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sallynn

Unique, ugly house needs some ideas...

sallynn
il y a 11 ans
We purchased this previously abandoned, foreclosed house a few months ago, gutted & renovated the entire inside. Now something needs to be done with the exterior on a very small budget (spent all our $ on the inside!). I can't stand the colors....pinkish beige siding (both aluminum & vertical wood) & tan brick. I do not like a lot of color & tend to be drawn more to the grey-beiges/black/brown. I fear the yellowish undertones of the brick w/ such "greige" colors will clash. Thinking very seriously about painting the brick a slightly darker shade of a siding color I like & then adding a much darker (grey-black or brown-black) shutters & front doors. Front doors, BTW, need major update as well. Behind those storm doors are 2 half-lite steel doors w/ pink & brass stained-glass inserts. Two worn brass 70's lights hang from the soffit under the porch to the right of the doors. The white vinyl window trim must remain as windows are the ONLY semi-new, semi-nice thing about the home when we bought it.
I could really use some good insight on (1)exterior colors, (2)paint the brick or not, (3)how to update those glass inserts on the front doors (I intend to replace the hardware & change the color of the storm door frames too), (4)if/how to "beef up" the porch columns in a DIY way, (5)porch light ideas based on current electrical run as hanging-style vs. wall-mount, and (6) anything else that comes to mind to help us improve the curb-appeal of this unique & ugly mid-century traditional home.
Réponse sélectionnée
  • rinked
    il y a 11 ans
    Did some coloring. (Now I understand why the mentioned mauve looks great with the brick!) I'd get a whole new front door (maybe you can switch with someone who is looking for a more classic one?). No need beefing up the poles, it suits the mcm look and in white looks great with the window frames. Paint all siding darker than the brick, that is what looks off now. As you can see in the top picture, it is not recolored, I just took away the shutters. So for all I know, you could 'get there' by painting. After that see if you want to add more (once you've looked at it for a year or so)

    Commentaires (70)

    • pitbulls
      il y a 11 ans
      Your house is not unattractive.I would spend money painting the siding and on landscaping.I agree with removing the tree-it looks dead and beefing up the posts.
    • handymam
      il y a 11 ans
      rinqreation, I like the last color you tried. (The fifth one.) It kind of makes the siding recede into the brick and work with it.

      sallynn, any chance that porch beam in the middle can come out altogether? If it is not structural, I don't think it adds anything to the house, it is more of a distraction. Without it, you have a straight view to the front door. I would just clad the other one with another layer of wood to make it appear heavier and paint it the same color you paint the siding.

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    • rinked
      il y a 11 ans
      I like that one too, handymam. Hopefully Sallynn will set some money aside to replace all siding with natural wood.
    • sallynn
      Auteur d'origine
      il y a 11 ans
      @1savoy: yes, it is actual brick, not cement block.
      @shanethacker and @1savoy and @pitbull: Far right IS the garage windows you are referencing...and..the dead tree there has already been removed due to insurance requirements.
      @rinqreation: Thanks for doing the color mock-up for me & removing the shutters...I had struggled to envision those shutters missing and wondered if the house would look more boring. I do like the dark grey siding color. I had also feared it would be overwhelming on such a large scale, but now I can appreciate it.
      @A Plus Gutter Systems: we just had new downspouts/gutters installed early winter because we learned lack of had been allowing water to rapidly seep under the sets of rear sliders, across the floor and into the basement, and the porch had cracked a little & a non-visible garage service door off the front porch had rotted for same water reasons. The new system was installed in pure white. Unfortunately, previous mauve-loving homeowners painted soffits/fascia that color as well. I intend to bring those back to white.
    • sallynn
      Auteur d'origine
      il y a 11 ans
      @handymam: I'm going to check out the structural need, if any, of the right porch column, thanks.
      @rinqreation AND EVERYBODY: you've peeked my curiosity on the comment of going all natural wood siding someday.....Here's my new question then: Under the aluminum siding is more of the vertical wood siding that you see on the far right (the garage). The neighbor told me this. Would you all recommend we rip down the aluminum siding to expose this? (isn't it called board & batten style siding?) Or would this cause us to have a high maintenance exterior?
    • mcbriec
      il y a 11 ans
      I 200% agree with remove the shutters suggestions. To my eye, this house is really modern and the little shutters just make it look like it doesn't know whether to be modern or traditional. I think turning this house into a craftsman would require replacing the modern low slung roof and putting on a roof that has gables and is peaked. Obviously that would be quite costly.

