SFGate

liztucker172 I wanted to add...the bottom part of the house is a very dark brown brick, and on the top of the main door as well as the bottom door is is a wide wooden plank siding also dark brown, it seems very choppy to me and just not eye pleasing at all. Should i bust out the paint brushes?

crchappell Have you thought of painting the brick/foundation area a taupe, or a warm gray? I can't tell if your siding is white or cream. And you could either remove the shutters and beef up the trim around them, or paint the shutters the same color as the foundation. With two front doors, it's kind of confusing, so I'd pick which one is the "real" front door and highlight that, and try to downplay the the other with paint. Some landscaping would help soften the edges and corners of your home as well so that it's more inviting. I grew up in an identical house, so I am always thrilled to see people make them over into cool contemporary spaces. Look for examples of split level makeovers. :-)

crchappell Oh, and if you paint the brick, I'd paint the wood planking siding the same color... that's my gut anyway. They made some crazy design choices in the 70's didn't they?

AMN With that star, it confuses the eye even more. Now there are 3 things vying for one's attention!

I think it would look more elegant to either remove the star all together or put it on the brick above the front door behind the light. Yes they are similar in color, but putting the star on the brick makes it more of an interesting, tone-on-tone feature that you can enjoy and share with visitors--as opposed to it looking tacked on. Also, if you paint the brick and plank a lighter color, then the star will certainly show up more.

You can paint the not-the-real-front door the same color as the brick/plank.

A railing or at least some shallow planters that flank the exposed corner of the stoop should be the first step. They'll increase safety and make for a nicer look for the front facade.

Do you park your cars directly in front of the garage? It would be nice if you could carve out a landscaping strip right in front of it to ease up on the swath of white siding. (OR you could have some nice planters built there).

liztucker172 Yes they did make some crazy design choices, i was very hesitant to purchase this house but the property that the house is on is just stunning and exactly what we were looking for so we couldnt pass it up. I have thought about painting the foundation/brick/plank area of the house as well as the siding. We are leaning towards a grey, as i love how it looks in a wooded setting. The landscaping when we first moved in was just a complete jungle we had to rip out a TON! Everything had to go...railroad ties galore....it was quite awful. However now we have this blank slate and i can see potential i just have to bring it out. Losing the shutters and bulking up the trim is not something i considered, thank you for that. I was also hesitant to paint because i was not sure if i should paint the planks the same color as the brick on the bottom.

AMN i have to say ive never been distracted by the star untill i saw this picture, it does stick out like a sore thumb. That front part of the house is not a garage, just an addition that was meant to be some sort of shop, we are considering making it a garage or using it as our downstairs family room, havent decided on that as of yet. I do have a habit of pulling my car right up to it because i wish it were a garage :) Thank you all for your input, def gave me some new great ideas! Ive got my hands full with this one! But i love to recreate and turn things around so it should be a fun journey!

Dytecture If it hadn't been mentioned already, perhaps building an entry porch would enhance the curb appeal.

liztucker172 I love the thought of an entry porch! and i love that house! very inspirational :) I cant thank you all enough for the feedback, some great ideas!

dcwjes What about building a porch off the landing? Instead of two sets of stairs, build over the top set and lengthen the first set to meet it, then you can build a railing so no more slips or falls. You could build it farther over to have a swing or something similar. And that star has to do something different

judyg


You need a landscape designer to deal with those steps. And do it soon just to protect yourself from a lawsuit. Put your money there first.

Melissa Elizabeth Hi Liz! Sorry this is so rough as I only have my laptop touch pad, no mouse and its only quick paintshop. Here's a really rough picture to give you an idea of how your house might be balance and warmed up with landscaping alone as I know all too well how expensive even just small entry way porches and exterior work and painting are. The color splotches represent plantings/flowers in those tones. Here you would only have to landscape with strategic shapes and colors, paint the door below a darker color, add fresh gravel to your driveway, and alter the entrypath to your house a bit (mason/landscaper could do this) and add substantial planters with tall plants to the entryway landing. Hope this might help.

