Four homes with extraordinary curb appeal earn Beautification Awards

by Melissa Martin

When Andrea and Brian Marshall purchased their Hunting Valley Lane home 10 years ago, it wasn’t the first time the residence with its three large dormer windows, five-car garage, in-ground pool and inviting front porch – just perfect for a front yard swing – caught their eye.

The house, the Marshalls said, was one they’d fallen more in love with each time they drove down the street, and they regretted not taking a peek when the home was on the market just a few years prior.

As serendipity would have it, the “For Sale” sign went back up on the property’s front lawn just as the Marshalls were close to placing an offer on another Brecksville home. This time, the couple didn’t hesitate. They toured the home, knew it was perfect for their family of four, and not long after, found themselves moving in.

In the decade since, the Marshalls have made numerous upgrades, both inside and out. They hired a landscaper to install new bushes and trees throughout the property, and Andrea put her green thumb to work working on planting both annuals and perennials every summer.

In 2023, the Marshalls put on a new roof. They also opted to paint the traditionally black front door a bright shade of yellow – Andrea’s favorite color – and added the same shade of paint to the front porch swing. The color not only accented the home’s dark blue exterior and black shutters, but it also became the captivating companion to the mass plantings of daisies in the front-yard beds.

These eye-catching improvements are just a few of the reasons the Marshalls’ home was awarded one of four Brecksville Beautification Awards this summer.

 “The look and feel of [the Marshalls’ home] is just exquisite,” said Donna Hulett, a member of the Brecksville Beautification Committee. “Everything is so well maintained – from the planters next to the front door to the geranium baskets featuring ivy that hangs almost to the ground, lining the front porch. “You want to just sit on their front porch and watch the world go by.”

In addition to the Marshalls, other recipients of the award for 2024 include Kathryn Eskins, 6732 Mallard Dr.; Sandra and Jeff Martin, 4800 Valleybrook Dr.; and Melanie and Barry Smith, 7791 Oakhurst Circle.

For the past 28 years, the Brecksville Beautification Awards have been bestowed on a handful of residences in the community by members of the Brecksville Beautification Committee who are in constant search of “outstanding properties” that reflect the spirit of Brecksville and pride in the community.

Hulett said approximately a dozen members of the committee scour neighborhoods for deserving candidates – which can be homes, businesses and even churches – year-round to nominate beautifully landscaped properties. They also invite the public to submit nominations of their own every spring, and individual property owners who are particularly proud of their work also have the option of nominating themselves for the honor.

“Nominating a property is a great way to say thank you and to let friends and neighbors know their hard work, time and effort are appreciated,” Hulett said, noting the committee received 14 nominations from the public this year.

Once the nominations trickle in, committee members head out to evaluate the curb appeal of the homes, assessing not only the landscaping itself, but how it complements the home’s overall architecture. Hulett said it was evident in 2024 that for each of the winning homeowners, yard maintenance is truly a labor of love.

“It never ceases to amaze me how diligent and creative people in this community are,” she said. “And [the entire community] gets to benefit from the fruits of their labor.”

At the Smith’s Oakhurst Circle residence, for example, it’s easy to see all the planning and ongoing maintenance that goes into making the property a showcase – both in the front yard and the back.

Not only does the home feature a perfectly manicured lawn, but it is also home to 100-year-old oak trees that shade the property from the sun. In the front yard, the trees are flanked by another harmonious shade of green in the dozens of ferns planted in several beds. The color provides the perfect backdrop for the large, brightly colored impatiens and ivy planted in the window boxes that are located just below every window in the front of the deep blue-colored house.

“Just one peek at this house and you want to go knock on the front yard of the home and visit. It’s that homey and inviting,” Hulett said. “There is a definite wow-factor that makes me just want to see more.”

And if you follow the trail of stone pavers to the Smith’s backyard, it’s easy to see the couple, who has lived in the residence for the past 24 years, plays host especially in the warmer months of the year. Not only does the yard feature the same shade trees of the front yard, but there are even more of them. This makes the illuminated patio’s conversation pit the perfect location for catching up with a few cocktails after dark and also affords protection from the sun for afternoon entertaining.

There’s also a large treehouse Barry Smith built into a few of the larger trees in the yard. Though the couple’s four children are grown now, the detail is one they intend to preserve long-term for both memories’ sake and in hopes that the matching outbuilding will one day entertain their grandchildren.

