Couldn't find the old pics. Here are current ones of the slope. But the slope width, at the edge of the driveway, is nearly 27 feet, which is more than half the width of the whole house. I put a full-sized shovel in the pic to try to give it some scale.

So to my eye. terracing the entire area between the garage wall and the sidewalk would create too large an area.

Um, I meant to say that the 27 foot width of the sloped area is more than half the DEPTH of the whole house.

I found 4 pics and would recommend that you look for a book on porches & sun rooms, or arbors/trellises/pergolas and maybe fences too. Don't want to overwhelm you.

Moccasin--the pics you posted are not available now. Not sure what happened.

Aarrgghh!!!!
I know what happened. I thought after I put them here I could move them to a regular album. So, let me do it again.
...sigh.... So very sorry.

Since you tell me that there are a couple of basement window wells along the south wall of your great room, that could bode badly for any expansion out the front. I am not familiar with basements and local codes about their windows.
But that might be just a technical issue easily resolved.

And I checked out the Crestview Doors URL. I really like some of their doors. But truly hate the one they call Parkway, which was the one I removed from MoccasinLanding. The one with the 3 big square lights top to bottom of the door looked VERY good. A big honking fine door. Even with a small foyer, could you put in at least ONE side light with your doorway? Or is that space used by a coat closet, etc?

I'll do some more thinking about the slope--your slippery slope, so to speak--and try to find an image which best illustrates what I mean. I know it is easy for others to think up good ways for YOU to spend YOUR MONEY. I try to keep it real, and personally figure out ways to complete my own projects in stages. So they are not fully conceived in the beginning, but rather evolve as issues come to light.
Right now, for instance, I'm doing two houses this way, a little bit at a time.

Hi Mocassin. Thanks for the pics. I really like the idea of the trellis/pergola for above the garage. It would accomplish what you stated, while still keeping the house's style and the neighborhood in mind. And I can build all that myself. I haven't mentioned it, but there 's already a fully working woodshop set up in the basement.

As for the front door, there is room on both sides, about two feet on each side. So there is room to expand the front door experience. In fact, I need to open that area up anyway, literally, so to insulate there. My one concern though is that the wooden siding on both sides of the front door looks exactly like the wood siding that covers all the gables, and I wonder if in the house's original design they were all meant to match. So while in principle I agree that expanding the front door with side lights would be a good idea for most houses, does it tinker with the original design? I myself am not sure.

Since Palimpsest raised the issue of avoiding making the house into something it is not, I have driven around the neighborhood, and looked for that phenomenon. Suddenly, I noticed that many of the houses built in this "atomic age" style had attempted just that, and failed. They invariably looked worse than the houses that had been left alone. It really opened my eyes.

I also discovered that out of all the houses built in this style, mine is the only one with large gables. All the other houses built in this style have small gables, and thus no walkaround attic. Isn't that strange? I can only assume the original owner (about whom I know a few things) wanted it built this way.

I really appreciate your input, along with Palimpsest and the others who have chimed in. I really have a much better sense now about the exterior of this house and what it needs.

Great attitude, Dave11!
You mention that the original owner made a lot of upgrades when the home was constructed. S/he chose the large gables for some reason, probably to have a walk-around attic. To me, that implies they wanted to build up into that space.

If you will bear with me a few sentences further, the quintessentially American house was the CAPE. It was not fully built when first constructed, they just kept adding on to the design as the family grew and changed. I think that is the way "family" homes deal realistically with the passage of time. To freeze a home in time is to deny it the ability to respond to the needs of the folks it shelters. Even seashells add on to their shells as they grow. Hermit crabs, which make no shell, will leave a shell when they outgrow it.

I believe that a real HOME is organic, and it is a part of the fabric of our lives. The builder of your home may have envisioned such additions and changes too. Think of Three Gables as a work in progress. I think it will evolve very nicely.

Oh, and I should add that the house did indeed have window boxes in the past, attached beneath the windows with shutters. The neighbors report it, and also I found the rusted heavy iron brackets for them lying in the pachysandra bed before I cleaned it out.

Why the window boxes were not replaced, I have no idea.

Moccasin-your enthusiasm for this house is inspiring to me. You have even coined a name for it, "Three Gables," which is a much more charitable name than the one I would have given, namely "The Big Red Monster from Stalingrad."

Somehow yours seems much more pleasant.

