Ideas for front facade - Center Hall Colonial. Portico? Paint?
I'm not a Center Hall Colonial kind of girl, but moved into this house a couple years ago. The question is how to improve the look. To me it looks blocky and flat not mention the same as every other house on the block.
We definitely need to replace the stone on the front step so I think now's the time to do a bit more as well.
We're considering 1) adding a small flat roof portico v. just removing the federalist molding over the door. 2) removing the faux stone finish below the bays, if the brick is in good shape underneath. 3) we need to repaint the metal roofs above the bays, so we could change the color there as well. 4) replace the lights.
I'd love to also replace the white metal flashing around the bay windows, with something to give it more depth, but the metal is doing its job keeping the rain out and would be expensive to replace. And in my ideal world, I'd paint or white wash the house, but I think the money is better spent elsewhere.
My husband wants a portico to keep package dry and I thought I wanted the portico, but now worry it might reduce light coming into the bays (northern exposure), and make the face look crowded.
Thoughts? Suggestions? I welcome any ideas!! Thanks!
Comments (8)
Beth Pilcher
3 years agoThis is our house when we bought it two years ago. The only picture I have but such a similar house. It has a different color scheme altogether, so it may give you some ideas.
ekara1968
3 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (18)Did the designers who came out charge you for the consultations? Did you tell them you did not want a symmetrical arrangement? If they came out for free and you picked their brains, and now plan to use their ideas and do it yourself, then you should either do it yourself, or hire one of them to spend more time on a more in-depth plan that takes into account your desire for a balanced but not mirror-image plan. If you paid a nominal fee for their time, you got what you paid for, an off-the-cuff design that is not ready to go. If you need to tweak the plant selection, you'll need to pay them extra, or use the free advice you get here, which may or may not be worth more than you're paying for it. The alternative is to study and learn on your own for a while, and then choose the plants when you know enough about them and about the principles of good design to pull it off. I'll give you a hint: you can balance the plantings from one side to the other by choosing a plant or group of plants with a similar visual weight to the ones opposite. However, the fact that some of the plants you mention will lose their foliage in winter, some won't, some will flower at certain times and others won't, will also affect the design differently at different times of the year....See Moreseeking porch/portico ideas
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Comments (54)I took a little road trip this weekend and happened to notice a fence that made me think of your post. It took some time finding what the style was called, but I think this is similar. It is not solid on the bottom, but has a second set of pickets that are so close together, nothing from the bad neighbors could blow through. And the advantage to the open pickets is a well aimed leaf blower will clear your side of the fence and will simultaneously blow their leaves away from your fence without you having to move off your property. I completely understand not wanting to access the fence or a hedge from their side. I have neighbors like that, too. Ugh! From what I can see it's called a puppy picket. I know this is taller than what you want, but this is the idea. Another example (I don't care for the top portion of this fence, but you can see the idea of the double pickets at the bottom, with more open pickets at the top). I am linking because the pic is large and I can't seem to reduce it. Here is a link that might be useful: puppy picket This post was edited by olychick on Wed, Nov 5, 14 at 11:17...See MoreRecessed area above our front door of our center hall colonial?
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3 years agofelizlady
3 years agoekara1968
3 years agoptreckel
3 years ago
grapefruit1_ar