Improve Curb Appeal of My Existing Home
I'm about to enter into a renovation of my exisitng Arlington, VA home. I will be bumping out the rear of the house with a basement/1st floor addition to expand the kitchen and basement. We will be excavating the basement level beneath the 1st floor kitchen bumpout. At the same time I want to improve the curbside appeal of my home. I've talked to a number of architects and design builders, but have unfortunately not gotten a lot of feedback on imporving the front of the house. If anyone has any ideas on ways to improve things, I'm all ears. I had suggested a few items to some of the architects I'd spoken with so far. And I've included them here as a starter list for feedback. But please share any comments or ideas that are outside of this preliminary list below. I do appreciate the help!
1. Painting the brick: I know it's a drastic step, but I didn't know if either painting the brick white or painting it with a "white wash" effect would be an attractive option. And then painting the off white/cream trim and porch railing to match. The brick is very spotty and a bit unattractive in my opinion, especially when compared to the other brick houses on the block which have very deep red (and consistent) brick. If anyone has other colors to consider as well, please share.
2. Boxing out the columns to give the house a slightly more modern or craftsmen look. I'm not great with the terminology, but surrounding the two brick columns with a finished looking non-brick rectangular column might improve things a bit. Can anyone recommend a good way to accomplish this look? Or tell me it's a terrible idea! :)
3. New stairwell off the center of the porch. We currently have a side entrance to the porch, and I want to improve that with new stone and an entrance to a new driveway structure. So I don't really need a new stairwell there, but I've seen other similar houses with these stairwells and it makes things look a lot nicer. So I was considering that. The front yard is small, so a stair, paired with a stone patch to the street would cut into the yard space and landscaping, so that's another thing to consider.
4. Windows: Current windows are wood frames and basically nailed shut. I can't open them easily. Was thinking of new windows on the front (possibly to match the new addition windows) there and possibly shutters. Would shutters work in this scenario? Shoudl I match the 2nd floor windows?
5. Entry Door: Was going to replace the entry door and add a nice glass storm door.
6. Ceiling Fans: Was thinking of adding two ceiling fans, as the ceiling of the front porch is a nice, dark ridged wood finish.
7. Driveway/side porch entrance: The existing black asphalt driveway is old and is coming apart. I was thinking of two possible options: (1) Pavers or (2) just white asphalt, which I assume would be cheaper. Does white asphalt stain and/or age quickly/badly? I've seen some newish ones that look great, but wasn't sure how they aged. I'd like to have some kind of stone that connects the driveway to the side (or new front - see #3 above) porch steps. Any ideas there on how best to achieve that?
8. Replace the ugly current concrete porch base (painted green) with some kind of faux wood flooring/topping material. Would that be a good idea? Or is there a better way to improve the look there? These ideas are probably just the tip of the iceberg.
My hope here is to have people weigh in with creative ideas I either hadn't thought of, or I hadn't heard from any of the design professionals who had been by the house. I've included pictures below. And again, I do appreciate the help! Thanks so much!!!
Comments (12)
ilovecomputers
5 years agoGeorge Holzbach
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Suggestion please - how to improve curb appeal of my NJ coastal home
Comments (6)You have a great house. I love your front porch. New landscaping will add tremendous curb appeal. Right now the big bushes in front of your home don't say "Welcome Home" they look more like a barrier. Dig Doug has posted a more modern landscaping design. You can also meet with a local landscape designer to work out a plan that you can implement over time. I would remove all the shutters. Your windows are too large for those size shutters especially the picture window to the left of the front door. But even the double windows are too large for those small shutters. I think your home will look much better without any shutters at all. Here is a brief article on shutters Shutters vs Shudders I'll see if I can find an insp pic that suits your home....See MoreHelp me improve curb appeal and update the look of house
Comments (29)Like the concrete bird bath. Birds will like it more in the middle of your front yard. Like the windmill, too. Perhaps you could level up spots for each of them. On the side of the house, you could extend the existing roof with the same slope enough to cover the side stoop and create a smaller side facing gable over the side door. Add to your front porch (treated 1"x6" rounded edged deck board floor), extending it from the current stoop all the way to the right end of the house plus the additional width of your side deck. Use a shed roof with a small forward facing gable over the front door. By connecting the two porches, you end up with a wrap around porch. Add a treated wood railing, leaving an opening directly across from the front door; also, leave an opening in the railing of the side part of the porch facing the back yard. You've now defined which is your front door and which is your back door. Front porch should be at least 6' deep to allow chairs to be set against the exterior wall of the home and still have room to walk by the rail in front of the chairs. Now do your landscaping to direct visitors from the driveway to your front entrance. By creating a sidewalk that begins with a short straight walk toward the road at the front of the house before curving it toward the driveway, you'll create a planting area between your porch and the walk. If you're in pn planting Zone 7, I'd suggest aucuba bushes -- they keep their leaves and are attractive all year. There are plastic elbows you can attach to the end of your downspout and flexible pipe you can connect to that and bury in the ground -- or at least lay a length of it on the ground beneath your newporch to have the water run out beyond your porch to get the rainwater farther away from your house,...See MoreHow can I improve the “curb appeal” of my water front home?
Comments (4)The tiny “prison window” is in the bathroom. On either side are bedrooms and the only wall for a bed. Considering adding 2 windows on either side of the existing window but seems like a lot of money for exterior appeal? All rooms get a lot of natural light already....See MoreNeed help improving curb appeal for my dark brick home
Comments (8)I agree the brick is fine but the shutters need to go. I actually think the current siding color with the roof and brick is nice. Garage door should be the same color to pull focus away from it. You want more focus at your front door/entry area. At some point you might think about a garage door with windows across the top. That can add interest and help break up the "wall." Larger light fixtures for the garage and front door would be nice. As gardengal suggested, beef up the posts and maybe the same for the window trim once the shutters are gone. Though this is an entirely different house, it gives you an idea of how the sage green gardengal mentioned could work with brown brick (or stone, in this example)....See Moreilovecomputers
5 years agoBrick: I think your brick is very attractive; I would not paint it. I do think the railing would look better if painted black or dark green.
Landscape: Your pictures are very dark--is that a Japanese maple in the front of the house in the flower bed? Those shrubs might look better if they were shaped. Flowering shrubs and annuals would be an improvement, too. Not the time of year, I know. Paging Dig Doug's Designs! He has terrific ideas. I am not sure how much room you have on the right side, but I think an arbor would look really nice over there or in the front of your house with some climbing roses or other vines like clematis.
Windows: I am not a professional, but I think your mini blinds do not go with the style of your home. Sheers or lace curtains would seem to look better. If you can't open your windows because they are nailed shut, it's time to think about new windows.
I know you hate your brick and think your house is unattractive, but I don't think it looks that bad. This is the time of year when flowers fade and leaves fall. In my area, it seems cloudy and/or rainy/snowy all the time. Can't wait to see what you do with the place. Good luck!
George Holzbach thanked ilovecomputers- George Holzbach thanked housegal200
George Holzbach
5 years agoGeorge Holzbach
5 years agocat_ky
5 years agosheepla
5 years ago
housegal200