And I still don't want people thinking I dislike this house and regret buying it. Not at all, I like it more and more every day. But not for its curb appeal. Just tonight I was working in the basement and stopped to ponder the 3X10 joists (yes, 3x10 douglas fir joists) that support the main floor. And I thought: "You know, somebody really spent a lot of time and money building this house. Even if they did pick a horrible color for the brick and put that awful Moby Dick's head gable out front, I'm going to make it into the most it can be."

So I appreciate you lending a hand.

I now am also the proud owner of a 1958 ranch that I certainly didn't buy for the exterior appeal. Paint the brick! Previous owners painted mine and while I'm not crazy about the color, it looks better than it would have not IMO as the brick on my house is just "common" brick.

Another idea that I see sometimes in Louisiana, where I live is what I thought was called "sacking". When I goggled it, I found an article (link on bottom) and they were calling it "bagging" so i'm not sure what it is really called but, it's a mortar wash over the brick. The builder of my last home used this method on the brick portions of our house and I I got a lot of compliments on it. Below are some pics of my old house with the brick and below that a link to a goggle search about the method for it. I don't have any close ups, sorry.

My last house. Here's what the brick looked like - see left of house

Link to method
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/299729.html

OP - can we go back to what the couple of builders and a siding guy said to you( "You know, the wood was covered for a reason, namely that whoever owned it got sick of either restaining or repainting it all the time. Why would you want to doom yourself to the same expense and hassle?")

That makes about as much a sense as telling someone they shouldn't build a deck because its too much trouble to maintain it. (Actually decks are far more trouble to seal/stain what with the complicated railings and stairs and such. Those gables being flat would be much easier - and also there are sealers that are much more long lasting than others...)

That comment merely reflect the prejudiced view of someone who makes their living using modern conventional methods....
You might want to consult with someone who likes and specializes in historical houses - you could ask them on the phone prior to them coming out what their expertise is.

Not sure how hard it would be to remove the old redwood siding - if in good condition it could be a simple matter of flipping them over and using the other side rather than removing the paint. Or get new redwood. Well its a thought. Good luck!

My parents have a redwood deck that was built in 1969, and is tongue and groove so water tends to lie on it. It has had minimal upkeep, has some kind of minimal linseed oil finish on it at this point, and the only significant thing that was ever done was the posts holding it up were shortened slighly to reslant it away from the house again after about 25 years. It is still solid as a rock. If that is redwood, you could probably refinish it once and apply some kind of opaque stain and that would be it (at least as far as my experience goes observing the deck which has lasted forever)

Dave, I'm certainly no expert, but my parents' 1961 ranch has the same red brick, and they have worked with it by doing the vertical wood in a dark taupey green, and window boxes and doors in a darker brown version of the same. My mom does red flowers in the boxes and somehow it all works very nicely, even looks classy. (!)

I love the idea of going back to the original redwood for the vertical siding on the gable (although that does pull it forward in style about 10 years to the '60's danish trend) -- but lacking that, I believe painting it will do wonders.

I enjoin others who really know about color and landscaping to add some greenery and alternate color changes to Dave's Dream Ranch, but here's a first stab at a basic scheme to clear his brain of the white:

I'd suggest removing the gable end of the roof and replacing it with a hip roof. That would get rid of the large painted area that's all out of proportion to the rest of the house.

If the shingles are about due for replacement, you could do both jobs at the same time using textured shingles to improve the appearance even more.

Maybe someone could do a photoshop to give you an idea what it would look like with a hip roof.

Before I go much further here, I have to figure out the new elevation of your slippery slope. And the island with the light post, and the location of that walkway.

Very small point, but why does the peak of the gable stand proud of the rest of the gable? Was there another material there before, or does it serve a purpose?

Dave, have you ever visited a site called DEER DEPARTED?
It gives lists of plants, rated as to degree of damage by deer. It does not even begin with a "never damaged" category, just one called "rarely damaged," knowing the nature of deer. I'm including the link below.

Now back to figuring out the slope and walk and drainage and fence and lamp post and retaining wall. :)

http://www.shadyoaks.com/GeneratedItems/Pages/Heuchera.html
look at the pictures here. These plants lived thru the winter in pots in Massachusetts AND in Alabama. Very adaptable. Deer in Mass. did not seem to bother them. Growth habit is a low rosette plant with tall flower spikes (usually insignificant), much like the hosta only smaller.

http://www.shadyoaks.com/GeneratedItems/Pages/Yucca.html
Look at YUCCA FILAMENTOSA "HAIRY" which is a yucca hardy to zone 5 or even zone 4 with protection. No deer in its right mind would grab a mouth full of this shrub.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6079789_ornamental-trees-deer-resistant.html
And this article mentions foxglove as a sub for hostas, and Japanese maple as an ornamental tree, western redbud, Kousa dogwood, American holly, and other evergreen types, as well as boxwood. Dwarf boxwood can be pretty impressive and not burden you with hedge trimming as much as the standard boxwood.

