World's Ugliest House - Which I LOVE
We are buying a house that looks like a school or library on the outside. It is a home, on 5 acres, with a steel beam frame, and metal walls with stucco. We like everything about the place, except the looks of the front of the house! Minor details, right?? :) Does anyone have any suggestions to make this eyesore more attractive? We are considering stone veneer or maybe just landscaping improvements (posted to the garden forum for landscape ideas.) I used Paint program to "remove" existing overgrown landscaping, to start with a clean slate. I would love to hear any ideas you may have!
Comments (19)
Fori
11 years ago
JustFive
11 years agoIt has always been a residence, as far as we know. The columns are covered in cinder blocks made to sort of look like stone. The same treatment is used inside the house, on the four interior beams. It has an open loft feel to it in the den and kitchen, with 18 foot ceilings. You can see the metal beams on the ceiling,and the metal roof, as well as the a/c duct. I love it! (My pictures of the interior didn't come out too well.)
I'm sure we could redo the pavestone and level it out. I did a mock up of what the front might look like with a stone veneer, but clearly my skills with the Paint program are very basic. :) That, or stone veneer isn't the answer!! Will post that picture in a minute.
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World's Ugliest House - Which I LOVE
Comments (25)Haven't been here in a while but definitely I agree with ocean dweller's suggestions. First, yes, paint those pillars. That white is too stark. How about an earth tone? Maybe an ocher/tan --- something warm that will pull down to and connect with the earth? If you paint those pillars, try to replicate the pillar color somewhere in the foreground with stone or adobe if you can't find plant materials. Secondly, I love his idea of transplanting some shrubbery as a screen out from the pillar on the left. A "patio" area edged with greenery could easily be enhanced over the years with the construction of a low wall and a stone/adobe interior patio or stone paths that lead to other parts of your yard. The colors and textures of the materials you use should compliment the colors on your home. Eventually, you could plant indigenous perennials to add color and texture to the area outside this screen nearer to the driveway. I don't know if this makes sense, but kind of think of your house as a bare naked lady! :) You're going to "dress her up" over time by adding things to the left and right and in front of her. However, because of the scale of the house, make sure you don't go overboard with lots of different kinds of plants and materials. Repeat shades and textures. Notice that in D-D's offering, various shades of green are repeated in different plants--- blue green behind and in front of that that low entry on the right --- yellow green in tall spears and low textures -- and leaf green. Various shades of browns and tans are repeated in paint and stone work. I'll add my name to the list of those who are curious to see what happens to your home over time. Keep posting the progress. Molie...See MoreWorld's ugliest entry
Comments (99)LONG POST! I am so glad this topic is here. I have a split-foyer home and am always looking for ideas. Mine is a little different from oceana's in it only has the front door not the glass on the side and at the top. I have lived with this over 30 years and have updated it in many ways over the years. I am about to do it again. Right now, it has a hardwood floor and a wooden decorator door with the oval, beveled glass. The door and my stairs are the same color. I have used a decorative cut glass type film to block out some of the glare and provide a bit of privacy in the door. I am planning to add tread/stair brackets to the sides once it's painted this time. The only thing I want there (you know how small it is), is a silk or live tree and a fountain. Haven't decided if it'll be a wall fountain or a floor one. I removed the carpeting sometime ago to reveal lovely hardwood stairs. I have faced the front of the stairs with a lightweight Luwan material that I plan to paint white. I will then add WORDART to the risers going upstairs. The wall leading upstairs has 3 pictures that I have stairstepped. I like the tapestry that another poster had and will probably opt to try that look. Will try to match the tapestry to the round rug that I will use in the foyer to pull it together. I won't finish until sometime in August and will post before/after pictures at that time (have to read how to do this). I will be painting it in a butter cream color to complement the LR/DR colors. I also love the idea of using wainscotting and will ask my painter what he thinks. It will give the area an entirely richer look. I have a ceiling fan with a light there now. This will be replaced with a traditional foyer chandelier or a pendant lamp. I have seen some do Photoshop. I am sure this is a software package that might be pricey. Is there something out there that can help an on-a-budget homeowner see what her foyer might look like before I do it? Thanks for reading. Sorry to be so long. Peachie!...See MoreIdeas for front of ugliest house ever?