Melissa Elizabeth Oh, and of course you could still remove the star if you'd like... could leave, remove, or add to top of main entryway sans entry porch roof. I agree you could also try the no shutter/trim beef up as suggested if its in the budget. I do know the trees are a matter of taste... the garage solution is nice too of course. :)

Melissa Elizabeth maybe slightly better - sorry about the paintshop ;)

dcer I would paint your outer door as well as your inner door a new, bolder jewel tone. Then, as Melissa suggested, I would plant some flowers and trees. I would paint your shutters the same jewel tone as your front door, and paint the brick a grey/beige.

bprince300 I vote for making that addition a garage if you have the space in the main part of the house.. If you did .... (where else do you store all of your landscape tools, machinery, etc. ? How do you get yourself the groceries and the kids all in the house without getting muddy, rained on, etc ? ... it would give you more secure, attached parking, a 'mud room', unloading kids, groceries, etc. out of the weather, and provide an alternative place to enter the house vs down the drainage problem hallway. (or front door?) Use a dark colored garage door to help diminish its front and center presence. (and yes, trade the star for some nice photo-sensitive carriage lights that make your entry safer and easier.

Replace the secondary entry door with a window and move the entry into/thru the new garage. The cream field color seems too light and the dark brown wood too dark. How about painting your wood siding with a deep sandy color - sim to Dytechture's photo. That color sits great in a wooded area. You can keep your colonial white elements and the dark brown brick - Its a shame the red door is concealed by the storm door, but if needed, add color in the landscape or pots at/near the entry.

Put a drainage system in that low area to carry water out and away from the house, including in front of the garage. Slope the drive down and away from the door opening to prevent flooding inside. This probably means retaining the side slope (terraced planters) that drains down into it at a minimum, and a small amount of re-grading in the front. Make sure the gutters are kept clean to get the roof water out of there.

Widen the front porch area considerably to allow for the storm door swing and a bench or couple of chairs, let your main entry path meander over to the left and out past the end of the garage by at least a car length before sloping down to the current driveway level (or where guests park ?? - wider drive or right side of garage ?)

Nice wide, deep steps toward the front vs. a slope if you get ice in winter. Clusters of small scale deciduous trees and evergreen shrubs, low lighting hidden among wavy grassy plants along the path .... What a nice experience your entry path could be ...

Melissa Elizabeth Not sure if you'll be able to tell much from this.. again, just quick paintbrush... this would be a higher budget overhaul... not sure how you feel about the styling, but just sending over for you to be able to picture a bit more of what you want/don't want. A dogwood in pink and white could be stunning against gray where the doodled tree to the left (looking on) is.

liztucker172 Wow!!!!! You all are amazing! The garage addition now that i have seen it, really just looks like it makes sense. We actually do have the room inside the house.Making that a garage will not really take away from the house but will add in my opinion.It is just an empty space right now that we have been really just trying to decide what to do with. Garage i really think is best! We have 4 bedrooms/2 bath, an upstairs LR and downstairs FR. One of the bathrooms is on the lower level as well as one bedroom. I knew that a few changes could make a huge difference but wow! I guess just seeing it with your own eyes can really bring it to life! The garage and the small gable porch would be about the top of our budget, we may have to add the landscaping plants here and there (i thought my husband was going to pass out at the nursery i took him to visit, stating that he coould not believe "weeds" cost that much, funny guy) but can at least get the bed structure/mulch down. We actually have a window frame that matches the rest of the windows in our existing garage( an entire diff. story, it was there before the house was bulit and leaves much to be desired, we will be tearing it down as it is in FRONT of our house blocking the amazing view of the countryside) that i am assuming was made to go where that door was put in (below) so I believe taking that door out we could sit that window in place of it. I am seriously blown away by these ideas! I am saving these pictures to show the husband what wonderful possibilities our little eye sore has :) Thank you all again!

judyg 2 Melissa: very nice rendering.

Melissa Elizabeth Thank you Judy! ... So many applications out there, but sometimes tried and true ms paint just seems to be the most efficient! :)

Melissa Elizabeth Also, at judyg - just read about your house - love capecod - your home and decorating sound Amazing!!

Melissa Elizabeth Liz - so excited that you'll get to update and dress up your house a bit! Already looks spacious and lovely, just a little "naked" lol like many newly purchased homes... I'm sure your family will really warm it up more and more! - Can't wait to hear about some of the changes - hope you have a lot of fun with it!