Hi Moccasin. The deer issue with plants is one I'm very familiar with. I think there are a few plants that can be called deer-resistant to the point of being deer-proof, except maybe the most extreme circumstances. But the preferences of deer vary geographically, so just because things are passed by in one place doesn't mean they will be elsewhere. It really comes down to trial and error, and avoiding the things they love. Hostas are at the top of that list, at least around here.

As for the questions others have had about the roof, I have no idea what that disruption in the surface of the gable near the top is supposed to be. That whole white face though is aluminum siding, and it will need to be ripped down to see what the wooden siding looks like underneath, though I can tell the wood siding has been painted white in the past. Changing the roof line to a gable isn't feasible, as the clay tile roof is in excellent shape, but the tiles are very expensive, and changing the structure would be cost-prohibitive.

And though I can't speak for my design skills, I've been a woodworker for 20 years, and I can vouch for the truth about any natural wood exposed to the elements. Those who have previously told me not to re-expose the wood siding do have a point, because even if its redwood, it's going to require regular upkeep. While its true that redwood and cedar don't decay, at least if they're not constantly wet and in the soil, they will weather, and become dingy gray or brown. The sun is especially damaging, and that gable sees the sun nearly the entire day. Even with modern stains, and spar urethanes on top of it, I'd be surprised if I could get five years between restaining that front gable. Some paints would last longer, but then that defeats the work of restoring the wood siding.

I still have to think that putting vertical hardie siding (or similar) is the way to go with that gable. That restores it to its original intent and also keeps the maintenance to a minimum.

I think that triangular extension might be the leftover of an ornamental, vestigial "dovecote".

I've seen houses with just a little bump, to a faux dovecote complete with the holes. It may have been a way of giving what is essentially a MCM house some "traditional" details, along with the window boxes and shutters. --And a way to break up some of the mass of the gable.
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Palimpsest, that is so inspirational! Your photo is great too. There you have the vertical siding, and the nod to the dovecote on Dave11's gable front.

His house is in PA, and don't they also put hex signs on the end gables of barns for good luck? I did not know about the dovecote habit though.

Down here in Alabama, it would more than likely be real bird houses for martins, and it would be mounted on a garage.

I think Dave11 might find a way to put a dovecote on his stable, or maybe the garage gable, but I'd not put holes in the wood. Starlings and other tiny birds can make a nest out of any tiny hole. Unless there is something to block their entry. I think I'll make a copy of that picture and send it to my brother, who makes bird houses.

As for the varnish on natural wood, Dave, the one they use quite frequently on boats is something by Sikkens. It is very expensive. Someone who was inquiring about a finish which would last more than a year in Hawaii had used Sikkens and in that climate it was still needing to be redone yearly. Which was quite an expensive chore for the size of house they had.

Spar varnishes tend to really darken the wood. I like the look of it, but it seems to be more opaque than regular urethane finishes. I think an oil would be better than a varnish, give the wood some moisture, and not have a shine that could age and perhaps go cloudy on you.

Also, get a couple of the plants at a nursery as trials, and see what your gourmet deer like to eat. It won't be definitive, but it could avoid a massacre of your new plants down the road.

I'm still working on your walk/drive/front elevation. Have to figure out how to draw it on a photo and upload it.

Moccasin--I feel bad that you are taking up your time to work on these designs. Though I appreciate it, I hope it's not drawing you away from something more pressing. Perhaps you just like the challenge of this misplaced house?

Palimpsest--your notion of that strange thing at the peak of the gable is interesting. But it does not jut out very far, maybe just an inch or two, and there is now aluminum siding over that, too. But the edge of the roof does not extend at all over the gable, as opposed to the one in your picture. Also, it might be hard to tell from the photos, but there is a gable vent at the true peak of the gable. It would have been odd if the house were designed to have that blocked by a dovecote.

But if it was not a dovecote, that might be an idea to keep in mind down the road, when trying to fix the starkness of the gable.

I don't think it was real, it may have just be a hint at something to break up the mass, nothing more than a horizontal line or bump. Of course, now that I want to find a picture of a fake one, I can only find real ones.

