indeed). Put guttering and a rainwater tank on the shopping list? You can put the tank in that useless space between the house and garage or put it in front of the neighbour’s rubbish bins 🙂
If the path doesn’t drain properly, plan to replace it rather than muck around. Life is too short to put up with wet shoes, let alone falls on wet paving. It’s not good to have water sitting around your foundations anyway.
I’m wondering about the front courtyard garden. Unfortunately, there’s a tendency for things to disappear from front gardens in the night, so that’s something to consider when purchasing. Secondly, I’m wondering about aspect and exposure — are you likely to use this place much for sitting? If not, it will just look like a disused courtyard — melancholy, which is not the emotion you want in your entrance.
That liriope border looks so ridiculously out of scale — what were they thinking? Ditto with the coach-lamps — tiny! Bet they don’t provide any useful light either.
Enjoy your planning!
Thanks for your thoughts, Chookie! “Life is too short to put up with wet shoes”—so true! And yes, gutters and a rainwater cistern are on the wish list, although I want the cistern for the back garden not the front.
Your concern about whether a courtyard seating area would be used or neglected is a valid one. I don’t think it would be sat in often but would be more for looks—but looks are important. Even one inviting bench can make a difference (chained down, if necessary, and disguised by plants) for an inviting entry. There’s much to chew over, but that’s part of the fun! —Pam
Pam, I still cringe at the front of my house too and we’ve been here almost 3 years now. My first instinct was to hide as much of it as possible behind giant plants. I wouldn’t recommend that route since now, it’s not only ugly but uninviting! But I know you’ll come up with more gracious solutions. I love the floor to roofline window – will you change the wee one out to that size (to match the shutters)? I’m looking forward to being inspired by your plan. – Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?
Hi, Kris. Are you a fellow ranch dweller? Oh, they’re tricky to make pretty, aren’t they? 😉
You’re quite right that hiding a house behind big plants usually doesn’t solve the problem but adds to it. I’m actually inclined to pull the plants away from our facade to give the house a little breathing room.
I would love to make all the windows the same size, although several of the short ones are in closets or bathrooms, so it only makes sense from an aesthetic point of view. I’m hoping the shutters can go away entirely, but I’ll try one before I commit to pulling all of them off. Rome wasn’t built in a day—I always have to remind myself of that when impatience gets the better of me. Thanks for your thoughts, Kris! —Pam
If you go with the existing window sizes and have shutters that fit the windows, consider painting out the brick. It would give you a sort of sleek mid- century look. Not sure if that is your style but it would look great with the gravel courtyard and agaves, grasses and such that you like. I painted my brick house a few years back and love it. I look forward to seeing what you do!
I adore the look of painted brick, Robin! However, since our brick is neutral in tone and virtually no-maintenance, and my DH would go bonkers if I suggested it, I will work with the existing color. Good suggestion though for those with garish bricks. —Pam
I haven’t read all the suggestions yet (boy, you’ve gotten quite a few!) so pardon me if this has already been said. Definitely gravel on both sides including a little courtyard area between the garage and house. I think you could safely remove the lawn under the live oaks (if you were careful of course). If you don’t want gutters, I think a dry creek bed would be good; anything to move the water away from your house. Our old house has a similar problem with a shallow overhang and it has given us multiple wood rot issues. (Not that Austin has that much rain anymore though!) I agree that you could use something over the porch area. Why not work with a builder or architect to add a peaked roof just over the porch area and extend it out down the walkway with a corresponding trellis? It wouldn’t exactly be cheap but I think it would make a world of difference.