      It would be much cheaper to go modern by changing materials, adding a metal roof, and creating lots of horizontal lines. But if you like craftsman that probably does not appeal to you. In the meantime, I would deemphasize the contrasting materials by staining the brick and painting the siding in the same color, perhaps dark grey, greige, or taupe.
    • PRO
      OnePlan
      il y a 11 ans
      yup - loose the shutters and white wash it all ! when you have a true blank canvass infront of you it will looks so much better ! less is more !
    • libradesigneye
      il y a 11 ans
      The board and batten underneath was probably in bad shape so they put siding up. For a modern look you want to treat the 'boxes' on your house differently in texture and color, so the different texture of siding actually works for you when going mcm outside. Three different element that you can paint tonally different to accent the boxes to the eye is therefore a plus. B&B also will have a seam of horizontal trim so it isn't a tall look. The batten would be perfect in future to use as nailing board forhorizontal wood if you add that modern element.
    • sallynn
      Auteur d'origine
      il y a 11 ans
      To: misecretary How did you know I was in Michigan? I'm sort of new to this site so I'm not aware of what personal information might be available so perhaps this is a dumb question.
    • Anina Lavina
      il y a 11 ans
      Dernière modification :il y a 11 ans
      Good job! Hi, that house in not so bad. Leave the brick, expose the timber (replace it if damaged) and paint it or stain it a dark colour, The second or the fifth colour ways. Maybe I would change the entry door's colour, to make it stand out a bit more. A nice coral red maybe? That would "answer" to the green of the garden, once established..,, The shutters are absolutely useless, but it does something. It emphasizes the horizontal lines... Visually it helps...This house represents a particular style, do not change it. Even the columns are right too.. A thick one would look bad. It may not be everybody's cup of tea, but still, it has a particular character, that would be nice to keep. Do not try to turn it into something that it is not!
    • PRO
      Weatherwell Elite - Aluminum Shutters
      il y a 11 ans
      Hi Sallyn,

      We help a lot clients with improving the facade of their home through the use of Weatherwell Aluminum Shutters. They would be brilliant for enclosing your front porch, and if you use them on your windows as well it would tie it all in and will give the house a super fresh modern look. I have pasted some before and after photos below, to show how they can dramatically improve the look of a home.

      Don't you just love them? They need NO maintenance and can come in any custom color.