This house has a real one or a more 3-D one anyway, but you can see they were just added for "interest"

Here is a close-up of the gable, from another angle.

My feeling is it is a jury-rigged transition between the aluminum siding covering the vertical wood, and the aluminum vent that was then added. The siding was done by the prior owner, not professionally done, so I think he just cobbled some stuff together.

Oh, and Moccasin, I've never heard of a hex sign here on a house. Sounds a bit Wiccan to me. Here we are close to Amish country, and many folks use the Amish five-pointed star as a decoration, at least when you get a bit further away from the city. It is traditionally red, like my bricks, and I had thought about using one as a way to break up the gable.

Of course, if we're being purists, it is supposed to be on a barn, not the house, though I have seen country houses use it, if they have no barn. It is supposed to bring good luck.

Don't know where all they are displayed, but they are a part of the Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. Not all are stars, some are trees of life, doves, welcome signs, and so on. I did a Google search on "hex signs" and at least the first page of hits was all Amish. So not necessarily wikkan,
though I won't rule that out.

The house front that palimpsest shows has a roofline coming out into a little cover for the dovecote, and with your roofline at that gable, Dave, the way the original owner did the siding and the vent, he came out just a tiny bit too. So it is a mimic, or a nod, to the local tradition...which included some pretty big gables facing toward the road.

I've got lots of things to do, but you are not keeping me away from doing them. I really enjoy this, and if I were a young person choosing a profession, I'd be very interested in architecture. Or landscape architecture.

But I suspect that peak of the gable probably looks the same beneath the siding as it does now from the surface. That is, I bet there are just a couple of horizontal planks there at the peak, not anything truly decorative, like a dovecote (though putting a dovecote or something else decorative there is a neat idea). I think the horizontal planks were used as a sort of decorative flourish, or might have been necessary to transition to the vent. That's why the roofline comes out just in inch or so.

Guess we won't know for sure until the aluminum siding comes down.

It's like unwrapping a Christmas present, isn't it!
Well, I'll be absent for a couple of days, and hopefully come back with a drawing of the walkway and front elevation.

BTW, you could put a WELCOME hex sign into the first flat area of your sidewalk, in tile. Or mount one on your mailbox post if that is at the road. Or, the option I like the best, is with your woodworking skills, make a very personal one, with the name of your house, the house number, and welcome on it, family name maybe, and put it at the end of your driveway in a discreet spot so it does not look like a For Sale or political sign. Nothing says you cannot take traditional features and use them differently.

Hi Moccasin. Well, hopefully a Christmas present would be more pleasing than the gable, or what's under the siding, but I'll keep an open mind.

Thanks and have a good trip.

Hello there- It seems you and I share the same situation. My ranch was built in 1952 and shares some similiarities with yours. However, mine is narrower and slants towards Colonial style as is prevalent in the Nation's Capital region. Otherwise very Father Knows Best.

But...I have the same hideous and worn out aluminum siding. Virtually identical. And I too am wondering if what is under there is still functional.

At a minimum I want it gone and if I have to repaint wood every few years, so be it. Mrs Lord and I are also debating whether to paint the brick as well. I don't agree that your brick is ugly. But I also think it fine to paint brick. My area is a mixture of ranches, Cape Cods, and Colonials. There are several of each that have painted the brick and they look fine. Its especially appropriate if you decide to go foliage heavy as your house will blend into nature.

And if you tire of painted brick, you can always sandblast it off. My grandparents' house was mostly brick yet painted a dark grey. It looked great, but eventually they restored it by sandblasting it back to the brick.

Whatever you do, heed the previous warnings regarding drastic changes. The worst think you can do to a house is to make it something its not.

Let us know what you decide. The jury is still out at the Lord Ranch.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/difficult/msg1119510325699.html EXPERIENCES W/ DEER RESISTANT PLANTS

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/difficult/msg03014100874.html DEER RESISTANT PLANT SUGGESTIONS FOR ZONE 5

Dave, the yard drawing is almost ready. I'll scan it and upload by tomorrow morning. Not to scale, mine you, because I do not have measurements. But with enough you could get the gist of it.

Dave, I noticed another thread with a unique approach to keeping deer away from your plants. It is worth reading.

On the forum Plants for difficult places I think it's called.

Below is the link. On GardenWeb of course.

Ok, I have one photo with some stick-ons to show what I mean. And I also tried to draw the elevation from scratch, but that is not my strong suit. But here they are.

