Please provide input on front elevation

12 years ago

As always, thanks in advance for any feedback.

We are trying to squeeze a house on a tight lot in Northern NJ leveraging modular construction.

I am having a dispute with my wife on the first pass of the front elevation. I like simple, colonial homes. I also like a simple roof design from a cost perspective. My wife does not share the same philosophy. She feels as if the elevation below is too simple. In particular, she is worried about the fact that there are no "bump-outs" which would add character and break up the straight lines, especially on the top half of the home. I thing the elevation is classic.

I would welcome any suggestions to make the front facade more 'interesting" for my wife. Unfortunately, we really cannot change the footprint of the house due to the constraints of the lot. A section of the side garage will stick out by ~8ft in the front of the house. We put a hip roof above that to blend it in.

I guess we could add a center gable but I personally don't find those appealing. Maybe a more dramatic front porch or even a porch across the front of the house could work.

Thanks for any help!!!!

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Comments (11)

worthy
12 years ago

Source: Connor Homes Connor Building

I like classic farmhouses, too, such as the reproduction above. But once you have half the structure sort of symmetrical and the other not you've got something else entirely. Adding porches and dormers won't help.
peytonroad
12 years ago
What about a porch from front door all the way over to right side of house. Add a porch swing too!
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Here's a rendering our architect had done for us early in the redesign phase. However, the patio on the upstairs was missing and the supporting columns etc. Aside from those differences and obviously the stair case, the overall look is quite close. With the stairway relocated, the windows on the ground floor to the bottom right in the garage are now visible. The area directly above that is the master bath and so on. Per my previous post, the double front doors were changed out after I'd posted this up. On the ground floor, the two windows in the center are history. And although it's hard to visualize it in the conceptual, the ceilings are 10' from the ground floor on up. It's a tall house. In the end we made the final revisions and submitted those for drawings based upon the conceptual we had done as it fit our need with a few tweaks mostly on the interior. What my bride didn't care for was that we'd walk up the stairs facing a wall, then turn to the left to walk 20' give or take to the front door. Based on this rendering and maintaining the same general design from day one from the same architect, we moved forward and ended up where we are. We just didn't "toss this together" so to speak. Our architect put a fair amount of thought into the process the end results in our opinion we are pleased with. We differed somewhat on the interior layout of a couple of rooms but that's all good. The vast majority of the interior of the house replicates what was done from day one which was perfect and we love it. Thus the reason we kept it just like it was. He did an amazing job! When the day is done, we're writing the check to the mortgage company so we'll build accordingly. Like I said back at the start of the thread, everyone has their own opinions and I respect that. Some folks may think what they've designed and are building is the absolute best design in the world and I'm happy for them. On the flip side, I wouldn't give them a dime for it. Again, my opinion and while it doesn't suit me we all have varied tastes. Thank goodness or we'd be in a real mess!
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If we don't find an acceptable elevation then perhaps we are back to a new floorplan. Well, yes - just because the two are inextricably linked. Every time we tweaked our floor plan, the elevations changed in kind. Not always just to accommodate the change physically - sometimes things need to change visually. Roof over the main living area went up - roof on front porch goes from gable to hip, in order for balance to be maintained. When I asked, Mark said, "Every line has a reason." So now, when I see change I just ask, "What is the reason for that?" And I learn something, and the design stays balanced. Therefore, in order to get an elevation you are happy with, the floorplan will need to change. What you'll need to keep in mind is that the simple shapes of the elevation are what you need to get right. That's the cake. The styling can then be laid over top - frosting. Then whatever little detail touches *cough* Swedish window trim, if you're me *cough* - think of that (or your cupola) as the "sprinkles." Cake, THEN frosting, THEN sprinkles. But you make the inside of the cake and the outside of the cake at the same time. And you can't fix a bad cake with more frosting. (Go cue up "Nailed It!" on Netflix for visual evidence of this).
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shakfu3
Original Author
12 years ago
Worth - thanks for the link to Connor home. Lots of good ideas there.

Peytonrod - good suggestions. Will try that.
sombreuil_mongrel
12 years ago
There are several mistakes from a historical perspective:
The house is intended to look like it grew in stages, the right side should appear distinct from the main bloc of the structure. So the siding and roof lines should not run through; it would be best if the roofline of the rt. part broke from the main roof and the main bloc stood forward or back from the wing.
The upper windows would look better if they were 9/6 instead of just smaller 9/9's.
The windows of the "addition" could all be made distinct from those of the main bloc.
The portico is improperly detailed. The columns should be out at the very edge of the beam line, not inset from them by inches; that is making the portico top-heavy.
I don't care for the casement windows above the portico. An oval window (or pair of them) a circular window, or a single 6/6 would be preferable. What's in the space behind?
Window apron molding on a "Federal" exterior has no precedent and looks ridiculous, unless rendered in stone masonry.
Casey
User
12 years ago
What about continuing the garage bump all the way up and getting a bit more space on the second floor as well? I wouldn't do it as a hip either A gable would look more at home. Then instead of the oddly proportioned portico, do a porch across the front that is equal in size to the bump of the garage. That will take it into a more farmhouse looking direction, but the main body of the home will still have the clean lines that appeal to you, yet hopefully that will add enough change in facade plane to be "interesting" to your wife.
shakfu3
Original Author
12 years ago
This feedback is great. Will go back to the "drawing board" and come back with something different.
User
12 years ago
I was going to say essentially the same things as Casey but then it occurred to me that a possible approach would be the more flexible Colonial Revival style. Then the facade could be asymmetrical with paired windows (not found on Colonial houses). To me narrow paired windows are a hold over from the Victorian era or a cheap looking attempt to add style (that is actually expensive) and should either be more generous in width or a very wide single window.

But the sills should definitely not be "trimmed"; they should have thick "historical" profile sub-sills so the jamb trim can rest on it as linked below.

Does the grade really have to drop off so fast and leave the portico hanging in the air?

I don't know what to tell you about the garage but I would not want to go farther with design advice without seeing all of the drawings.

Here is a link that might be useful: ATW trim
worthy
12 years ago
About as classic a New England farmhouse as you can get. I guess they didn't see the memo about the windows. (I wish though they had opted for an undergound hydro connection!)

Huntington Homestead, Scotland, Connecticut c. 1720-22 National Historic
Landmark
summerfielddesigns
12 years ago
unsure of your actual floorplan , or desires ...
just a tweak ...
shakfu3
Original Author
12 years ago
Summerfield - what an amazing difference. The separation of the right side of the house, as others suggested, makes a huge difference. Thanks so much for the inspiration!!!
sombreuil_mongrel
12 years ago
Worthy, dude, that's not Federal, which it what the OP's trying M/L to be. That's a true post & beam center-chimney NE saltbox of the period. Not a wannabe.
Casey

Please provide input on front elevation

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