How can the front of this ugly house be made nicer on the cheap please?

[UglyHoose]

Having seen so many great ideas on here over the years, can anyone think of a way of making this house look nicer?

OH thinks it is because it hasn't got a downstairs window on the left hand side. I can see what he means but that part of the house is the under stairs cupboard so without remodelling the house I can't see a way of changing it.

House is close to top of our budget as we need to put a garden office type thing in the back, so we can't do anything too extravagant to it.

Link added for any aspiring architects who want to comment on the rest of the house.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86347123#/

[waltzingparrot]

It is that big expanse of brick wall that makes it all seem unbalanced.

Bench, couple of trees in pots. How ab out some fake shutters if the window is the only way.

[fourquenelles]

Wooden storage to hide the bins with a couple of plant pots in front. Plant pots along the wall with trellis to encourage greenery up the wall. Possibly a wooden bench by the wall to break it up? Small white picket style fencing along edge of grass nearest to house.
Maybe try to grow climbers around the odd porch thing at the front or replace it with something less industrial?

[LittleBearPad]

What have other people done on the estate?

Greenery up trellis would be a good solution.

[PaperTowels]

@waltzingparrot

It is that big expanse of brick wall that makes it all seem unbalanced.

Bench, couple of trees in pots. How ab out some fake shutters if the window is the only way.

Agree re fake window, also extend the porch all the way across the front of the house.

[FagashJackie]

I really like it.
My grandparents had that exact carpet, I had a really complicated points based game jumping and hopping from rectangle to rectangle.

[borntobequiet]

A green/living wall?
www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/diy/how-to-create-a-living-wall/

[Twobrews]

I love it as it is but my taste is unpopular!
It would look really good with some wooden cladding all across the bottom though, and update the pitch canopy to match.

[userxx]

A trellis with some fast growing flowering evergreen

[jojomolo]

Oh I would say go the other way - take off the porch, move those bins, strip it right down and really lean into the (70s?) modernist lines.

www.houzz.co.uk/magazine/how-to-totally-transform-the-structure-of-a-1960s-or-1970s-home-stsetivw-vs~80946242

archive.curbed.com/2019/2/27/18214854/home-renovation-ideas-tips-midcentury-modern

[Starryskiesinthesky]

I think if you did the front garden nicely and maybe did a curved path to the front door and put a tree to the left it would look good. Basically make the front garden lovely!

[RJnomore1]

Not what you asked but that house needs new everything inside - if it’s close to the top of your budget have you taken that into consideration?

[longtompot]

No idea how much it would cost, but I'd want to open up the kitchen into the two cupboards and put in a window.

The cheapest option would probably be to put in a hedge or a small copse of trees in front of the large wall next to the path where there is that odd square of concrete near the bins. Keep the path next to the house from the drive to the front door.

[Toomuchleopard]

Porch extension on the front with a pitched roof that is wide. The bit to the left of the door could house all the coats and shoes.

[UglyHoose]

Thank you all for such great ideas, really helpful.

RJ yeah it is at the top of our budget having factored in the £££ needed for new kitchen/bathroom etc.

[Chumleymouse]

Same as above but make sure the roof pitch is the same as on the house , you could put the window you want in it too

[UglyHoose]

To answer an earlier question, it is the only house that way round on the estate, if it was rotated 90 degrees it wouldn't look so awkward, all the rest are either 70s Swiss chalet type houses or like this one round the corner which is £10k more but also needs tarting up

[SoddingWeddings]

The porch is hideous and makes it look like an office building entrance.

I'd pressure / soft wash the driveway and path. Gravel or fill in the grass in the centre of the driveway (it looks overgrown when it's probably not).

Change the porch if you can - even just put in a different rain cover. The one I'm looking at for our house is about £100 and a few bolts to fit it, so not expensive or complex work.

Get a bin hide to make the front look less industrial.

Plant some flowers or a hedge to grow up in front of the path and the front door to look more homely.

It just looks lacking in character I think, because they've probably tried to streamline the house for sale.

[Jaxhog]

Call George Clark!

[aeiouaeiouaeiou]

I would put a new door and porch on the front, the windows above the door I'd make one big feature window. Then grow something up the walls?

[Whoknowswhenlockdownwillend]

Wow that is ugly. It looks like it’s missing a window at the front.

[TheYearOfSmallThings]

I love it - it's like a timewarp of older relatives houses when I was a child in the 1980s. Good space too.

I would probably put a raised planter backed by a trellis attached to the wall, and think what climbing plant looks good year round and can be kept under control easily.

[RJnomore1]

Sorry for asking a daft question.

I think that living area could be gorgeous btw.

Front of house you only see on your way in or out if the inside and garden is nice!

[Keratinsmooth]

It needs a window, sod the cupboard. Maybe a balcony over front door?

[HelpMeh]

Move bins round the corner, large trellis over the brick area and some nice planters at the bottom. Definitely replace that horrible porch. Redo the drive when funds allow, getting rid of that grass strip. Repaint garage door.

[yamadori]

Move the bins

As another pp suggested, move the path and put a flower bed in against that wall. Fix a big trellis to the wall and grow climbing roses or a wisteria up against it. You could also attach some trellis to the side supports of the porch and have stuff growing up that too. It will just soften the hard edges and draw the eyeline away.

Plant a couple of small trees (maybe silver birch or rowan) about halfway down the garden, which will disguise the stark view from the street. If you want flower beds, then put in curved ones - no straight lines.