As you can see, the small garage windows are not important except your walkway is flat and level on either side of them, then steps below and above. I think leaving the opening to focus on the entry door is important. It takes the eye directly to a lovely view there. I could not show plants on the inside of the low fence, but the ones you choose should always be low and not impinge on the 4' wide walkway. The walk widens out to the same width as your entry stoop, so that would be about 8 feet. It is meant to appear level with your covered stoop. However, the one step down as it currently is would not detract from the look, as long as you maintain a true horizontal linear look. Dual lamps would further give some symmetry there. The lamp you currently have at the drive could be on either side of the new walkway, but I think making that lamp post part of the fence would be more of a statement and less busy.

Ok, now the drawings.

and

I'm trying to get the drain in the valley of the gable by the entry to go underground and connect to the drain coming off the roof by the garage. I think it is already done that way, but not sure. Just in case it ever backs up, rain that is, don't want water going down the window well below the great room. So I indicated a sort of overflow drain pipe to carry that water between the walk and the house. If there is perforated drain pipe already there, it will find its way to it, right? Maybe a little more gravel or whatever you use in PA for near a basement. Then only put in the ground cover like vinca major (periwinkle) or ajuga (bugleweed), which will spread nicely but be contained by the paved surfaces around it.

Keep the look easy on the eye, like line up the posts with the edges of the bedroom windows, centering those in the horizontal walkway area. The garage windows will effectively disappear and present no problem at all. It is a matter of distracting the eye from their off balance locations. Don't know why they were not centered beneath the two bedroom windows in the first place.

I think the window boxes will look good. If you are fond of wrought iron, make zinc lined boxes to go in some ornamental strong durable wrought iron boxes. Paint them the same color as the lamp posts and the fencing. It does not have to be black, you know. Nor white.

Good luck with your house. I'll be interested in the outcome. Lovely property you have.

Hi Moccasin. It was very nice of you to draw all those things together. The fence especially now is easier for me to conceptualize. Question though--did you make the fence white on the assumption that I would leave the gable white? Or do you mean to make the fence whatever color the gable becomes?

Or perhaps change the gable color, but leave the fence and shutters white?

I really like the concept you have for the front walk area and the front door. I see now that you mean to remove the long sweeping curve of the front walk for a more angular design, and so to make the area between the walkway and the garage windows much smaller. I totally agree. My only concern, given that I am able to stand and stare at that area in person, and walk around it, is if perhaps that area in your design is now a bit too narrow. I think the reason the walkway was made so long and sweeping originally is because the front yard is so huge, and there is so much space out there. Yet by doing so, the original designer created that huge curved, sloped area that drew negative attention to itself, and was hard to landscape. Too big for a bed, too small for lawn + bed. Your design fixes that, but based on the drawing, the new walkway would be only six feet from the garage wall. That would seem to "hug" the house, which would be OK if the front yard weren't so huge. What about moving the sidewalk a bit further out? Say, to 8 or 10 feet from the house?

Leveling out the lawn/landscaping right in front of the garage windows is an excellent idea, as is shifting the steps of the new walkway to the upper and lower parts of the walk, as opposed to the elephant-sized steps there now. This might be require though a small retaining wall on the street-side of the walkway, as it seems to me the walkway will need to go below grade at its middle, at least 6-12 inches. Otherwise, I would need to lower the grade in that part of the lawn, which would shift the drainage from the yard toward the house, which I would rather avoid.

The original clay tile drain runs along the footing in the front of the house, but it only sees daylight at the far left and right corners of the house. There is no downspout or drain beneath the valley just to the left of the front door. The system as it stands though has no trouble keeping up with a heavy rain. You can't tell from the pics, but I have already placed wood and plexiglass coverings over the window wells, which are watertight.

The window boxes are the only thing I hesitate about. I know they would improve the appearance of the house, and I know for sure the house had them originally. But they are a lot of work, and because they are so high, I would either need to haul out a ladder to tend to them, or deal with them from inside the house. In the spring/summer there are screens to latch into the windows, and they would have to be removed each time, which they were not designed for. I suspect this is why the window boxes were removed, or were not replaced when they decayed.

Fake plants in window boxes maybe? Seems iffy.

Is there something else to take the place of window boxes from a design standpoint, that would be easier to maintain?

Thanks so much for your time and attention to all this.

Instead of window boxes, some type of espalier?

