SFGate

snobunyz24 I see the outside has plenty of potential as well! Suggestions for different budgets below

Big:
1. Landscaping: would lighten up the house, perhaps moving at least one of the two trees in the front of the house so you can see it.
2. pavers for the driveway
3. uplighting on the house for evening, lights lining the driveway

Low:
1. paint the door a cheery color, perhaps yellow?
2. Is there trim around the windows? paint white or replace with larger trim painted white
3. Paint the front porch railings/columns white
4. two outdoor lights at the front door

I would love to see more pics of the inside!

lucindalane I'm into Craftsman, too-the house I currently live in was built almost a hundred years ago in the Craftsman style. I think your home has some very Craftsman-like features-they are just very rustic ones, as cedar shakes were often used on the exterior of the homes. You could paint the porch railings a very nice "Craftsman" hunter green, and your door a lovely "Craftsman" brick red. Lighten things up with your accessories, like some chairs the same color on the porch, and some flowers in some pots, and around the perimeter of the porch-depending on your climate, of course. Some really lovely Craftsman-type porch lanterns on either side of your door would look great, too. So don't despair-perhaps its wasn't your first choice, but I think you can really adapt it to the style you like without it looking like you are trying to "force" things. It looks like a very nice cottage-y house, but more in line with the outdoors-y side of the style instead of a whitewashed, cobblestone-y type. I also think that lighting would be a great idea-they have some solar types now that don't cost a mint, and that way you wouldn't have to worry about wiring, and you could place it where you wanted it-as long as it got some kind of sun, of course.
This could be a great home, I expect. Just let your "adventurous" side take the lead-within reason of course, and see what creative stuff you can come up with.

Vikrant Sharma Homez Btw in the present condition it qualifies for a sequel of Haunted Homes , Lol
Please paint it Asap a white so at least it becomes visible .

olldbobbi I agree that paint could be your best friend with your house. I like snobuny24's idea of painting the front door a bright color, yellow or red or even a bright green, and also painting the window trim and columns.

The biggest problem I see is that it's so gloomy looking. Anything you can do to brighten it up, including bright colored flowers, paint and multiple matching outdoor lights will really help.

You have a lot of great land there! How far away is your closest neighbor, just curious? I love the privacy!

Stebnitz Builders Our business is near three great lakes in WI and we see this scenario all the time. Let me start by saying, "You made the right decision". The only thing you can't change about your home (at least practically) is where it's located. If you like where you live, the house can be updated. You made the right choice.

When I look at your home and yard, it looks like a great cabin in the north woods. Very little grass or landscaping and a very respectable home that has few frills to it. It's a place to go to get away from everyday life. But, since you live here every day - this needs to welcome you home every time you see it. Here are some ideas:

Change the color of your cedar siding -go lighter with new stain or change it out and go maintenance-free with a lighter colored LP SmartSide siding.

Add some bolder trim (not sure what's there, now) and let it accent the rest of the house.

Shingles, if needed, can go architectural and stand out a bit more.

I like a nice white railing on the deck and a decking that stands off from the house in color. Wider (and fewer) columns.

Suggestions: Siding - light brown, Trim - white, shingles - dark green or black, decking a favorite color with railing and risers on the steps being white. Definitely change the door to a different color (accent the deck). Add a couple nice light fixture on each side of the door. Install LED lighting in the railing for additional accent lighting.

Pavers from the deck to the driveway. New lawn. Remove or more two trees in front of the house and move smaller trees or incorporate them in to some individual beds around the yard. The yard needs to be brighter by allowing some sun in there. Bring more color in to the scene with various plant species that bloom at different times of the year (depending on your location).

Another thing would be to update the garage/ shed in the back, too. Here are a couple of make-overs we did on some homes that started in a similar situation as yours did.

Best of luck.

nasafemme I chose dark cedar siding for my rustic home and absolutely love it!

apple_pie_order The house has good bones and an attractive front facade. It just needs to be lightened up. Paint it before winter sets in. Traditional Craftsman paint choices can be very dark, so take a look at light colors such as those shown by Stebniz Builders above. White, butter yellow, light tan are all good. A red front door can be great punctuation.

