Before & After: Exterior Inspiration

Architect John Gidding helps homeowners tame their overgrown yards and brighten up boring facades on HGTV's Curb Appeal. Pick up a few landscaping ideas of your own from these favorite makeovers.

By: Jennifer Brake

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Homely House

Before: Neighbors hated walking past this neglected yard. The steps had an interesting angle, but the path space being shared with the driveway made them awkward to use and created a bad aesthetic.

Bright and Inviting

After: Architect John Gidding realigned the steps with the front door and painted the house a lively yellow that carried over into the plants chosen for the garden. The fireplace was also painted and matching brick details were added throughout the space.

Tucked Away

Before: This house was hidden behind trees and bushes, and the plain color of the house, flat roof and distance from the curb made this home practically invisible.

Getting Noticed

After: Installing a deck fills the large gap between the house and the curb, and having a few potted plants instead of a huge garden bed makes the yard much easier to maintain. The blue-gray house color and bold orange door also help get this house noticed.

Leprechaun House

Before: This house came to be known as the "leprechaun house" in the neighborhood because of its green-on-green paint scheme. The portico was also falling down, and no landscaping had been done to the house since before the homeowners moved in years ago.

Tudor-Style Cottage

After: Architect John Gidding gave the home Tudor style by adding half-timbering details on the facade and cladding the lower part in brick. The portico was torn down and completely rebuilt, and depth was added to the flat yard by terracing sections with landscape timbers.

Lacking Details

Before: This brick house looked like every other house on the block, except more boring. It also wasn’t functional for the family who needed a wheelchair ramp for their son with special needs but hadn't had the time or money to do it themselves.

Beauty and Function

After: A smooth flagstone path created the much-needed wheelchair ramp and leads up to a small courtyard with a custom-built trellis and swing. The trellis design is carried over to the garage doors, helping to set the home apart from the houses around it.

Humdrum Home

Before: The small amount of color provided by the blooming bushes wasn't enough to spice up this bland facade.

Warm Welcome

After: A warmer color and a long flower box on the front window liven up this home front, and removing the tall bush by the steps opened up the porch area.

Unkempt Chaos

Before: This yard was so overgrown, deer often stopped by for a visit. Beautiful old windows were hidden by shaggy bushes and trees, and the fence was beginning to rot.

Zen Living

After: A rock wall with a water feature and a fence built using Japanese joinery methods help give an Asian Zen theme to the space. The former sunroom was also ripped out to create a larger porch area.

Barren Landscape

Before: This house was as dull as dishwater with its unexciting grayish color and depleted front yard.

Extended Eave

After: Extending the eave line from the roof to the landscape creates a unique and interesting architectural element.

Curb Appeal