There is a house nearby that has a diamond patterned trellis that is covered with greenery in carefully trained to the shape of the diamond pattern. It doesnt need to be that formal but it could be interesting. There is also a 1950s development that I have seen that had some really carefully shaped shrubbery (a la Edward Scissorhands) without going too crazy. It would be period, certainly.

Palimpsest--you and Moccasin have such intriguing ideas. An espalier would never have crossed my mind, but I can see how it would work. I've never tried to grow/make one, but I always thought they required a fair amount of skill. I guess I could learn as I go. I read that they can be made with cherry trees (among others of course), but I just so happen to have some cherry seedlings growing wild in the back that I could transplant.

I'll have to do some reading...

Dave11, I made the fence white for contrast in the picture, same as for the shutters on either side of the great room windows.

Nice use of plexiglass, covering the window wells. I'm a big fan of Lexan/polycarbonate.

Do not intend to change the drainage set up for your house, if it works don't fix it is my motto.

Coming away from the house with the walkway a little further would be totally doable. The guiding principle would be keeping the new walkway horizontal in the area between your two sets of BEDROOM windows, and thus emphasizing them and allowing the garage windows to vanish from the conscious mind.

I still think a good dense low groundcover that stays green all year long will be the way to go for that area. Then the low fence could be dropped further away from the walkway, still locating it on the street side though. Leave enough space to put a planting bed between the low fence and the walkway. Have big gaps between plants, and mulch that space heavily. You do NOT want to create maintenance where weeding give you a pain in the back.

If there is a need for a retaining wall on the street side of the walkway down by the drive, you can probably get away with it being on the first paved area of the walkway, and not going around to the driveway itself. That would be a great spot to put the first post of your fence, so the first of the post-mounted yard lights would be there.
Remember, as I conceive this area, it will come away from the garage with a big sweep, an arc if you will, so you may be able to use part of the flat area now covered with asphalt paving, and make the incline so gradual you don't need much of a paved "curb" for that first paved walk area.
Whatever you call it, whether it is a curb or a retaining wall on that side, it can come up high enough all the way up the walkway to keep the planting bed from washing mulch and soil onto your walkway. I'd call it a "raised curb."
Maybe I can draw what I mean, but I'm not a draftsman/person. More likely, I'll find a photo in a magazine and upload it.

What I'm trying to keep as my guiding light, is not to create more yard work with any change to your house front.
If you hhave a riding lawnmower or a tractor, you sure do not want to have to create more places needing hand tool maintenance before you bring out the big guns.

But I would not worry about a mere 10 or 15 feet difference in the location of the driveway making your lawn look bigger. It has that slope which sort of disappears from view as far as distance from the street.

Taking that light post island out altogether will be a big plus. If you can, curve the drive a little just before you reach the garage, so it helps you line up the vehicles to enter the garage.

I've been thinking about what to plant along that strip of ground which runs for 200 plus feet from the street past your garage. Keeping it clear enough for you to efficiently maintain the lawn there--it looks really good, BTW--indicates a row of small trees, IMO. I know the deer will eat most everything. How about beginning to create a series of small-growing trees there? Something like the Japanese maple, something you enjoy looking at, which likes your climate. I would give them plenty of space, something like 25 feet apart or maybe 20. You've got a LONG driveway. And carry the planting strip all the way back to your stable. Then one of these days, add a low fence built exactly like the one you put in front of your walkway. I'd put some rambling roses or deciduous vines to grow on it. Maybe morning glories would be a start. The fence all by itself would tend to hold the eye and keep you from even seeing the neighbor's house. And his shrubbery would be very effective in making a backdrop for your low fence.

BTW, I don't mean for the fence to always be WHITE. Whatever color you like for your house front, make a paler and softer version of it, maybe it would "read" white in the bright glare of a summer sun, but on cloudy days and under softer light it would read tan or orange or gray, whatever colors you figure are pleasing.

Now for something besides a window box. You are a metal man, right? I think a metal feature there would be nice. Just the wrought iron frame of a window box under each window. Sort of like a tiny balcony if it was European. The Spanish used such features a lot. But of course, you won't be doing the Spanish look, not even suggesting it. But very anglo-saxony is fine for a midcentury house.

Reserve those window box wrought iron frames for special seasonal plants. In POTS. And they make something which is super absorbent crystals to absorb water for long drinks of water. They also make a long wand so you can water your plants which are overhead. Putting out artificial plants is a no-no except at Christmas time for decorations.

Most of the year, I'd leave the wrought iron window box empty of plants. If it is wrought iron, and decorative, it is it's own best feature.

