You've done a lot and are to be commended! I'm glad you got rid of the huge shrubs, and I agree that you should also cut down the one that remains. karinl's correct in pointing out that your foundation is nothing to be ashamed of. BUT let me argue for some evergreens somewhere. Going by your zip code, you're in Tennessee just south of the Kentucky border. Your zone is 6B, so you have a definite winter -- one zone colder than mine. I did see your photos earlier, but for some reason Firefox won't let me access them again at the moment. From what I remember, there wasn't anything that would have any winter interest. I remember a low rose bush -- empty twigs in the winter -- but the rest may all be annuals and perennials which die back to the ground at the end of the growing season. So for four months, there's nothing around the house except empty dirt and a dormant rose. (Apologies if I'm not remembering correctly, or if there was something I'm not familiar with; I'm not a plant expert.) Even if the stone foundation is interesting, it wouldn't hurt to hide some of the utility boxes, not to mention the phone (?) wire that snakes along quite a bit of the siding. Not all shrubs are five feet high, as were the old ones. How about a few low evergreen shrubs and groundcovers? I understand that it's not your own house, and that evergreens may be more than you wish to invest in landscaping at the moment. But think about adding something evergreen this fall or next spring -- or several somethings. Here's the Missouri Botanical Garden's PlantSearch. It can give you some idea of plants in a particular category. http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Search.asp You might, for example, use these settings: Sun = whatever's appropriate for each bed Height = 1-3 ft. Maintenance = you'll probably want "Low" or "Medium" Zone = 6 And on the far right, under "Leaves," click "Evergreen" Depending on what you checked, you'll get somewhere between several and several dozen evergreen cultivars. Clicking on the links will give you more info and generally a photo. Then try slightly different settings: maybe two different sun settings, and both "Low" and "Medium" for Maintenance. Or go for shorter plants and/or click "Groundcover" under "Uses" on the right. To avoid future worries about roots and the foundation, plant far enough from the house so that you always have 1-2' clear for house (and plant) maintenance. (Take the mature width of the shrub/annual/perennial, divide it in half, then add at least a foot: the figure you get is the distance from the house that the center of the plant should be located.)

At my front porch door, I have a mat that is/was a carpet sample. It is 27x35 inches, finished on each edge. The color matches the brick exterior perfectly. Inside that door, in my living room, I have one just like it, only it is blue. I have been here 10 years and they have been here the whole time. I vacuum the one inside and sweep the one outside. It gets rained and snowed on. If my memory is right, I paid $2 a piece for them at a carpet business. Don't know if other business' have them or not. It is worth checking on. Sue

What would really add the most would be a full, covered front porch at least 6' deep. But you may not have the budget for that. Right now your front door looks like it is hovering in mid-air. It needs visible steps up to it from center of the front lawn to make it more welcoming. Nice wide ones, preferably six feet wide, and not too steep. The walkway at the bottom of the steps could curve to meet the drive, if that's where visitors park, or go out to the street. Make the walkway at least three or four feet wide, flaring it out at each end. If you can match the brick of the front patio and planters, that would be tie it all together. Add the railings (especially since you have to!) but make them more substantial than the bare minimum for code. However, the shutters might be too crowded and might also highlight the fact that there's more space between the end of the house and the windows that there is between the windows. If you do go with shutters, make sure each is 1/2 the width of the window it supposedly covers. Do your best to make them look like real functioning shutters. Also consider painting the lower story darker than the upper, to give more feeling of shelter and to emphasize the setback, which is probably the house's dominant architectural feature. Search for photos of "garrison" houses for more ideas.

Hi, and thanks for the responses!! I've only heard of areas like this called suspended or floated. But I think we're talking about the same thing. The underside of the porch is the ceiling of the room. In the original floorplan this area was unexcavated. We wanted it to be usable sq.ft. and the order was for a "floating porch". More generically, an area that would otherwise be dirt has been dug out and added into the foundation. :) I will do my best to address your questions. Please bear with me. This is not even a remote cousin to my area of expertise. :) sdello - Cold joint sounds like what I was looking for. I didn't know the solution I was after, but I didn't consider caulking a solution. That is exactly the kind of help I needed, and thank you. There was never just standing water, because the water was making its way out of that area and to a floor drain. But what was there was about an inch deep, and managed to completely saturate 5 moving boxes we had sitting on the floor down there. It was definitely not just some drips from the plastic - and most of the water was definitely coming directly off the siding (we could see it). If that plastic is a moisture barrier, it is not attached to the concrete in all places. There are some places where it has "peeled" down and you can see/touch bare concrete. don92 - Yes, there was a snow build up on the porch that was melting. More specifically, right at that angle where the short wall meets the porch floor. The porch is pitched to the front of the house, but the path of least resistance seemed to be straight down rather than out. I would have to talk with the concrete company/builder to find out the specifics of how the porch is attached. I will start on that. :) I pulled some pictures from the construction that might (or might not) help show what was done. I also added some that show the "floating" area specifically - I don't know if there's anything in its construction that will show how the porch is supported. I will also ask our builder and can share the response here. Here is the album: Porch construction. I have MUCH larger versions of these files if more detail would help. Thank you again very much, and I'll do whatever I can to get any information that helps you help me. :)