main level

This post was edited by jmr5 on Wed, Jan 28, 15 at 4:56

upper

This post was edited by jmr5 on Wed, Jan 28, 15 at 4:57

basement

This post was edited by jmr5 on Wed, Jan 28, 15 at 4:55

What advice has your archtect given you in response to your concerns that you've expressed to him?

My advice will sound harsh but it is given in the spirit of architectural criticism, referred to in design school as a "crit" which is intended to cut to the important issues often at the expense of the designer's feelings.

Your designer appears to have fallen into the currently fashionable idea that a house can be made more interesting by arbitrarily pushing and pulling random facade elements in and out, changing materials, popping out windows and doors and tying it together with a big roof. The high waisted masonry base further detracts from the design by creating the illusion that the heavy roof element has caused the house to sink into the foundation.

The requirement of developments for a house facade to have a certain percentage of masonry is ridiculous and creates a serious obstacle to good house design. I recommend putting the masonry on only one major element rather than scattering it across the facade.

This house configuration doesn't seem to lend itself to the architectural styles you mention. You might try an informal version of Colonial Revival or Shingle Style designs.

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I don't think the exterior looks that bad...I'd get rid of the stone water line...keep the gables stoned if you wish. See about adding overhangs to make the rooflines more interesting. The rest can be handled with trim work. I gave our architect free rein when it came to trim work...I really like what he did. All of our trim is azek so no maintenance. Also the window style is important...

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I am not understanding how the stairs work in this house. Why are they all over the place?

From L to R:
Get rid the bumpout-within-a-bumpout of the gabled bay window seat. If you must keep it, drop the roofline so the eaves are even with the top of the window. It reduces the amount of stone revealed in the gable to a silly little strip. Better yet, lower the eave line AND make the roof copper similar to the one on the opposite end. Or make it "timberwork" to match the door porch.
The door porch; the round arch of timbers framing the prospect of a flat arched door frame cannot stand as is. The stark, blank gable above it is wrong. Drop the entire porch roof height by a foot or more. Keep the timber arch close to where it is now (height-wise) The arched timbers become the exposed front framing of the gable. The arch is cut out of wide timbers anyway; material can be left on the roof side so they also perform as rafters. This means an exposed timber frame cath. ceiling on the porch, and an open arched gable framing the door. Hopefully you can fit a full round arch in the transom, even if that means a palladian composition (arch narrower than what you currently have)
The garage bumpout box bay: Lower that roofline; the widest band of stucco at the top makes it top-heavy.
Windows: casements are fine, I guess, but please extend them down to your stone belt course, the bands of stucco under them really break up the flow and attract attention.
Casey

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. I appreciate the very frank responses. This is exactly what I was hoping for. My husband and I plan to take time tonight to really get into all of the details of your suggestions. A few responses to the easy questions that I can answer quickly:

dekeoboe- There are separate staircases that lead to the basement and upper floor.

renovator8: I agree with you 100% on the popping out of the facade, waterline masonry, and the heavy roof. A lot of house being built in the area right now seem to fall into this trap. We plan on using masonry as you suggested, on one area. I also don't like the rules, but we knew about them when we bought and decided we could deal with it. I guess there is no shed dormer off the bedroom in the attic- we would like to see if that smaller dormer could be made into something larger like a shed dormer.

Anne: your house is very pretty. I love that stone.

Casey: I had not even noticed the arch above the entry, because I was looking at everything else. I actually prefer flat. And I see there is something missing there as well.

Honestly, we have not been able to articulate well what we want and your suggestions have helped at least me be able to put words to my thoughts. Thanks again for taking the time to comment.

This post was edited by jmr5 on Wed, Jan 28, 15 at 18:10

I agree with the others that there are definitely some problems, but none that can't be remedied. While I don't know your lifestyle, family, location- anything really- I attempted to fix what you provided. The exterior is a bit bland, I admit, but its a starting point. Maybe these can help you.

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This post was edited by nicke360 on Thu, Jan 29, 15 at 4:07

When I look at the front elevation, I'm so distracted by the "in your face" effort to create symmetry that I totally miss where the heck the front door is located.

