what would you do to improve the exterior of our house?
Hi Houzzers, we are finally nearing the finish line of our front exterior renovation, which included ripping out dying grass, plants and ugly rock strip on front lawn area. Also removed the 70s faux stone, wood trim and shutters around front windows, replaced windows, and removed the weird siding above garage. And added lighting! We had it all stucco’d with a more neutral beige color. It was too yellow before. We’re working with a landscaper for the yard. in California zone 10a, and are going with a Mediterranean garden with a dry creek bed, boulders, white roses, lavender, sage, rosemary, some grasses, rock, and mulch.
We need to get the trim painted. I don’t like the reddish brown of the trim around the roof. And the lighter trim around garage and front door also needs painting. We are want to try to stain the brick on the driveway a dark brown. We hate it but can’t replace just yet.
So my questions are:
-what color would you paint the trim along the roof/gutters? Dark brown/bronze to match the gutters or a lighter color (darker beige, grey??
-what color would you paint the trim around the garage? Beige to match the house or something else?
-would you do anything to the garage doors? Replace or paint? Or leave as is? They are in good shape.
-would you add wood stained shutters to the front windows? Maybe matching our gate stain? I love how wood warms up a space. (See example photo)
-I want to get 2 tall-ish teal/blue pots for in front of the front porch area to add some color. Good idea? How tall?
Anything else that you can suggest or think of would be so appreciated!! And any mock ups would be awesome! Thank you!
Here are a few photos. 1 current (not yet ‘after‘ ;)) and 2 before. Plus one of shutter idea.
Comments (15)
littlebug zone 5 Missouri
3 years agoRelated Discussions
What would you do? Exterior House Remodel Ideas - Photoshop Help!
Comments (8)Is the sun on the front of the house a problem? I can see wanting a small portico or entry awning, but it's amazing how sleepy the house looked before and how awake it looks now. Regarding painted brick, I grew up in a house with white painted brick and no one ever complained about intolerable maintenance. The more unified front aspect could be a strong positive....See MoreWhat can I do to improve the home exterior with these windows?
Comments (4)getting a window and siding quote shouldn't be that hard. the indoor part patching the drywall can be done by a skilled handyman. you can probably remove the grills yourself and that would change things right away. I would also add cedar or cedar-looking shingles to the peaks to warm up the front. The problem in estimating what this will cost - it is incredibly regional. At this time, some parts of the country are booming and you just cannot get skilled help for smaller jobs....See Morewhat can we do to improve the exterior of our house?
Comments (21)you'd have to do some samples, but you could do a darker charcoal that leans toward brown. I do like the lime wash look, but your home is more mcm so I'd do a solid color. I would totally go with the med century vibe of your home and run with it. Unless you think a neutral charcoal color (like in the pics) would work w/your roof. look at this one! it's similar to yours. (notice the porch post size) This is more of a deep charcoal brown like some of the following shades. I'm loving the stone pathway, the light, and the 3 colors they used here. and here is one w/lighter brown tones (with that natural cedar/redwood accents). I put your home in this picture so you can imagine how these colors would look w/your home. so these are darker charcoal tones that lean on the brown side. (And don't forget, in bright sunlight darker colors will look lighter. But don't be afraid to do some testing samples too!) Black Fox is another one, but any of these other 4 on this palette could work: very dark charcoal, almost black, with bluer undertones. If it's possible to do the slat wood around your front door, on the porch area, I think it would look great love your door, your pendant and your address plaque! I'd think about bringing in a larger, more modern post where your downspout is. just look at the painted brick (Romabio) and the porch post. this look is a farmhouse Ranch, not the mcm of your home. this one has a metal roof too. notice the porch post. maybe do something like this in either a darker wood or a white. you can DIY it w/a vinyl wrap Or, look at how they did these posts. Perfect for the look of your house. Get a cool door knob like they have on their door! and notice the charcoal color vertical slats. also an idea.(I like this porch post for your home) this is also Romabio, but I wanted you to see how they did the flower bed. you could easily do this under your windows. low maintenance and an easy/cheap DIY You could also use the brown or black mulch if you can't do the pebble rock but the black mulch or pebble rock looks really cool, especially against the slat wood! this is so cool looking With your large windows in front, this would look really cool...See MoreImproving Curb Appeal - What would you do to improve curb appeal?
Comments (15)Shutters should appear to be operable, so they would need to be as wide as the window... so if closed, they would cover the window. So no shutters on your house. I agree with taking out the boxwood that have been butchered. If you take the bed all the way to the sidewalk, you need a pocket bed on the left side. Yes to learn more about pruning the Crepe Myrtle. Ever heard of Crepe Murder? It's a thing. LOL Honestly you don't even have to prune them. We had several over 30ft tall at our last house, but you don't want one too tall right next to the house. Having lived in the South all my life, I don't have a problem with the grass since we get rain. No idea where you live, but the grass looks healthy. Unless you want to spend every weekend gardening, or hire a gardener, I would not go to the extreme of removing the grass. If there room for a wooden bench on the front porch?...See More
suezbell
3 years agodonnatrus
3 years agodonnatrus
3 years agosuezbell
3 years agodonnatrus
3 years agodonnatrus
3 years ago
Sigrid
3 years agorochk
3 years ago
PROGlo Windows and Doors
3 years agoBefore you do anything else I would wait until your landscape is in. I don't think your home needs much and it has come so far! However, I definitely would not add shutters. I would darken the trim more so there is less of a red tone. If you paint the house I would darken the garage. If you don't paint the home I would leave it as is.
Kitch4me
3 years agodonnatrus
3 years agoThanks all!
Ok, so no shutters. Got it! 1 less project ;)And we are actually fog coating with that beige color stucco. No paint. I do love the mock up of the darker color! But I wanted a lighter color for hopefully keeping the house cooler. I would have loved off-white but afraid of looking dirty. I’m happy with the color. Need to get the other 3 sides fog coated now.
And I think I like the darker brown trim along the roofline too. Our windows are brown/bronze so I think that’s a nice compliment. But I’m still unsure about the trim around the garage and front doors. I like the idea of a lighter color (grey/green or a greige) there. Something that will compliment the house & the landscaping which will have all shades of green. And also my teal/turquoise pots (that I don’t have yet). I’m trying to get it to have a Mediterranean feel even though I know it’s not a Mediterranean style. ;)
But I’m having a hard time envisioning the grey/green or greige trim. Can anyone mock that up? Any other thoughts on the trim?
Here’s a pic of our front entry. It’s a work in progress! But you can see the trim. And clearly I need to tile the floor but we might extend it a bit. I’m thinking travertine. It was a very 70s dark brown time with flowers (?!?). We’re getting there!
Thanks all! Keep the ideas coming please :) Love them!
Greg Davis
3 years ago
Dig Doug's Designs