Melissa Elizabeth oh, and LOL at your husband's comment! HOW TRUE! When my husband and I bought our "fixer upper" we did just that - just did a little digging, leveling, and adding mulch beds! You can certainly fill them up over time! For porch gable, you may want to ask your contractor about adding siding in a like color behind it to get the more cohesive look you may be going for - siding itself isn't that expensive, but of course labor cost will vary. :)

judyg Thanks, Melissa. I have had a good time decorating my homes. I am also very fortunate to have one of those husbands who will go along with just about anything. We have never had to move from MA, so each time we decide to have an adventure (that's my term, not hubby's) it is because we see a property that grabs us (me). But, after 8 moves and one complete building project, when I set up my new home, somethings go exactly where they were placed in every other home. Maybe that's why no matter what house we find ourselves in, it always feels like home.

Kind of winding down now and we think there will be one more move, probably to a much smaller house or a townhouse. When that time comes, I will be calling for all houzzers to be on board 'cause I am going to need all sorts of advice.

I am really going to take advantage of the "add to ideabook" that Houzz offers and start filling my ideabook. Just need a name for it. Do not want to call it "last chance" or "end of the road" or "sayonara" or "on the way out". My husband suggested "here today, gone tomorrow"....very strange sense of humor.

Got any ideas?

Melissa Elizabeth I have some pieces that just seem to always go with also. That makes perfect sense - that does always make things feel like home. Eight moves and 1 entire house remodel... wow! That's really impressive. After less than three moves midway through our first entire building project, I sometimes feel like I'm already out of energy and "at the end of the road," lol! .. but I hear you, I am sort of property polyamorous myself LOL. I'm guilty of being lenient with seeing "potential!" Isn't it so much easier doing projects for someone else sometimes lol? :) Your perspective album names are too funny! If it is new construction, how about "The Vinyl Frontier" (a big JK! - Your suggestions just made that pop into my head)What about downsized decadence or new house on easy street, ya know, because you won't have to completely overhaul any more houses! ,,which is more of a fulltime + job than most realize LOL. :)

liztucker172 Thank you for the kind words :) Hubby and i are both very excited to take this house and make it our own, it has some great elements as you said, they just need brough out more, i am alot like you as i seem to always have a ton of advice and reccomendations for others but so much hesitation when it comes to my own. We had a landscape professional come out and when he left i was nearly in tears 40k plus! College savings for kids or some nice bushes??? LOL! We are young and pretty enthusiastic when it comes to DIY so we will do what we have the knowledge and equipment on our own, but leave what we should to the pros! Our first house (this one is our second) was in town and had a solid exterior but needed renovated indoors, this is the much more of a project for us as both the interior and exterior need some majic worked on it....I get a sort og "high" doing this sort of stuff! Its so much fun! You learn so much and the satisfaction when you are finished is quite wonderful!

judyg Vinyl Frontier ! Reminds me of a comment a very funny friend made at a wedding in the early 70's..."I wonder how many polyesters he had to kill to make that suit".

Think I will go with New House on Easy Street (NHOES) 'cause it sounds like "no", lots of them. No, we won't, no, I don't want to, no I can't....Yep, I can hear all those "no's" coming! Great name for an ideabook!

Paradise Restored Landscaping & Exterior Design You sound fun! Well on a DYI budget still believe you can ask a landscape contractor for 1,2 & 3 year plan if that would help help - but a french sulotion is a must as well as the steps that have been discussed.

liztucker172 progress :) This was just hubby and i working for two days. We have 2 contracotrs coming for the estimates on the garage and walkway..also installing railing next to take care of safety concern! Moving in the right direction? I feel like the paint really made a difference!

Brown Richardson & Rowe, Inc. Add a barrier handrail (42" height to top rail from finished grade steps with vertical pickets spaced 4" max)) with a handrail on the inside of the barrier rail set at 38" above finished grade of the steps. This is the quickest and safest way to make your entry work better and reduce the risk of falls. All else is secondary.

crchappell Wow!! You did a great job. What a difference! I like the color you picked for the shutters.