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Design Dilemma entry Exterior

Back the front house......

NoClueAboutInteriorDesign Davies

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Hi there,

Our 30 year old house is now back-the-front (after subdividing) and we now have to make the back of the house look like the front ...... The double window on the right is currently a storeroom which will become the entrance - but I'm just not sure how to make that look inviting so people won't park right out the front of the door....... all the pipes, gas cylinders and hot water system (and green bucket!) etc will all be moved. We're on an acre block and the grey cement is the driveway from the top of the street. Any pictures/comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated - particularly pictures as I'm definitely a visual person! Thanks in advance!!

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Comments (5)

tatts
6 years ago
What? I can't follow that.

"after subdividing" what?

What is "an acre block"?

The driveway from the top of the street?

Clarity is needed--and probably more pics of the area.
PRO
Bear Creek Enterprises
6 years ago
Do you have a picture that shows the whole house? It is hard to get perspective on the house while seeing only one corner.
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There is nothing wrong about the plan to change the house entry and possibly add a detached garage. In fact, moving the main entry to the back sounds like the only sensible approach for your particular situation. While you should be careful not to overimprove your house for its neighborhood, that advice applies to all homeowners and all properties. Some people will always object to a house backing to a busy road and that is OK. A wise real estate agent once told me that I should not assume that my objections to a property were shared by all buyers. One house I thought would be hard to sell, because of its location on a major street just a few houses from a stoplight, was bought by someone who found the location convenient and liked the easy access. Just treat the most obvious aspects of the house as a feature - easy access to main road, dead end street, and plenty of parking. Sounds like that might appeal to someone who wants to run a home business...hair dresser, music lessons, counselor, craftsman, online sales or some other choice. Anyone who might be in a profession where they get called out at odd hours or in poor weather might want a practical house in a convenient spot. I would suggest that if you build a detached garage, make it a desirable feature with extra depth, good lighting and extra access doors so it could be used as an office or workshop, not just a bare minimum garage.
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jmm1837
6 years ago
I think/think the OP is saying that they sold off a chunk of land in front of their house, so lost their front access to the street they were facing, with the result that their street access is now via the back entry and drive to the street behind the house. (An acre "block" is an acre lot, at least here in Australia).

OP - is that your carport over to the right? If so, I'd be inclined to take out a lot of that concrete in front of the house as a start. Putting in turf and a sidewalk to the new front door would change the look quite a bit.
NoClueAboutInteriorDesign Davies
Original Author
6 years ago
Oh my goodness! Yes, sorry - much more detail is needed. When we bought the house it had been subdivided from 20 acres (yes, we're in Australia) into a one acre lot - @jmm1837 is right. We unfortunately can't take out the concrete as we had draining issues and had to re-slope all the water away from the house...... And yes, the driveway is from the top of the street. I'll upload a photo this afternoon for more clarity...... thanks for your comments.....
tatts
6 years ago
Ahhh...two more countries divided by a common language, right?

An aunt and uncle of mine had a house in Connecticut that was built before 1660. In the intervening 350 years, the road was moved from one side of the house to the other. The core of the house is 3 back-to-back fireplaces in a triangle, but with the move of the road, the kitchen and living room flipped. So the current living room has the cooking fireplace with beehive oven in it. But--there is no 'front door' after all this time; the main entrances are on the ends (sides) of that house (one adjacent to the living room). And both doors are old Dutch doors. I love Dutch doors.

So...done right, the main entrance doesn't necessarily have to be on the front.

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