HELP!!! Ugly 1950's Exterior Lava Rock and Brick. Need Advice!
5 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (23)
- 5 years ago
Related Discussions
Need 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 MoreIs painting ugly brick ok?! (Pics)
Comments (46)Wow everyone, thanks for the input and the compliments, we are at that stage where we are just tired of remodeling, even though we are in the home stretch, so it's really nice to have positive feedback! Suero and Justgotabme, I really am liking the idea of the pergola it's something I hadn't really considered before. Thanks Suero for trying the cedar shakes on the gable ends, I'm sure it didn't do much since it just accentuates the low slung roofline and that's something we'd like to down play. Oceanna I completely understand what you are saying about painting. We do have a really good painter who has done work for us for years and is very reasonable so I could ask him what he would charge. Scoobyruby I hadn't thought about natural wood like cedar, I may have to think about that one, if we don't choose to paint the brick it could be really complimentary to the tones of the brick, but less cottage like I would guess. Socks and Megsy it's good to know that we don't *have* to paint the brick since it appears that people on here don't hate it, which is great. I do think better landscaping and shutters would go a long way in making things look better. I had to laugh at the white shutter/white sock analogy, we think they look like white socks too! :-) Kitchenkelly, I have long admired your kitchen and your photos of your backyard so your compliment really made me smile! One of the best parts of my job as a writer is that I've been privileged to write about some amazing homes, both large and small so I've been filing away ideas for a long time now. My husband loves my job and hates it all at the same time. I do a lot of designer and renovation homes so I come home and say things like "hey we can take that wall down!" When he gives me the "no we can't" look, I simply say, sure we can I've seen it done! I'm amazed each time I do a renovation story, I've found over the years that most of the time it's the homeowners with the vision. Few, if any, of the homes I've covered used high powered design or architectural firms to create their dream homes, most of them, like me, have just had a picture in their heads that they are lucky enough to make into a reality! I'm not knocking either designers or architects, if my MIL hadn't had either she would still be trying to make decisions and with their help she and my FIL have a lovely home! And like it has been said before, good architectural plans can often save you money and give you a more sound structure in the end. My husband has been playing around all day with Photoshop Elements to try and color the house, we just need to figure out how to import BM or SW paint colors, so far all he's been able to apply are crayola primary colors lol! Kat :)...See MoreWant to paint ugly brick fireplace
Comments (69)mdln Your fireplace looks great. MagdalenaLee Great photoshop. Thanks so much. It is exactly what I want it to look like, except for the color. I am wanting a light gray. Hoping to put black marble on top of the hearth someday. Almost found what I needed at Habitat restore the other day, except it was 1 inch to short. Depth was perfect. I already have a black throw to put on the chair. Most the time it is off, because, the little ones love to sit in there, and it usually ends up on the floor. GreenHavenGarden Your fireplace looks really nice. Hope you enjoy it a lot. Annie, I have looked at the Dye brick site, and it is in consideration to find a stain rather than a paint. I didnt see any gray on the site, but, a friend told me that concrete stain would work the same way and it can be bought at Home Depot, so next time, I am in the city, will check that out too. nosoccermom, I did look over that link. Not seeing much with walnut stained trim. I do not want to paint this trim. I have painted every square inch of trim, in this house except the kitchen, and dining room, since they were the only ones that were still original. When we bought the house the rest of the trim was all painted white. I dislike white trim a lot, so it had to go almost immediately. I find it all a bit sad, that when we moved here, there was a 24 inch doorway to the 12x20 ft living room (small compared to all other rooms in this house), off the kitchen, but, the original owners had the stone mason put in a 7 ft long stone FAKE fireplace in the living room that matched the stone on the house. It had a very pretty well done mantle too. Attached to it, was an 8 ft long cabinet, that was also well done. There is another door on the opposite side of the living room to the back hallway, and double doors for a closet, and the front door, plus a large picture window with side windows, so there was absolutely no place for furniture, so for almost 5 yrs, all my living room furniture was just piled in there gathering dust, and the door was shut, and no way to use it. Last year, grandson in law, tore out both the fake fireplace and the cabinet, and closed up the 24 inch doorway, and put a new doorway on the dining room side that is 4 ft wide. I now have room for my couch and chairs, and my big oriental cabinets, and tv. The sad part is that they put so much thought into the fake stone fireplace, and no thought at all to the ugly brick one in the dining room. Oh and for those of you still reading this, I did spend most of the morning today out in the shop (nice cool morning) and I have the new top for the built in on the left all cut, except for 2 notches, and I do have a new mantle top all cut, and ready for sanding. I havent decided yet, just how much I want to add to the mantle, and of course, cant put it on until I decide what to do with the fireplace. Thanks all for your time, and your ideas. :-))...See MoreCurb Appeal help for 1950's brick ranch
Comments (33)Wow thank you all for the awesome feedback! So far I think my favorite ideas are darker roof, darker shutters on just the two smaller windows (removing them on the picture window), stained garage door, staining our original door a bit darker, and maybe a portico style that has the open rafter look with a shallower peak (larger than a 90 degree angle). We definitely need a path to the driveway and not the street, as our subdivision has no sidewalks. I would love to see some landscaping ideas with more grasses and smaller shrubs, as I think anything too big swallows up the house. Thank you all again, these visuals and ideas are so helpful! Oh, and I would love to see the trim color a bit darker, maybe pulling a grey color from the stone-work. What do you all think?...See MoreRelated Professionals
Winnetka Painters · Summit Painters · Shady Hills Painters · Brandon Flooring Contractors · Fishers Flooring Contractors · Poughkeepsie Flooring Contractors · Crofton Furniture & Accessories · Abington General Contractors · Cedar Hill General Contractors · Valley Stream General Contractors · Brunswick Siding & Exteriors · Elizabeth Siding & Exteriors · Lodi Home Builders · Dunedin General Contractors · Statesboro General Contractors- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
Related Stories

EXTERIORSHelp! What Color Should I Paint My House Exterior?
Real homeowners get real help in choosing paint palettes. Bonus: 3 tips for everyone on picking exterior colors
Full Story
PATIOSLandscape Paving 101: How to Use Brick for Your Path or Patio
Brick paving is classy, timeless and a natural building material. Here are some pros and cons to help you decide if it’s right for your yard
Full Story
EXTERIORS5 Easy Tips for Choosing Your Exterior Paint Palette
Make your home the talk of the neighborhood — in a good way — with an exterior paint scheme that pops
Full Story
EXTERIOR COLORExterior Color of the Week: 7 Ways With Warm Gray
See why this hue can be the perfect neutral for any house
Full Story
HOUZZ TOURSMy Houzz: Saturated Colors Help a 1920s Fixer-Upper Flourish
Bright paint and cheerful patterns give this Spanish-style Los Angeles home a thriving new personality
Full Story
ROOTS OF STYLEDesign Through the Decades: The 1950s
Travel back to when the fun colors, clean lines and glass walls of midcentury modern style were fresh and new
Full Story
DECORATING GUIDESWhat You Need to Know Before Painting Brick
Sure, painted brick can be a great look. But you need to take some risks into account. Here's how to paint brick like a pro
Full Story
DECORATING GUIDES10 Design Tips Learned From the Worst Advice Ever
If these Houzzers’ tales don’t bolster the courage of your design convictions, nothing will
Full Story
EXTERIORS8 Homes With Exterior Paint Colors Done Right
Get ideas for an exterior palette from these homes that run the gamut from Mediterranean to modern
Full Story
Jackie COriginal Author