Don’t feel bad about the front of your yard. Have you ever seen any pictures of the front of mine? Maybe I’ll get brave enough to show it this winter. 🙂
Yes, please do show yours, Jean. After all, I showed you mine! 🙂
Thanks for all your great ideas! Yes to gutters. Yes to a dry stream, which is needed even if we get gutters since water flows from the driveway down to the foundation. Yes to removing grass under live oaks; I did so in the back, and it looks great. And yes to a peaked roof over the entryway. My mind has been percolating all day, and I’m ready to put pencil to paper. —Pam
We have a similar drainage problem here. The water comes down the street, and right into our circular drive. Some of your same problems. Having the drive funnel water and no gutters, yet, make it worse. Then, whatever you do….there are the deer to deal with.
I agree with all, that the grass has to go. What a pain that must be to mow. Will removing the shutters make the space under the windows stand out more? Maybe changing the light fixtures and possibly change the shutters to something more rustic? Some rustic siding on the under window things.
Not sure what the view from the street is.
You have a great style going on in the back. Can that be brought around to the front? With the clean lines of the house, I would think it would work. Stock tank planters are a Pam Penick signature.
So, here I am giving advice, when my front is in dire need of work. Maybe I should take your lead, and post my front yard problems.
Good luck. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
I’m glad to hear your ideas, Linda, especially as you have some of the same problems areas at your house. The view from the street provides glimpses of the house. Between street and house there’s a circular drive wrapped around a large island berm that has several live oaks growing on it. They built the house, my neighbor tells me, by carving space out from a live-oak forest; the resulting berms with oaks show the original elevation. The island is another space I want to tackle, with low, shade-tolerant, deer-resistant plantings underneath the oaks. But one thing at a time. —Pam
I’ll be a dissenting opinion as is often the case. Pam if I remember correctly you have another grouping of oaks on the other side of the garage. Gravel and oak trees do not mix. That would be a set up for a PIA maintenance issue. I don’t know what the sun exposure is, but with the oaks it is at the least half shade. To me a gravel succulent garden is out of place with the oaks. Think instead towards a shaded oak hammock and what would grow under that. This does not mean it can’t be a xeric landscape.
I can see a small tree in the nook between the garage and house. What was the native Texas tree with the purple flowers that smelled like grapes with the compound evergreen leaves? A bench can go in front of the small tree. A flagstone path leads to the bench. This space is only about ten feet wide on both sides right? The whole thing can be a planted bed. The lawn is gone and the plants get pulled away from the house.
Plants like Zamia floridana, the small cabbage or sabal palms and beautyberry would work in these beds. You can add the Texas nolina, agave and other xeric plants for the real feel of Austin in the sunnier spots. I think I see Holly Fern and Aspidistra in there. Those could be put to good use. Even the Liriope could be reused in a better planting scheme. The poor Japanese maple is in a horrible spot. One day it might be worth the risk of moving it away from the house.
Basically I just see a more verdant shade garden than a gravel courtyard. More like a Charleston type courtyard.
But first things first and that is the drainage issue. You say water runs off the driveway and puddles at the bottom of the steps with the water from the roof. The pictures make the lawn look higher than the beds against the house. I know your backyard slopes downhill. Is the house lower than the road in such a way that water drains towards the house? You may need to install a drain system to take the water to where it needs to go or at the least regrade it properly so water flows away from the house.
Which leads us to the entry path. The terra cotta tiles are nice, but I don’t think they go with your brick. As part of the drainage fix you will probably need to take out the entry walkway and redo it. It could be elevated ramp like to eliminate one step and get it to drain better. That would amount to about a seven inch rise over the ten feet of run. A drain can then be placed under it for water to flow out of the left hand side if a drain system is not used. I think a native limestone or light colored flagstone would work better with your brick and give a hint of what is to be expected out back.
It is kind of hard to tell with what looks like a nandina on either side of the front entry porch whether a new walkway should be widened the width of the porch the whole way or just where it joins the porch. The width is ample now I think. The question is how does it connect to the porch?
Those are enough thoughts for now. The shutters, windows and light fixtures are another topic. For now maybe you could just paint the white wood part below the half windows the same brown as the shutters.