While I really like Palimpsest's espalier idea, given that you have the deer problem, and that such a feature is a real tour de force for a gardener, and that brick is on the hot side of your house, it would be iffy at best. Personally, I'd do the window boxes, and leave them empty.
Except, I dearly love the chartreuse ornamental sweet potato vines which can take any amount of heat you can throw at them. Just give them some water crystals and water them occasionally. The deer MIGHT not reach them, until they get really long, and then you won't have to prune them if they do! They are sold as annuals, but the ones I planted made huge tubers that grew new plants the following year.

Moccasin--wait, now I'm confused. The drawing shows the walkway level between the garage windows, but your email specifically says to level it between the bedroom windows (??).

And the window box idea makes perfect sense, as before, but I can tell you that, if I build and install window boxes, or just the iron supports, the likelihood that those boxes/brackets will ever actually contain living plants is close to zero. I just know myself. They would be hard to get to, and out of sight/mind, with a huge yard always calling me to do other things. But wouldn't constantly empty window boxes/brackets look, well, kinda sad?

I really liked your idea about the trellis arrangement for over the big garage door. What about some variant of that, but for under the front upper (bedroom) windows? Wisteria grows here--what about it or something similar draped around a trellis (or trellises) just beneath those windows?

As for the deer, they are a huge problem, but I can keep them off the plants I care about with the rotted egg spray I make. Whatever I don't spray usually gets eaten.

After you've spent so much time and thought on the house so far, I'm amazed you're still ambitious enough to open another can of worms by mentioning the narrow strip on the far right side of the property. What you can see in the photos is only about half the total length. My neighbor and I share a 325 foot property line there, perfectly straight. At the street, the line is level, but as it proceeds back towards the woods, it gets progressively steeper. The area that has lawn in the photos is only the first 125 feet. Beyond that, my property gets too steep to mow, and it drops out of view in the pics. The huge hedge is just on my neighbor's side of the line.

So basically, beyond the 125 feet of lawn, there is a long narrow steeply sloped bed that is about 200 feet long and widens toward the back, about twenty feet wide as it passes the old stable. I have already planted much of it, in two rows, with a mass planting of 3 coppertinas at the front corner, then a witch hazel shrub/tree, then a row of five redtwig dogwoods, then a serviceberry tree. The second row is further down the slope, between the first row and my neighbor's hedge. Here are seven bayberry shrubs, then five nannyberry shrubs, which gets as far back as twenty feet forward of the stable. The area beyond that contains some struggling poplar trees which need to be thinned out before I can go any farther.

My goal is to fill the steeply sloped area with large native shrubs (bayberry and nannyberry) that are traditionally disliked by deer, so I don't have to spray them. I didn't want to use trees here because they do not shade out enough weeds, and its too large an area for me to weed all the time. I also don't want to have to put mulch down in these areas.

The more ornamental plants (dogwoods, etc) are along the driveway, in plain view.

The coopertinas are prominent and help balance the red of the brick.

Dave11, sorry to confuse the issue about the flat area between the windows. Whichever way works the best for your elevation, so you don't have to worry about resloping anyy of your present grounds to relocate the walkway, then it will be fine. What will happen anyway is that the garage windows will disappear behind the rhythm of the fence posts and the attention given to the bedroom windows by the little arbor or windowboxes.

When I was originally thinking about the arbor above your garage doors, I envisioned it making the corner and completing the turn with an arbor just under the sets of bedroom windows.

Wisteria is certainly an eager grower, don't know if it invasive up there in PA or not. It sure is down here. But I don't have deer to keep mine chewed back. Wisteria does become quite destructive of small support structures, so the frames chosen for your arbor should be as substantial as you can esthetically use. They also have a WHITE BLOOMING wisteria, which is fantastic looking--I have one of those planted, the ones which are naturalized all over town are lavender. When you plant wisteria, it will take about five years for it to bloom for the first time. I have two years to go before mine blooms. There is nothing wrong with having a mix of vines planted, so seasonally you have different things blooming. Annual vines like morning glory or moon flower vine, they will cover your arbor in short order, but of course will die back with the coming of cold weather.

Naturally, your yard slopes down ....I was thinking it went UP. If the plants you have already selected are working, doing the job and you like them, then put some more very far apart like 20 feet along the drive side lawn. Or, just come on with the repetition of the low fence as far back as you can go from street past your house. If it cannot make it to the stable, then terminate it at a natural location to keep it from appearing unfinished. Maybe as far as the new steps, but ideally go behind your garage, so it will keep those backing out of the garage aware of the distance to any drop-off.