      Cheers,

      Dena
    • PRO
      Resource Art & Design
      il y a 11 ans
      I grew up in a mcm house with board and bat. It doesn't have to have a horizontal seam...you just have to spring for longer boards. Besides, looks like the areas you'd be replacing are all quite "short". Am attaching some rather poor photos of parent's house on the coast in Oregon. Architect was Burton Goodrich, who was a student of FLW's at Taliesin West in Arizona. Completed in 1958, architect wanted flat roof but mother said too much rain at Oregon coast! My brother chose the awful green trim and the new owners have continued with that color. Used to be charcoal grey trim and taupe body color.... always with an orange front door. Had to cover the exposed chimney brick in board and bat after 30 years since original Victorian era salvaged brick became too porous and leaked. Architect stretched the FLW design ethic to include the "Northwest Contemporary" style that was just emerging at the time. When built, had all the "latest" innovations of the time: interior indirect fluorescent lighting, downspouts (still going strong) made from a special aluminum meant for airplanes, even had radiant heat in garage floor to prevent dampness that might rust the cars. So.... it's true, board and bat not so popular now but was accurate for the era.
    • Diana
      il y a 11 ans
      I agree with handymam's comment's related to Rinqreation's pictures...........my eyes are drawn to the left windows with the abstracted colors currently. It looks like a face with eyes and mouth less a nose. A color closer to the brick color would be better....need to de-emphasis the linear brick lines there surrounding the windows. More emphasis for the front door is needed to draw your eyes there. I agree with the comments that the columns need to be beefed up. A small railing or hedge along the one side of the porch may help draw eyes there. Other options would be to have 2 dramatic planters at start of porch steps , either with small everygreens or floral display. Could also create gardening at the front that leads the eye to the front door/steps. Start at the left side of the house and curve towards driveway. The same effect could be done along the pathway with hedging. The tree needs to go. There is nothing that can be done to blend it in, it's simply in the wrong spot and takes away from the pathway to the front door. The house has good bones and should be easy to work with minimal investment. Almost anything you do will add visual impact. All the best
    • sallynn
      Auteur d'origine
      il y a 11 ans
      Hmmmm, the "eyes & mouth" comment has me thinking now. One of my daughters brought that up & I just chalked it off to a kids' perspective. And, frankly, we've been stuck inside all winter working on the interior & not seeing the house from the street like others. But if that jumps out at people, I want to avoid the eyes being drawn to that. I know nothing about construction/trimming materials per se, but wondering if there's something that can be added between those upper two "eyes" windows, also in white to connect them better. Anyone have a thought on that?
    • PRO
      OnePlan
      il y a 11 ans
      what like a nose ?! tee hee !
    • msusanb
      il y a 11 ans
      have you thought about adding mullions to the window, it gets rid of the "blank eye" look
    • lastplace
      il y a 11 ans
      Saturday is fine, anytime after noon. If you could write my number down so I can delete it from the site. What is your first name?
    • jimmmymacc
      il y a 11 ans
      I'll be this house looks great when you get through. Here is what I would consider doing:

      1. remove shutters.

      2. paint the siding a matching color to you brick. Paint the trim the same color.

      3. beef up columns.

      4. Invest in a very nice wooden front door with glass panels to draw attention to the door.

      5. to the right of the front door, buy or build a long narrow planter (black) with something like cast iron plant, mother-in-laws tongue, or some evergreen squared up shrub.

      6. possibly add some black accents, lights beside the front door. If finished looks too plain, some kind of black iron wall accents. possible black posts or black sidewalk lighting.

      7. landscaping. have a good plan though. classic and probably a tall evergreen on the blank walls either side of the garage window.

      I really like the monochrome look. I saw a similar style house done in a taupe color (it had no brick) and they even matched the shingles and it turned out great.
    • jimmmymacc
      il y a 11 ans
      sallynn, if you did choose do paint trim and windows color of brick, I don't then the eyes and mouth stand out.
    • rinked
      il y a 11 ans
      Dernière modification :il y a 11 ans
      Why can't a house have a face?? I kinda like it :)

      Note: Where I live there are entire districts with these type of houses. Built for military families. Rowhouses, all the same..
    • PRO
      Resource Art & Design
      il y a 11 ans
      Just IMO...I wouldn't do mullions...wrong era; too traditional. Live with the double hung upstairs til you can afford bigger casement windows; the taller, longer look window is more mid-mod. Eventual window coverings inside will help to make it look less blank and give it more life. That and adding the afore-mentioned planters and just generally "moving in" will enliven this place.
    • rinked
      il y a 11 ans
      Dernière modification :il y a 11 ans
      When you take down this siding to examine the wood (and it is bad), you could consider taking it all off, insulate to modern standards and place wood (cider/chestnut!) or fiber cement or stucco. Wood requires more maintenance than metal/vinyl, but earns the extra attention by it's beauty. If you do stucco (with the brick) on the house and wood with live edge on the garage, you could even get away with a traditional look like in the second picture I added (the black is probably tarred).
      courtyard · Plus d'infos

