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Curb Appeal: Reducing Clutter is Key to Beautification Process

I counted 10 flower pots, some with painted motifs. Also distinguishable were a fancy bird house, a couple of flags, a mailbox that looked like the façade of a house, a dried flower wreath, a watering can, a black well, a sign, a butterfly and blown glass on sticks, a nest with two turtle doves, all but a partridge in a pear tree.

Potted annuals should never dwell in flower beds. A few strategically placed matching large-scale potted plants are sufficient and produce a stronger visual impact. Also, adding decorative objects to pretty up the landscaping often result in the opposite effect.

After being painted from burgundy to blue and now green, the aluminum surfacing on the walls needed to be replaced, the owners decided. For an understated elegance, I opted for a medium warm grey for the new vinyl surface. The contours around the windows and the two horizontal strips connecting them should be pulled out, with new frames built by the installers. The new wall colour and corner trims would dictate the hue of all windows, their new frames, the siding above and below the bay panes, the soffits, the fascias, the roof flashing strip, the eavestroughs as well as the column, garage door and its contour. These enumerated components could be painted in flat exterior acrylic paint. The satellite dish could be pushed farther back while dangling cable wirings could afford to look more discreet.

Between the column and the brick wall, a series of thin horizontal wooden square posts could be secured to create a trellis graced by a profusion of purple blossoms. The actual front door, its casing, the mailbox and furniture could be painted in black with soft sheen lustre. As an option, a new contemporary four-window style portal would instill an air of youth to the entrance. The vertical gutter pipes and the distracting white foundation ought to be painted to mirror exactly the matte shade of the bricks.

In front of the veranda, the two rows of massive retaining blocks make the armchairs seem like they’re sinking. To remedy this, the top line could be withdrawn. The remaining stones at the base descending on the left would have to be levelled. The concrete porch would adopt the same coloration in matte as the existing pathway below. The residents feel that the stairs are hazardous, and were thinking of installing railings. In my opinion, the danger is caused by the collapsing paving material inside the universal concrete borders. The small blocks within the steps need to be flush with the top of the concrete frames.

To hide the parked trailer on the side, an odd number of pyramidal cedars could be planted in a straight line in front of it, leaving adequate entry space on the left.

To help define a swirly bed shape, a water hose could be placed on the ground. With a turf edger, the curvaceous bed would be created by following the tubing. Low dividers should be present along the bed, and richer soil would be worked into the ground. Cascading shrubbery would emanate from the edge of the raised bed wall. These would expand quickly. Their rippled leaves would transform into orangey tints and later purplish foliage. The interaction between minty green perennials, burst of orange blooms and red fruits laced with purplish flourishing would be highlighted by snowy ground cover.

So, remember, mishmash equals clutter, so beautify, but also edit and simplify.

Vegetation (from left to right):

– Sorbus Rossica (medium tree, white, red fruits, reddish foliage in fall, left of lot)

– Thuja Smaragd (3 pyramidal evergreens, in a row, trailer)

– Clematis Jackmanii superba (climber, purple, shade roots with perennials or thick black mulch, cut back early spring, trellis)

– Helictotrichon sempervirens (3 grasses, bluish green, well-drained soil)

– Lamium White Nancy (perennials, white, silvery foliage, rich well-drained soil, compost in spring, edge)

– Geum borissii (perennials, orange, part of veranda, front stairs, cut dead blooms after first flowering for a second one)

– Salvia May Night (3 perennials, purple, centre curvy bed)

– Potentilla Red Robin (3 to 5 shrubs, orangey red, around Malus)

– Malus sargentii Tina (mini-tree, white, red fruits, near driveway)

– Begonia boliviensis Bonfire (cascading annuals, orangey red, pot near entrance)

– Pinus pumilio (dwarf ever-green, left back of raised bed)

– Hibiscus syriacus Blue Satin (shrub, purple blue, cut back early spring, front right of Pinus)

– Astilba superba (perennials, purplish pink, humid soil, front basement window)

– Potentilla Abbotswood (shrub, white, near driveway)

– Iris pallid Aureo-variegata (several perennials, violet blue, emerald white foliage, front right raised bed)

– Stephanandra incise Crispa (cascading shrubs, white, foliage turns orangey then purplish in fall, 3 front of raised bed, 2 optional on driveway side)

– Pennisetum setaceum (an-nual grass, purplish dusters, well-drained soil, tall pot, hides garbage)

HOUSEWARMING

– See more at: http://www.househunting.ca/theprovince/home-renovating/Curb+Appeal+Reducing+clutter+beautification+process/10031532/story.html#sthash.VatXoh4z.dpuf

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