Some of the plants you named are unfamiliar to me, but if they are native and not on the deer's menu, then they are ideal for your purposes.

Am I correct in reading into your remarks that your long term plan for your lawn and house curb appeal is beginning to take shape in your head? Getting the big picture and then fine tuning it long term is the way to go. You'll get there.

I found a few pictures to which I added my notes. They will be in the Misc. Ideas album at the link given below.

And the little arbor my DH added in front of our shed doors this year, so my kiwi vines will provide shade from the western exposure. Note we put a raised planting bed at the base. Easier to keep good dirt around the roots that way. Kiwi are very very cold hardy, also prosper in Massachusetts.

Hi moccasin. The kiwi is a very appealing vine, though maybe it is a bit too dark green for my house? I was thinking a lighter green might go better with my red brick. But it looks like a good match for the white on your shed.

I'll work on a sketch for a trellis/arbor along the lines mentioned here. Everyone has given me quite a lot to consider.

Thanks again.

Dave, the shed is painted Behr ORANGE CONFECTION. In the bright light, it does look white, but on a cloudy day, the very faint tint of orange makes it a perfect foil for the roof shingles.

I slopped some test pieces of plywood with various colors and stood them against the shed and let my DH choose the one he liked best. He chose the ORANGE CONFECTION.

The plastic lattice strips around the bottom are white.
Never need painting. Lattice used to keep our dachshund from getting hung up under the shed when she goes after critters of one sort or another.

Dave, I checked on the garden side of this site, and found a forum you might like to check out.

The link is below.

I did not check what forum discusses general issues for your geographic region, but you might take a look while you are there.

Have fun with your garden and updating your curb appeal.

Dave, I was visiting Youtube today and ran across some videos which made me think about your deer problem.

If you go to the link below, several other such inventions will show up. Great way to keep the deer jumpy. It is a water feature which tips over when it gets full, and then when it is empty again, it falls back against the rock with a loud bang, presumably alarming any nearby deer.

An excellent read with quality suggestions.
Even as is, its a great looking house, but not a mansion..
Another subject..
I just hope that NO paint was ever applied to the brick.
The mass of the white triangle is excessive ,obviously - try to make it appear visually smaller..Maybe a light yellow trim color ??
I'm really no exterior designer...lol..
And HGTV, some good ideas on this program, but this could be so much better - so easily..

Awww, I was hoping to read an update from Dave11.
I wonder how things are going with his house exterior....

Wow--I was surpised to see this old thread resurrected.

To reply, let me say that folks here effectively talked me out of both changing the brick color, and covering it with siding. So the red brick remains as it was.

From the many good ideas here given by moccasin and others though, I know exactly what I want to do, at least in my mind's eye. But I'm not good enough with design to get the proportions, style, and "flourishes" right, so I'm going to have an architect do a design, and I will do the subsequent build. I have been away for part of the summer, and spent what time I had re-landscaping the backyard, so I haven't gotten to the design stage yet for the front of the house, but hopefully it is coming soon.

If folks are interested, I'll post the design when I have it.

I know this is a really old thread, but personally I'd paint the brick. Maybe a soft taupe or grey, or even a dark brown. Restore the vertical wood siding on the gable (I'd keep the white), add lots of custom wooden trim details in a period-appropriate style, surround everything with well-designed landscaping and fencing, and you'll have a beauty.

I sympathize because I don't like the color of my brick house, either. But at least it's somewhat variegated and organic, with dark bricks mixed in. The hard machined texture and flat bright color of your bricks seem harsh and blindingly red to me. I would have painted them in a heartbeat.

Sad but true = some brick styles are just not attractive.

Interesting thread! I have a 1951 ranch-style home (called bungalow where I live) but it's aluminum siding not brick. I like the idea someone posted, of planting boston ivy. We did that on our 1903 brick home, which was a big, solid-looking square - ivy softened the look.

Another point - I LOVE to paint, and have painted the back of my home a different colour (grey/blue) than the front (taupe). So the OP could do different trim colour on the back to see if he likes it.

I took the shutters off my house - although "period" for the time, they are not functional and I hated them.

Finally (!) my SIL, who is a painter, suggested that I paint the eavestroughs the same colour as the roof, so they blend in. I also painted the downspouts, the same colour as the siding. White downspouts just make people notice something not decorative, in my opinion.

I would paint the white trim to match the color of the mortar between the bricks, which looks to be a cream/taupe color.