Front of house needs sprucing up!
Greg P
5 years ago
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apple_pie_order
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Front & Exterior Spruce Up help needed
Comments (14)Around here, the only summer “cottages” with stone or brick work are actually lakeside mansions. The actual cottage sized summer places like yours are clapboard or shingled with the only masonry being perhaps a brick chimney. So I think adding stone or brick would actually make it look more suburban and reduce the cottage vibe. Landscaping shouldn’t be fussy, with a tree off each side of the house to frame it from the road side. Beds in front should be at least 5’-6’ deep with either undyed mulch or a groundcover dense enough to suppress weeds. There should be only a very few types of relatively easy care plants such as shrubs that flower during the time you will be visiting, unless you plan to live here for long periods of time in the summer and don’t mind puttering in the garden. Around here, spirea, smaller red-twigged dogwoods, and panicled hydrangeas like Little Lime would work well. An untended flower garden advertises that no one is currently living there full time, but there are a few easy care perennials that could be tended just on weekends. Perhaps a few large pots with Geraniums or another annual that doesn’t mind occasional dry soil to provide some cheerful color on the deck out back, but on that side of the house, you want the lake view to be the star and so I would generally keep it simple....See MoreThoughts on Paint Color and sprucing up the front of our house.
Comments (18)Thank you all for your suggestions. Love the posts but the modifications they would entail are way out of budget. I will take yarvaarks drawing to the nursery when the time comes and try to incorporate her ideas with something that will work with our western exposure and winter climate. We have gotten quotes for paint and walk replacement and that will be where the bulk of our budget will go. The front gable will be resided in the same cedar shakes as the house and painted the same color as the body of the house. The shutters will be replaced with a panel style The house will be painted with SW Duration. The tentative colors are: The body of the house SW Hardware The doors SW Copper Wire. The trim white. The shutters and black. The walks will be Thechnobloc blue 60. Chaplain Grey Yes we are keeping the shutters (but not on the bay window) the vast majority or houses similar to ours in our area have shutters and the house will bare without them....See MoreNeed Help with Shutters and Sprucing Up Exterior of Tri-Level House
Comments (16)Thank you everyone for your comments! Some things I hadn't even thought of! This house had absolutely no curb appeal when we bought it and we don't like the muted "blah" colors. I'm also not a fan of shutters, but every single house in our neighborhood has them. It wasn't until we went inside the house that we absolutely loved it. We knew we had to do something with the exterior, just didn't know what. Eventually we'd like to paint all the siding and brick, but for this year just looking to change some minor things like shutters, replace columns, front door, landscaping, etc. So many great ideas; this is a great starting point for us to tackle this Spring. Thank you again!...See MoreNeed help sprucing up the front of my house
Comments (5)I agree that the house would look better without shutters. When you remove the ramp, widen the stairs so they're the full width of the area between the posts. Beef up the posts to 6x6 and paint it all white. Add pretty hanging baskets on each post. Pick a pretty blue color for the front door and paint it, along with the screen door the same color. Definitely add larger lights that face down. A pretty lantern style would work well. Paint the downspouts yellow to match the house. I wouldn't add a parking pad-it will look to heavy and ruin the symmetry the house has. I love Cape Cod houses-I lived in one for 26 years. Congratulations on your new house!...See MoreCDR Design, LLC
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5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoYardvaark
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5 years ago
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