No Curb Appeal! Suggestions??

I need some opinions!  The house we just bought has NO curb appeal.  It has quite a large front yard with beautiful large trees but the front of the house is hidden by a walled brick courtyard and plethora of trumpet vines.  TRUMPET VINES!  This is a new beast for me... Apparently they are terribly difficult to get rid of but we're going to rip em out and try our best!

Front View

Street View (Corner Lot)

We're getting rid of the tree closest to the camera but the large tree next to the sidewalk and to the right of the picture are definitely staying!!

Walkway View

Our Progress

We took down the right side of the over grown vines to see what it would look like without them.  In my opinion MUCH better and less swamp like than before.

Potential Changes

Add a drive through Porte Cochere and circular drive.  Has anyone ever done this themselves or have any ideas for me?  We're also planning on painting all of the brick too.

Like This:

But I'm not sure if that would look out of place on our home. Thoughts??



7/26/11 UPDATE!

During Demo

It's MUCH more visible from the road now!!!

More to come...


7/28/11 UPDATE!

Demo Complete!

Yet look how much work there is still left to do... sigh.

Finally, here's the new garage site!!! More on that to come later ;)