I’m looking to freshen up this front porch. Paint the door, add some planters. Please share any ideas.
I'm no landscape designer, but I think hydrangea bushes would look amazing on the side of the railings to fill out the gaps in the front of the house. What color is your door currently—the blue or the brown? What style/colors do you normally like?
If you're looking to use planters, a pair of standard bay or olive trees would look elegant flanking the porch. Any number of evergreen and/or flowering shrubs suitable for your planting zone would look good planted in the soil immediately in front of the house and wouldn't need much attention once established.
Give your porch, steps, stone, brick and sidewalk a good power washing. I love the stone and brickwork - do not paint them! Paint your front door a bright color - I am partial to hydrangea blue! Then, paint the mill work around your front door black, charcoal grey, etc to make it stand out as well. Install new larger lanterns in either side of the front door and bigger house numbers. Put huge ferns (if the sunlight is right) in cool pots on either side of the front door. On the pedestals on either side of the steps put big beautiful planters with tons of colorful blooms - remember to fill, thrill, and spill. Finally, put a welcome mat at the front door!
What you desperately need here is landscaping, and it will improve the otherwise flat and featureless facade of your house. Someone mentioned hydrangea bushes, and if your climate is right, I think those would be a fantastic option. Have them surround your whole house, if you can! They are delicate yet solid at the same time, and will fill the emptiness while adding color. Someone else mentioned power washing your concrete. Another spot-on suggestion.
Switching the house numbers for some that are of a cleaner font would be nice, but what you have is also not the worst thing in the world.
I prefer the blue door to the brown one, and do not know which is "current", but the blue is better. Why is there no door knob? A nice brass doorknob is needed, and a mailbox painted to match the door, hung on the facade to our visual right of the door will help give some 3D to your otherwise flat surface.
You can cluster various height flower pots to the left of the door, and use plants that will be good in all seasons, so it doesn't go empty in winter. Remember that odd numbers are always better than even numbers.
PLEASE! Don't paint the stones, they're not brick and you're sitting on gold as they are. If anything, give them a good wash with soap, water and a stiff brush. The bricks do need some color to stand out. I suggest a red brick color like original old bricks are. It will help delineate the beautifully done steps and porch. For the railing you can choose whatever front door color you decide on. Mine is a garnet red because I love red. I'll quote lyrics from one of my favorite (old) songs… "Your house, is a very very fine house with two cats on the yard…" and even if you don't have cats, just for fun and giggles, an elongated figurine of a cat, preferably black, would be just the touch you need to make it unique.