I'd also prune back the trees and bushes near the front porch. If you use the back door as your main entrance when you come home, make sure it is cheery and well-lit.

eztia I think the other Houzzers have given you some excellent suggestions.

I do not agree with adding new lawn right now. You have too much shade with the big trees. Hire an arborist to work on the trees so more sun reaches the ground. You will be amazed at what a good arborist can do for you.

carmen_johnston It amazes me that just from reading a short comment you guys can come up with so many suggestions all slightly different but on the same track! I have always been told I have an eye for decor but I just needed someone else to reinforce what I was thinking. I will definitly paint especially the front door (had already picked out an adorable green) in the celery family. I had a complemantary yellow in the same family picked for all trim railings etc. Will work on brown cedar next spring just cant do it all right now! I agree with lots of lighting, esp. up lighting! I am fortuante my husband owns a wholesale lawn, garden and seed company. So flowers grass etc will all be done ASAP. I live in South Ga in a very large subdivision (I know it looks very deceiving) but we all have from 1/2 to full acre yards. I'll add pics of neighboring houses. They are all very different from each other ranging from Cape-Cod to Traditional to Modern???? But it makes it fun. Anything goes. And to the person that made it a point to say I made the right decision based on doing the right thing for the kids, I thank you. You must be a parent yourself and understand how important happy children are! Our home backs up to one of the 4 lakes in the hood! I'll add more photos of interior too because I felt like I got such great feedback from this. Many, Many Thanks!

jhausman1945 I have a question. Can this red stain be bleached out in any way?

Looking the picture, the dormer and the other building seem to be a softer color. Presumably they were the same dark brown and the sun faded it out because there was no porch to shade them. They look closer to that nice gray we expect of natural cedar. I wonder how long it took and if one could achieve that with some kind of bleaching process.

carmen_johnston I have never noticed the difference! But now that u mention it Im not sure if its because of the way the sun is hitting the garage or if it is really lighter? I'm going to drive over in a few to take more pics to upload in the mean time i'm curious to know if the cedar can be bleached? I guess if nothing else a lighter stain would do the trick?

Stebnitz Builders :) Carmen,

That's the first question we ask our clients as they decide to remodel, rebuild or move. "Do you like where you live?"

The hardest thing is to find the place you enjoy being. Once you're there, you can do just about anything you need to make the house you've purchased your HOME. With three boys myself - 9, 11, 13 - we have a ton of things going on and our location is essential to life operating easier. The other positive is it doesn't sound like you'll be outbuilding your neighbors, should you need to sell in the shorter term.

Celery green on your door with yellow railing is going to look very cool - especially with the color change to the lighten the exterior. LOVE uplighting! And kudos for having the right guy around to make the front yard a beautiful lawn :).

I'd love to see photos when you're done with the work. The house has great potential and you're definitely on the right track with the updates.

Best!

lucindalane I would think there would be some way to lighten up the wood. I know that people do it to wood furniture and paneling by "pickling" the wood with a specific mixture of stuff, though I have no idea what it would be. Perhaps someone will chime in about that process.

klmt I would be the the weird one in your neighborhood with a modern house. Coming from S GA myself, however, I nearly had a fit at talk of painting your house - that style is just SUPPOSED to be that color! But then I calmed down, and being the experienced reno'er/decorator that I am, got over my homesick bias and thought about your situation. Your kids will eventually graduate and you'll get to go wherever you want, so lets keep resale in mind, too. Once you paint that cedar, there's no going back - talk about maintenance! It's much more stain-friendly. I assume it's rough cedar, too. So go get some light gray stain and test is in an unobtrusive spot to see if it'll cover that brown. Talk to your paint guy first. But the light gray/silver is the color of aged cedar, will really brighten the house, and it will still look right architecturally speaking and geographically speaking. Your celery green door will look great, too. As to the landscaping, looks like you have that hard-packed clay & sand combo that's a nightmare to deal with. Amend, amend, amend. And where it's too shady under trees, beds of aspidistras will be your low maintenance friends.