Thanks for your always thoughtful advice, Christopher. The nook between the garage and house used to contain a redbud tree, but we took it down shortly after we moved in because its trunks were rubbing the eaves of the house. Now that area is fairly sunny and hot. I understand your concern about making a gravel garden under oaks, but the courtyard part of the entry is actually sunny enough for it.
Yes, a small tree and a bench will work well here and are already in a plan I’ve drawn up (great minds think alike). You’re thinking of Texas mountain laurel, which is a great tree, but for security reasons I’m thinking of something airier: desert willow or maybe trifoliate orange.
To answer your other questions, yes, the house is lower than the road, hence the drainage issue that I plan to address with a dry creek. I agree that the terracotta tiles aren’t working well with the brick, and I want to use limestone for the path, but a dressier cut limestone rather than flags. Also, I do plan to extend the path to the width of the small porch. Strong, simple lines are what I’m after. Again, thanks for your suggestions! —Pam
Pam, you and your readers have had some great ideas thus far and it will be a pleasure to read your chronicles of the redesign and renovation. I’ll happily drive over from Katy to join the Austin bloggers’ brainstorming party!
That would be fun, Cindy. The ideas are already coalescing into a plan on paper. I’m feeling inspired! —Pam
A lot of good suggestions. It should turn out nice.
A comment on the live oak. You can look up its recommended root protection zone or consult an arborist to be sure, but the live oaks we have out here in California are actually quite tolerant of construction around them, being deeper rooted and tougher than most other trees. Cities out here have started to experiment with transplanting and other crazy things out here, and they seem to tolerate it. Their real issue is with summer water, which taking out the lawn would help with. I’m not sure what kind of live oaks you have in Texas, and obviously be as nice as you can to the roots, but I’m pretty sure it should tolerate a fair bit of root disturbance. Though, that said, I’m just a random on the internet looking at a single photo of a portion of a tree trunk. It’s important to be careful, trees are our friends.
Trees are definitely our friends, especially in blazing hot central Texas, and no doubt where you live too, Ryan. You are right that some disturbance around the roots seems to be OK, but I’m not a tree expert either. I know for sure that I can get the grass out from under them, and planting small plugs makes it easier to garden beneath them without disturbing the roots. I’ll probably go with some native sedges as a low-maintenance, deer-resistant ground cover for part of that area.
I am late too, but want to get a word in. In the short term, I would remove those bushes to each side of the steps and gravel that area with containers of whatever in their place, it looks so crowded now. For the water problem right at the entry, still short term mind you, could a bridge of some sort be built, wooden? Can those pavers be removed, or even left in place and the sides dug out and filled with river rock to give the dry stream bed effect along the beds. We had no gutters in our Woodlands house and river rock surrounded the whole thing, it worked and no gutters to keep clean either. Low budget quick fixes. You will think of something wonderful for long term, I know. 🙂
Frances
I always love to get your perspective, Frances; you have great advice. I’ve been thinking for a while about buying some nice pots and putting them exactly where you suggested—where those small nandinas are on either side of the steps. But not knowing how the final design would be, I held off on making even that small purchase. Now I’ve got to hold off a while longer until I decide on paint colors…There’s always a reason to procrastinate, you see. 🙂 —Pam
Wow! What a lot of ideas. Mostly I just loved seeing the front of your house and the inside shot. Since my front door is difficult to find and the whole entry problematic, this is a particularly interesting post! And it is quite instructive to have you point out all the problems, because on first look, I thought “how charming.” I can see the design aspects you want to solve but clearly you also have some real issues with runoff etc. and those are difficult to solve in a way that satisfies you. Takes a lot of time and thought which is why you are still struggling!
Yes, there a lot of great ideas floating around on the comment page right now! I would love to know how you and Mark have treated your front-entry’s problem areas, or, if you haven’t figured it out yet, to know what they are. It’s always so instructive to learn from others’ struggles with design. —Pam