“Our family just loves to be outside, and we’ve made the yard completely our style,” Melanie Smith said, noting that her husband even built an outdoor sauna next to the house which allows she and Barry to enjoy the yard during the winter months.

While the Smiths have built the landscape all themselves, little by little every year, the Martin family on Valleybrook Drive, was fortunate to move into their sprawling ranch that came with a bonus – pristine landscaping.

“You take just one look at this home and the first thing you see, even in all this dry weather, is a beautiful lawn,” Hulett says. “But then your eyes wander to the bushes and trees on the property and those colors blend perfectly with the home and its burgundy-colored shutters.”

“When we bought the home four years ago, it was winter, so things were kind of bare and I didn’t like the shutters,” said Sandra Martin. “But once everything bloomed and came back to life in the spring, I realized how well the landscape complimented the house, and I just love it.”

The landscape, which features a combination of ornamental trees, boxwoods, barberry bushes and small spruce shrubbery, was all designed by the home’s previous owner.

“He did a wonderful job of blending the greens and the dark red bushes on the property,” Hulett said. “It is the most meticulously cared for property I’ve seen in a while.”

Fortunately, Jeff Martin said, he’s entrusted maintenance and upkeep of all the greenery to the crew at MRB Landscaping, based in North Royalton. The company not only mows and fertilizes the yard regularly, but also trims the bushes and shapes the trees into perfect canopies at least once a year.

“After that, I just have to maintain it,” Jeff said.

As for the flowers that accent the property, which include wall baskets full of bright pink impatiens on both sides of the front doorway, those are all the handiwork of Sandra. Not only did she design a small backyard waterfall the Martins built last year outside their back door, but she also picked out the flowering plants and perennials surrounding it. Along with caring for and planting additional containers and flowerpots scattered near the backyard’s covered pool, Sandra is also known for changing up the annuals and other garden accents, including windchimes, with the change of the seasons.

“They’ve done an incredible job. It’s a real showstopper,” Hulett said. “[This home is] perfectly balanced all the way around.”

The same can be said, she said, for Kathryn Eskins’ home on Mallard Drive. Unlike the other three award winners, Eskins built and designed her home from the ground up back in 2004.

“I designed it all on grafph paper and took it to the builder,” she said.

The home has a more modern look and feel than that of the other homes awarded this year; however, the landscaping with its combination of native plants and grasses accented and pops of color throughout softens the look, blending the home in with those of Eskins’ neighbors.

While Eskins initially planted basic landscaping when she built the house, all of it – backyard and front – was replaced with the help of her late husband, Antonino Motta, starting in 2019.

“He would just go to [area nurseries] and load up the trunk of his SUV with all kinds of plants and then we’d plant them ourselves,” she said, noting that in a three-year time period, the couple sowed more than 500 plants across the property, including perennials, shrubs and 37 Norway spruce trees that line the perimeter of her backyard.

While she hires a landscaper to maintain the lawn every year, the rest of the plants she cares for herself. Doing so, she said, affords her some fantastic memories of Antonino and all the colors he brought to her life – and her home.

“I think of him out on the patio just playing his guitar. … I think of him everywhere I look,” she said, noting that she considers her yard the last gift her husband gave her.

Hulett says the home “checks off every box” the Beautification Committee looks for when determining the winners each year.

“Everywhere you look, there is something for you to see,” she said. “We loved everything from the flowers to the garage door. It’s just gorgeous.”

All four Beautification Award winners had signs installed by the city identifying the residences as winning homes. The homeowners will also be recognized and presented with a green, granite plaque from the city when they are recognized as part of the Aug. 20 Brecksville City Council meeting. ∞

On our cover (photo): Brian and Andrea Marshall show off their Hunting Valley Lane residence, which is one of four properties in the city to be awarded the 2024 Brecksville Beautification Award. Photo by Melissa Martin.

Andrea and Brian Marshall have transformed the
landscape and exterior of their home in the 10
years they’ve lived on Hunting Valley Lane. Photo by
Melissa Martin.

Sandra and Jeff Martin’s Valleybrook Drive residence features
an inground pool and small waterfall in the backyard.

Melanie and Barry Smith’s Oakhurst Circle home features tall oak
trees and colorful window box planters. Photos by Melissa Martin.

Kathryn Eskins credits her late husband, Antonino Motta, for
helping her design the landscaping throughout her Mallard Drive
property. Over a three year period, the couple purchased and planted more than 500 trees, shrubs and perennials
to fill the yard. Photo by Melissa Martin.