I really dislike separate sections alternating between brick and stone scanning left to right as in the picture of the first home. The second picture is a little better but it looks strange the way the foundation stone has been carried up around the entry way. Stone sparsely used as trim has a more timeless and classic look. Here's some examples. All but the second picture are million dollar plus homes currently for sale in the Chicago area. The second picture is somewhere in the midwest from a limestone fabricator's project gallery. Stucco with a stone entry way, 1937: More recent, brick with Indiana limestone trim and entry way. Beautiful. Some more..... From 1930, looks like lannon stone exterior with smooth limestone trim around the windows and quoining . Beautiful wood entryway. 1955, all stone ground floor with siding on the second story and gable, smooth limestone window sills: This post was edited by DreamingoftheUP on Sat, Apr 12, 14 at 20:23

what a beautiful house! I'm all for painting brick, but not this one. it's gorgeous. it's your trim that needs painting, nothing else. right now it melts into the brick. there is no contrast the other main thing to do is pruning and landscaping. right now it's quite overgrown and messy looking. Hire someone to landscape, tidy it up and plant new, and hire a painter for the wood trim ONLY, posts and trim around windows A copper roof over the upstairs window would look amazing! (if yours is, then polish it!) look at the copper over this window...and the dark rust colored trim work. this is in Houston search Tudor brick homes to get ideas on what colors you like. drive around your neighborhood,,there must be other similar homes.

I'm perfectly happy with Floor and Decor, despite the accusations thrown at them here. You have to know the tile you are using (materials, variations, PEI, etc) no matter where you shop. We visited a much higher end tile store and were very put off by their unwillingness to help look for anything. Also, their prices were 30-40% higher for the same materials (I have the manufacturer and lots, I found some of the same in the nearby F&D). Plus, F&D is very good on their return policy for excess tile. It is very true at ANY tile store that the display boards may NOT reflect the current look of the tiles, especially for natural stone mosaics. We found a shaved pebble look we loved at the higher end store, but the colors were way off. The cashier admitted some of their boards were over two years old. As for the accent, perhaps it would work vertically with the shower controls and shower head centered in it, but an accent line around the shower is very limiting, and if you decide to, please follow the 2/3's rule of thumb.

"Traditional" residential architecture, which is truly architecture and not a McMansion or builder's tract development, is often regional. In other words, what may be "traditonal" in one area is not necessarily "traditonal" in another area. Another architectural term for this is "regional" or "regional vernacular", where commonly built homes vary by region and the architectural vernacular which is used. Regional vernacular may be characterized in a variety of ways. For example, materials. In much of Texas, for example, the native limestone is (or was before McMansions and tract developments) a common building material. Another example is form. The form of regional Texas houses tends to be 1-2 story, often rather rambling, houses and frequent use of overhanging and shaded porches on front and rear. Two story porches may also be common on historic houses. This "Texas vernacular" is far, far different than, say, the common vernacular in the New England region, where climate and weather encourage much more compact, multi-story houses, often without the outdoor living and shading devices so common in Texas. Climate and commonly available local building materials were often the two key influences which caused regional vernacular to vary region from region. The invention of airconditioning and the availability of common building materials across the country have largely doomed regional vernacular, especially as builders build large tracts of housing virtually identical in various parts of the country. A truly custom designed home, however, can easily be designed and built in a variety of regional vernaculars by talented and experienced architects and designers who have studied vernacular architecture sufficiently to be fluent in their design. And I will agree with an earlier comment that a Tudor style house on Texas ranch land is something of a misnomer, since "...the Tudor style movement is technically a revival of "English domestic architecture, specifically Medieval and post-Medieval styles from 1600-1700," says Peter Pennoyer, FAIA, of Peter Pennoyer Architects. Because these homes mimicked a style designed to weather colder climates with lots of rain and snow, they were best suited for the northern half of the United States, though they're popular in other areas of the country as well. These houses, with their myriad materials, solid masonry, elaborate forms, and decorations were expensive to build and mostly appeared in wealthy suburbs," Peter says. They were even nicknamed "Stockbroker's Tudors" in reference to owners who gained their wealth during the booming 1920s..." But if one likes the style, isn't concerned about the incongruity of one on a Texas ranch, and has the money to design and build properly..."go ahead on", as we say here.