      Buildings · Plus d'infos
    • sallynn
      Auteur d'origine
      il y a 11 ans
      @jimmmymacc: I DO love black accents. Last night I was even wondering about a black wrought iron railing for the front porch along w/ replacing the bad brass hanging porch lights w/ black. my only concern was a need to carry a little bit of black somewhere else; if necessary or not.
    • sallynn
      Auteur d'origine
      il y a 11 ans
      You all have no idea how much I appreciate you taking the time to study this decorating dilemma I have and offer your thoughtful opinions & ideas. It is VERY much appreciated. This is, by far, the most difficult home for me to design, as it is definitely the oddest & ugliest house we've ever purchased to date.
      My son's friend said it best when I took him on a tour of it prior to the renovations...."Dang! I sure hope you got a good deal on this place!"
    • joelcoqui
      il y a 11 ans
      OMG. This is almost exactly what my home looked like before our reno 20 years ago. This is what it looks like now. We put a gable atop the garage and one in the foyer for a two story entrance. We took out the bedroom floor that was above the front door.
    • sallynn
      Auteur d'origine
      il y a 11 ans
      Very nicely done, joelcoqui. I'm amazed to find ANYONE who had a house that looked like ours. Do you have an old photo of it originally? I'd love to see it. Unfortunately for us, we cannot remove a bedroom because we have 5 kids, or I would consider that nice high, bright entryway someday like you've done.
    • jimmmymacc
      il y a 11 ans
      sallynn, I also thought of a wrought iron railing (and maybe posts). you might have a wrought iron piece mounted somewhere on the side of the house.
    • PRO
      OnePlan
      il y a 11 ans
      Hi - apologies if this has already been suggested - but could you change the two 'eye' windows for one rectangular window. As they are the only square things on there. One rectangle would look better !
    • joelcoqui
      il y a 11 ans
      Anyone, feel free to comment on my home. check out my posts. Im redoing this look. needs help but on a budget.
    • rinked
      il y a 11 ans
      Please post a new Design Dilemma, Joel. Not all posts get answered, there's too many, so try again if it was ignored before.
    • rinked
      il y a 11 ans
      Dernière modification :il y a 11 ans
      is this your post, Joel? https://www.houzz.com/discussions/add-extra-design-to-acrylic-stucco-boring-home-dsvw-vd~423989
    • joelcoqui
      il y a 11 ans
      yup. one of them. I keep posting to get fresher answers. thanks!
    • debbiebruns
      il y a 11 ans
      My comments are more on moving your eye away from some problem areas. I agree that you should definately remove shutters and beef up posts. I would also plant a fast growing tree off center towards the corner, such as a river birch. It would draw eyes away from the "face". Also, please put some color on the porch. A bench with some bright pillows, and pots with flowers is an inexpensive way to draw your eye in that direction. When you drive down the street, what draws your eye to someone else's front door?
    • sallynn
      Auteur d'origine
      il y a 11 ans
      @OnePlan: yes, the "eyes" or "face" has been brought up about my house but budget is not allowing a change of windows. Another problem is all the other rectangle windows are in one room each. These two "eyes" are from separate bedrooms separated by just a wall.
    • sallynn
      Auteur d'origine
      il y a 11 ans
      @ rinqreation: I continue to view the images you created of my home w/o shutters & various colors. Thanks again. Would I be a bother to ask if you had time to create another image w/ two tones of deep & medium grays on the siding and the brick (I'm thinking of staining the brick rather than paint it if I go this way) and possibly a black iron porch rail? Not sure if your virtual design program allows for the addition of things like railings, etc...
    • PRO
      LandPatterns, Inc
      il y a 11 ans
      Very linear home with all the weight on the left side. I would recommend some massing on the right to create a counter-balance and development in the center to brighten and to bring the eye to the entry. The home is fairly monochromatic and needs contrast as well as color, but only simple planting to accent the linearity. The vertical element in the front (a tree? a pole?) should be removed because it creates a break in the horizontal plane.
    • rinked
      il y a 11 ans
      Dernière modification :il y a 11 ans
      I threw away the layered drawing I made, but if you send a mail to rinqreation@hotmail.com, I could send you the jpg I posted in full size. The program I used is Gimp, by the way. You can download it for free.
    • joelcoqui
      il y a 11 ans
      @rinq. just downloaded it. I cant seem to upload a photo of house and play with it.
    • sallynn
      Auteur d'origine
      il y a 11 ans
      Ok, thanks rinqreation. I'll send you an email soon w/ subject "ugly house". Thanks!
    • ifplan
      il y a 11 ans
      Remove the shutters
      Paint the whole house a stark limestone white
      Add a stone path to the front door
      Add big bushy evergreen shrubs to the sides of the house
      Grow the lawn (healthy lawn would make a bigger impact)
      Paint the front door a deep black, charcoal and add an expensive knocker
      Get a big potted plant for the porch. Something that grows glamourously
      The devil is in the detail!!! - fix every jutting nail, any stains or blemishes, faulty woodwork etc
      Whalaa - perfect

