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Home Decorating

Cape Cod with mixed siding?

10 years ago

I need some advice from folks with far better aesthetics than I have. I have a simple, cape cod house with three dormers, and I am thinking about what I can do to spruce up the exterior.

As you can see, right now everything is lap siding painted beige. The dormers look especially plain to me, and there's not really enough room to add shutters.

Specifically, I was hoping to get advice from folks on:
(1) Should I consider replacing the dormer siding with shakes/shingles ? I can't find any pictures online with Cape Cod houses with mixed siding and am having difficulty figuring out whether this would look great (many new homes have mixed siding and look nice!) or awful.

(2) If so, then should the dormers be painted a different color than the body of the house?

(3) If so, should the area around the door also have shingle/ shakes to provide some continuity?
(4) Should I get a new raised panel garage door with windows? Something like this (http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/842619/842619000558lg.jpg) Or would it distract from the rest of the house? Something like this:

Other thoughts? Moldings?! Would be grateful for suggestions. Thanks!

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Comments (4)

Annie Deighnaugh
10 years ago
It's a nice looking cape.

I'm seeing too much of one color. I think I'd look into beefing up the window trim on the dormers. I'd look into brightening the paint in the porch area to make it more of a focal point. I'd think about painting the body of the house a brighter color to get more contrast from the roof. I wouldn't touch the siding as it looks fine.

If I wanted to spend more money, I think I would go with a different garage door style. I can't see the lighting on the front porch, but perhaps that can be brightened, and I'd look into different materials for the front porch and steps to make them more interesting than the concrete.

The rest can be done with landscaping and plant selection and placement.
Gracie
10 years ago
My first impression was how nice it would look with a porch other than concrete. That would focus the eye on the entryway. New landscaping can refocus the eye too. But I don't see anything wrong with those dormers. I grew up in a Cape Cod house with dormers, built in 1955.
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I try to avoid terms like "true" or "pure" and prefer "historic" instead. Often the name people use to describe houses comes from real estate listings. Realtors use a shorthand or lowest-common-denominator to simplify the issue and encourage as many responses as possible. The styles are generally Colonial, Victorian, Craftsman, Ranch, Cape, Contemporary, etc. My 1891 house was featured in the 1892 Architects and Builders Supplement to Scientific American magazine as an example of the new "Colonial Revival" style but it was advertised for sale in 1983 as a "Victorian". One of the most common house styles in America is rarely identified in realtor listings. There's nothing wrong with the realtor approach for their marketing purposes but when discussing the design of your own home with interested homeowners and design professionals, it greatly improves the discussion if you are more specific. A quick study of historic Capes might help you. A house style that evolved over hundreds of years can be an incredible resource whether you intend to make it historic or not. When I visit the Cape I take hundreds of photos. The houses are spectacular. For instance, the front facade is often taller so the cornice is higher than the second floor like this modern Cape in VT. The transom light above the door is one of the most characteristic features of a Cape. But these old houses were framed wth a version of post and beams with continuous wall framing so raising the cornice in a modern version can be more expensive. Here are some interesting Cape photos: historic Bow roof in Chatham
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For the the yews that block the stone at the corner, I'd think about transplanting them elsewhere on your property and installing a different variety of yew in that spot, one with a more low, horizontal growth pattern. (There are MANY varieties of yews available if you find the right nursery!) The plants you have now seem to be the more upright type so you will have to continually fight with them in that location. Once you have exposed the stone, your color decision should be easier. I love that old photo, with the blue-gray contrasting with the yellow brick. But now that I look more closely, do I see the same stonework under the front window on the driveway side? If so, I'd keep the upright yew closest to the driveway to anchor things and do the same transplant replace as I mentioned above for the corner. Finally, I share your feeling about the mullions. Many people hated those old metal casement windows and couldn't wait to be rid of them, as they were leaky and prone to rusting, etc. (I recall my mother long ago refusing to buy a house with that kind of window!) But I wonder if there might be a way to add mullions to the windows you have? When we replaced our windows, which were the typical double hung wood sashes with 6 over 6 mullions, I was shocked to see that for many new vinyl windows the mullions were simply a grid that was added on to the windows after manufacture, while for others the grid is embedded between the glass. It might be worth some exploration to see if the add-on could be an option for you to make your house look happier!
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madeyna
10 years ago
I would bring the landscaping out to the driveway in a soft curve. I would add cement planters on the deck with some vertical evergreen and frame out those dormer windows. If you trim those upperwindows I would paint them and the rest of the trim a nice deep plum or deep wine.
joaniepoanie
10 years ago
Most of what everyone already said.....trim out the dormers, curve the landscaping in front of the walk out to driveway, slate or flagstone, etc for porch, steps, walk, add planters to porch. I Ike idea of painting trim in burgundy, except for garage door. If garage door is in good shape, leave it but paint trim around it to match door and siding, keeping door same color as siding as well. You want the garage door to blend in, making the entry/front door the focal point.

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