Comments (12)I guess the main problem that I see is that all of the windows seem to be different. If there's a way for your to replace some of the windows to get them all to match, that would go a long way to making the design more cohesive. Typically, this style of house has casement or horizontal sliding windows. The grey siding has a nice uncluttered simplicity to it. If you continue with it around the house using white trim around the windows and white gutters and downspouts, it would be a very nice clean look. Unless you're really attached to the wood paneled front door, the house might look better with a plain, unpaneled door, painted very dark green, or perhaps a very dark barn red, although any colour that is a sort of dramatic contrast with the grey would lend your entry a nice punch. As mentioned above, a larger chandelier would add some style too. A simple hanging large white globe might be one possibility. Since your lower floor windows are so close to the ground, any foundation planting should be very low, too. An evergreen ground cover like pachysandra or ivy are a couple of possibilities. Taller shrubbery can be planted out away from the house to provide some screening from the street. Have fun....See MoreWorld's Ugliest Kitchen. Help.
Comments (30)If you are truly going for a total redo in just two years I wouldn't do much either! I agree that the carpet is unsanitary and has to go. I hope that you find some sort of flooring underneath that you can live with. We did a facelift on my mother's kitchen in her out of state home. She had orange countertops and a bright yellow beast of a sink. My cousin supervised the whole thing. He hired a company that came in and sprayed a hard coating on all of the countertops and also the sink. I have not seen it in person yet, but it looks great in pictures. The countertops look almost like quartz and the sink is now black. It cost around $500 for the entire project with a lifetime warranty. And the kitchen was considerably larger than yours, so the price would be less. I wish I knew what the process was called. I can try to find out for you if you want? Anyway, that is all that I would do. Remove the carpet and cover the yellow countertops. I think that alone should give you a kitchen you can live with for a few years. I would not put money into things like hardware etc. Save that money for the total makeover! Best of luck! I just got rid of my bright blue laminate - what were we thinking in the 70's and 80's???...See MoreJustFive
11 years agoHere is one of my stone veneer mock ups. (Very rough, I know!) Without landscaping, I can't see any improvement...
I really don't know what to do with this facade, but I'm hoping some creative genius will!
User
11 years agoThe stone makes it more institutional. What it needs is WINDOWS of the correct proportion for it's modern lines. And some color. Paint the exposed iron red. Maybe look at painting the stucco a concrete gray or white. Also consider breaking up the facade into distinct boxes, with maybe different siding treatments. Even galvanized metal.
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Contact an architect for some help with a few modifications and your not so ugly duckling can certainly become a very modern swan.
Laura6NJ
11 years agotjdabomb
11 years agorockybird
11 years agopowermuffin
11 years agoFori
11 years agojuliekcmo
11 years agoFori
11 years agobridget helm
11 years agoJustFive
11 years agoThank you all for your replies of hope! It is definitely a one of a kind house around here (Texas Gulf Coast). We are in a very humid climate fori, with hurricanes occasionally coming through. I feel like this house would hold up better than a traditional brick home. I looked up Joseph Eichler - very interesting. This house does have concrete flooring in the den and kitchen area, painted as a giant Texas flag. Although it needs to be repainted, it is one of the things I fell in love with right away. So unique.
In regards to the windows, adding some to the front would be strictly cosmetic (which is the whole goal), as the other sides of the house have plenty of light coming in through a row of windows all along the top of the house. (Picture below is best I could get)As many of you suggested, I will most definitely be hiring an architect for help!
hollysprings, thank you for the pictures! I'm adopting your comment about my not so ugly duckling becoming a very modern swan, as my mantra!
LauraNJ, there are 2 driveways. One is a circular one that runs in front of the house, meeting up with the pavestone. The driveway leading to the garage at the back of the house, runs parallel to the left side of the house.
Julie, the facing direction of the house is Northeast (about 57 degrees on my Feng Shui compass)
bmh4796 - I will check out dwell magazine.
Looking forward to posting how it turns out!
Diane, I went into the Paint program and extended the columns to the roof line. I also added some windows. Someone needs to just tell me to step AWAY from the mouse...
hosenemesis
11 years agoFori
11 years agoLaura6NJ
11 years agokirkhall
11 years agojuliekcmo
11 years ago
kirkhall