      Make sure your gate or entry way is preened and perfect too X
    • PRO
      Resource Art & Design
      il y a 11 ans
      Gimp is the first and only photo editing program I've ever used (since I'm low on funds). Can't say how it compares to other types but once you spend about 2 weeks tearing out your hair, figuring out how to use it - many of the key "instructions" were at too high a level for me to comprehend - you'll love it. But it never occurred to me to do color mock-ups. Usually just edited pictures of flowers and family pix. Brilliant idea! Thx rinqreation!
    • jimmmymacc
      il y a 11 ans
      I like ifplan's ideas, although, I think you could do all they say and paint the house the color of the brick.
    • rinked
      il y a 11 ans
      Joel, you use printscreen and then paste. 1savoy, I skipped the instructions and just fooled around with it for a while, guess I'm not using half of what is can do, but I'm enjoying myself. :)
    • sallynn
      Auteur d'origine
      il y a 11 ans
      ifplan and jimmmymacc: (& everybody, for that matter)...I laid in bed last night wondering about ALL the colors I'm trying to use & working w/ 3 siding finishes, and bright white trimmed windows that create a "face".....Combine that w/ my love for black accents and I started to think of painting the sidings all a similar shade to the brick (not too deep so the 'window eyes' don't stand out as much), put up a black iron front porch railing, paint a new set of front doors black, and then carry that black w/ something down the boring stretch of garage in like a couple tall, simple but decorative iron accents (Hobby Lobby type of stuff) on either side of the garage window that would either hold greenery or allow vining greenery. It just feels like a little black needs to carry further down than just the porch. What do you think?
    • handymam
      il y a 11 ans
      Sounds like a plan to me! You could possible put a large post on each side of the driveway down by the street with a nice cap on top. Paint them black, put some nice nickel house numbers on them, and create a garden bed in a quarter circle on each side for annuals and small, low green shrubs. I did that at my front walk in white and everyone loved it. It makes a nice entrance and carries the black out to the street. Don't know where your mailbox is located, but that could go out there as well.
    • ifplan
      il y a 11 ans
      Hi Sallynn,
      I'm decorating at the moment too. I find the best thing is to tackle one of the smaller jobs first when you are getting stuck on a project. It's a momentum thing really. You know your ideas are good, but you don't know where to start.... Pick a small spot or corner and work from there. Plus if you've done all of indoors there might be a bit of a creative burnout going on there. The key is to be happy with the result, not to be quick but to be happy. I'm learning as I go along X
    • PRO
      Roma Fence
      il y a 11 ans
      Add Gardens. You can use little planter boxes as well! I've attached an Image of a planter box example from our company. But you can access these pretty well anywhere. If you are interested in a fence, picket, wrought Iron, concrete, wood etc... have a look at our website www.romafence.com. Good Luck!
    • PRO
      Roma Fence
      il y a 11 ans
      ... from above
    • mariewilson
      il y a 5 ans
      Dernière modification :il y a 5 ans

      Would let paint and plants do the heavy lifting and make paint the starting point; brick and siding the same color. To make house color pop, match trim to white windows. Window boxes with a mix of plantings including trailing plants upstairs and low growing flowers down for color and interest. If keeping shutters, paint them black and install black metal railings on porch. If not black, whatever dark color that works with the new house color. It wouldn't hurt to widen the shutters by adding a strip of wood; that's IF you want to keep the shutters, but I'd retire them. Pale or bright paint for the door and then add foundation plantings. Painting is over so no threat to plants. Start with paint. Finish with plants. Later when time and money allow, maybe add a lamp post, new metal roof, decorative fence and perhaps a bench. Would go for coordinating railings with fencing. Am all for the white planter pictured above, too. Would add at least one trailing plant to topple over the side of it. Best of luck and blessings to you!

    • PRO
      Beth H. :
      il y a 5 ans

      Marie, this post is 6 years old. I'm sure they're done with it.

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