What kind of pro for rehab'ing front of my house?

[snftrs2]

Oh wise ones of the DDBB, what kind of professional person helps with exterior cosmetic home design? I’ve ground to a halt and have to come to realize that I’m a person who understands function, not form. I can fix or figure out most things. But form? Nope, I just don’t get design, color and all the things that create a harmonious appearance.

I did manage to select a new paint color for the house and it came out OK. Yay! But, in the front yard alone, I still need a new garage door, new side yard fences / gates, a mail box and a light post. I’ve also killed off the little lawn and need a new water saving landscape design.

I drive by some houses and the front exterior looks so nice and pulled together. How do I get one of those houses?! So far, I’ve just talked to one landscape designer – she does yards and wouldn’t have an opinion on pulling the whole picture together. Is there some other kind of professional that does this magical stuff?
TIA

[Tuffytown]

You need changes to both house and yard?

What sort of changes are you willing to consider? just paint colors or actual change or additons to the facade. When I do a project I design the archtectural chages to he house and often layout the conceptual yard layout that includes, fences,arbor, monuments etc and then the homeowner works with a landscape designer for the plantings. If you are mostly looking for exteior structures to add and integrate with the yard then you might talk to a landscape architect.

This is a before
http://waigorny.com/projects/13-clydehill/04.html

This is a similar view after
http://waigorny.com/projects/13-clydehill/02.html

But this was a major remodel that relocated the garage (shown in the before) in order to have an inviting front yard (lawn in the after is where the previous garage was) added a front porch and meandering stone paths and planting beds.

[piedmontfields]

Should I tell you my tale of woe? OK, pull my leg. We needed to fix our concrete pad (in front of our rural house with a long 800 m driveway), improve a retaining wall and establish some new planting zones and add space for outdoor cooking in our driveway come courtyard. How hard could this be?! I hire a highly rated landscape/hardscape firm in the larger town near me. We spend over 6 hours detailing our wants/need/budget. We spend $1000 as a design deposit. We end up with an $80,000* plan that *still* gives me the experience of grilling in the driveway--and doesn't even fix our concrete pad (just covers the problem). It also puts boulders in the way of our turn around area. Seriously.

Grrr. So be cautious. Yes, there are people who do this, but there are clearly lousy people who do this, too! In the mean time, I'm still grilling in the driveway...I've found a concrete business that will help us, but still need to address retaining wall and landscape issues with another vendor. Truly annoying. If only the first company had offered an 80, 60, 40 and 20 k solution (we would have picked something in the middle).

The lesson here is that money does not matter...your time does. I'm still aggravated by how much of our time (worth way more than $1000) was wasted by this experience!!!!

If you live in a civilized area with actual competition between firms, none of this may apply to you.

p.s. I do not live in an $800,000 house. Therefore there is no way that I'm spending $80,000 on hardscaping improvement!

[snftrs2]

Thanks Tuffytown. I don't really need to change anything on the facade of the house so not much in the way of new structures. I do need a new yard design plus a garage door, gates, lights, mailbox + any trellises / trim that would be needed on the house for new landscaping. I want to be sure the 'non yard' items, like garage door, are selected so that they're in keeping with the house style. The new landscape requests include improving the walkway up to the house, creating a non-lawn landscape. I guess I'm struggling with what kind of pro would help with things that aren't strictly landscape ... like the garage door and lights?

[Tuffytown]

Get a landscape architect to help with the garden things and structures. You could contact a designer, interior or small remodel to help you with the garage door and lights. Look for someone who's work really appeals to you and appears to have stylistic familiarity with your house type. Houzz is a good source for finding lots of images with links to local professionals

Heck, post a picture and I will throw out some ideas.

[snftrs2]

Oh wow, Piedmontfields! How did that resolve? So the $1k got you a plan that didn't met your specs and you'd have to spend more money to get the design back on track? That's a nightmare. I'd like help to even understand and set the budget but I guess I can choose a number and judge by the look on their face of whether I'm in the ballpark, lol. Thanks for the budget reminder.

For better or worse, I live in one of the areas in CA that has becoming appallingly expensive. It make financial sense to keep property well maintained and mine is a dump right now. That's why I think I'd be better off working with a designer on this so that I don't waste a lot of time/money on trial and error. It's odd ... I've been able to work out foundation issues, water probs, new HVAC and water but the visible design stuff has me spooked.

[snftrs2]

Ok Tuffytown, thanks. I've got a backyard to fix also and that will need a tiny patio + back stairs x2. It sounds like I really need a landscape architect that would do small projects (tiny yards). And get a designer to help with the finishings. I've also got to rehab the kitchen and a bathroom so I'll look for a designer who would be able to help the front facade too. Phew, I've got a plan and hopefully I'll get more comfortable with this kind of stuff as I go.

I didn't scroll down and realize that you'd included the sample links earlier. Very nice! I've always liked the before and after pics you've shown. I kind of purposely didn't post a picture since I feel like I need so much hand holding that I didn't want to solicit ideas that I'd struggle to put together. As I get moving though, I'll start doing some before and after pics when it gets more interesting than new heating ducts