HELP!!! Ugly 1950's Exterior Lava Rock and Brick. Need Advice!
Jackie C
5 years ago
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decoenthusiaste
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Help with an ugly house.
Comments (45)Very nice house with tons and tons of potential!!! Congrats! I like the idea of painting the railing white, red door, black shutters; that's all I would do for now. I LOVE to garden and your house has sooo much potential. My suggestions are to educate yourself first, so take the next few months to read, ask questions and learn what you can do in your zone with gardening. You want a mix of perennials and evergreens so you get year round color. Hang out on some of the gardening forums, ask questions post pics, write down what you learn. Take the time to draw out your space, what you want for garden beds and then research plants for those areas - see paragraph below... Next fall, not this spring, go shopping with your ideas in hand. In the fall you will find savings of up to 70% which gives you a ton of bang for your buck. Hit local nurseries, not the big box stores because not only do you get savings and great plants, you get the expertise of what works and does not work for your area. Bring your drawings, get their recommendations. This past spring, we had a new area out back we wanted to deal with. One of our nurseries has a design center, we took pics and drawings, paid them, they gave us drawings and plant ideas with a gift certificate back with what we paid them to use on their plants. We used that GC in the fall and managed to get far more plants by being patient. If you have an idea on what plants work for you, look good together, you can use places like Bluestone Perennials to order from. Your plants will be smaller, but if you are patient, again you get more bang for your buck especially during their sales. Plants are smaller to begin with, but they grow quickly. If you opt for a flowering ornamental, be sure to get some sage advise on where to plant it. Something cute now can be threatening your home in a few years time. Take time to plan and you will be rewarded for your patience. Congrats again on your new home!!!...See MoreNeed Advice/help decorating 1960 Brick Ranch home
Comments (24)Ok - I'm back, and hoping to pick your brains once again... While at a thrift store this week I stumbled across a sofa for $75 and am seriously thinking of getting it for our new home. I have it on hold now, but am wanting some opinions as to whether you think it is a style that would look well in our new living room (and what is this style of sofa actually called, BTW?), and if so, what type of chairs, rug and draperies would best go with it? My brother is inheriting almost all of my Mom's living room furniture, so, other than a vintage Indian brass coffee table of hers, I will pretty much have a blank palette to start with in that area. The sofa is in almost pristine condition - just a little piping trim on the lower part coming loose, which I'm sure can be re-glued, and a very, very slight fading on the upper rear part of the back cushions, where the sun reached. I am assuming the good condition of the sofa is due to the fact that it apparently had a slipcover on it at some point - which also is in awesome condition and was included in the price of the sofa. The sofa is a greenish-yellow pattern. Here are a couple of pics of the sofa (please excuse the photo quality and that lump of fabric piled on the sofa, which actually is the extra slipcover.) And although this isn't the actual coffee table I might pair with it, it is practically identical: This post was edited by dianelu on Sat, Jun 29, 13 at 23:33...See MoreNew home need exterior help to spruce it up
Comments (32)I just really love those colors @Jess Whisner, the aqua door and the soft shades on the house, and they don't look like anyone else's house. I also think the green lawn color does very well with those. What might be tricky is getting the paint shades so they go together well, but a Benjamin Moore (or similar) store might be able to help you get a pretty combination. Do you have budget for more of a little porch and some wider steps, as in your sample photo? There'd be room for some bright hanging baskets, too. ******** On the shutter question.... There's no fact that legislates how you should/must/have to/couldn't possibly not do shutters on your home. Indeed, certain periods of American architecture do have a shuttered style like yours, and yours is entirely in keeping with the 1960's, whether the Architectural Digest or some designers on this forum like it or not. For an 18th century colonial home in New England, I'd want to do shutters that fit the windows, because that was functional and not merely decoration. These shutters kept wind and storms out because glass was much thinner, and there were no storm windows. That's my opinion, but it also is a matter of historical verisimilitude....See MoreHelp! 1950s ranch home lacks curb appeal and needs new paint
Comments (10)Agree with you that landscape needs a lot of attention. Looks like there is nothing now so you have a blank slate. Adding plants & changing the hardscape will make a dramatic difference in the look of your house. How wide is the area with white rock? Do you know what was there before rock went in? It looks like really wasted space now. No clue as to your location & weather but wondering if small scale pavers would work to create additional parking & would also widen the walkway to house. If there’s soil under the rock, maybe the front 1/4 of the length could be converted to planting bed for small evergreens to soften the whole expanse & create a soft barrier between paver parking & house. The pavers lining walkway on both sides look like trip hazard & I’d remove them so there’s level surface across entire expanse of driveway, rocked area & grass. Widen & increase size of planting beds on right side of house - remove the small brick circle planting areas. A wide curved planting bed across the entire front of house would make such a difference. Again, no location clues except the trees with no leaves so you may be in a place that has a ”real” winter. If so, it’s a good time to find a landscape designer & have plans drawn for spring planting. If you’re so inclined, planting can be DIY to control costs but well worth it to get professional design. Check your local nurseries for help. As for the house, I agee with @cat_ky - house & roof looks like needs a good cleaning. Maybe a creamy white - not bright white - for siding parts & trim around windows The storm door should match window trim - looks like it’s black. Love the blue door color. Where are house address numbers? Add them to right of front door - large numbers. Add a new & much larger porch light. Not black for either numbers or light - too harsh - maybe bronze?...See MoreJackie C
5 years agoAlison
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Jackie COriginal Author