If it were my choice, I'd eliminate as many of the fru-fru extras in the roof mass as I possibly could and make it as clean and simple as possible, add a nice front porch area to frame and present the front door, and maybe consider an eyebrow dormer instead of a traditional gable dormer to provide some interest and dimension to the roof and to supply you with your Craftsman detail and your husband with something less angle-y. You can carry the soft sweep of the eyebrow dormer through to the rest of the facade details by using surface details like millwork or subtle arches on the front porch.

If you must include brick, maybe look to use bricks that aren't the usual "I WAS FIRED A WEEK AGO AND JUST GOT PUT INTO A WALL, Y'ALL" screamers. Look into bricks that offer weathered edges and muted tans, grays, or soft whites to create a facade that looks like it's been around a while and won't distract the eye from appreciating the bigger picture.

I am amazed by the suggestions I am getting from all of you. I've been stalking for a long time before finally posting, so really I shouldn't be since I have seen what great advice has been given here.

homesweethome- The symmetry is something that was bothering us quite a bit. I said "asymmetrical angles" earlier in a post. I guess I was meaning that we didn't want too much symmetry. Also, we like the look of having, for lack of better description, triangles, squares, and rectangles. And even the angles of the gables that might not be the same degree on every one. We plan on using a stone facade. I like the larger and rounder style stone.

nicke360- You seemed to see things that have been bothering me with the floorpan and just fixed them. I was feeling like the mudroom area was a waste of space. In a much earlier design, it was a better fit. I wanted an enclosed old school style coat closet. So I can just shut the door if I need to. I was also thinking of having a utility closet in the entry area from the garage and a separate, possibly vented, sports equipment closet. But I think what you have given me is a great jumping off point! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the laundry room connecting to the master closet. I would like a desk area in the kitchen/living for the family computer to go, and a place the kids can work on homework or I can work on bills. Any suggestions on that?
The thing inside I am having the biggest problem visualizing is the finished attic space. We want to use floor trusses, and I think that will not make it an actual two-story. Am I correct? I know there will be sloping ceilings and knee walls. I am very ok with that. I like the look and we are not tall people. I don't know how much space up there is actually useable. Thank you for your ideas. Very refreshing. How do I tell what walls will be like regular walls, and which will be knee walls?

I will give you a little background. (knew i forgot something)
We live in central Utah. We have 2 boys and 1 daughter. Elementary age. The daughter will be getting the attic bedroom. We have jokingly been calling it her "princess suite" -My husband thinks she might not move right up there though. Luckily we have the guest bedroom she can use for a while if she's not wanting to be alone on a floor. The extra living space up there has no real identity yet. Except for the craft room. That's one of my splurges. The boys want to share the large basement bedroom. And when that gets old for them, there is the extra one down there. The laundry space in the basement is just me looking ahead and getting the plumbing roughed in, even though we won't use it right away. The bathroom will be tailored to the boys, hence the urinal. I plan on having quite a bit of tile in that part of the bathroom for easy clean up. Storage: I need lots of storage. I tend to keep "stuff" and need a designated place to put it. I am trying to curb my hoarding ways, but I know my limitations as well. That is why I want useful areas on each level to have space so I can be organized. I also mentioned the sports equipment storage. We are a baseball family already and my husband is the coach, so we have more than the normal share of equipment that needs to be easily accessible on a regular basis. I guess the garage could probably handle that.
I thank you all again for a fresh perspective. A new set of eyes has helped me to see some changes that could be made for the better.

Hmmm...the attic space is always a pain in the rump. Have you maybe played around with using a gambrel roof to see if you like the look? I'm not talking about anything as wide as a barn gambrel - more of an English gambrel, with a small first peak and a tighter roof angle, similar to what you might find on top of a traditional house in the Hamptons of New York? A gambrel would give you lots more headroom and make the space feel more like a true second story, because the lower roof line becomes the walls of the space.

My explaining muscle sounds a bit sprained, lol. Here - have a gambrel or two, and I'll shut up!

Here is a link that might be useful: Gambrel Roof