Awful house exterior - help!
audreydogalus
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
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houssaon
3 years agoPatricia Colwell Consulting
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Why is red brick "awful"??? Does awful mean outdated?
Comments (45)I am going to get on my design high horse and probably offend some people who personalize discussions about design theory, because I am good at annoying people in this way. First, I think almost anybody who buys a post war house in almost any part of the country that was not built as a completely custom house is probably going to end up with a lot of choices in houses that include a patch of brick or stone on the front facade and plain siding or plainer brick on the rest. Almost anybody who builds a new house in a development or subdivision or home owner's association is not only going to face the same, thing, but in addition are not going to be allowed to leave the stone or brick accent off even if they want to. The element that was originally used as a budget cutting device is now "important" to the design and consistency of the entire development. The consistency of materials of the individual house is no longer important, but the inconsistency of materials and how they are used must be consistent throughout the neighborhood. The building a house forum is full of questions about how to tack the stone or brick onto the front of their houses even if they don't want it because the guidelines say the house must be 10% stone and 30% brick on the facade. Second, I don't think there is anything the matter with vinyl siding. I don't think there is anything the matter with any particular building material. Frank Lloyd Wright built beautiful houses out of concrete block. There's nothing the matter with building a plain rectangular house with plain modest materials that go all away around the house and calling it done. But as a culture we have been convinced that this is cheap looking somehow. But if its three sides of a rectangle with a convoluted elevation on the front including three or four different building materials, it's "pretty". Third, if you are building a custom or semi custom house, why not build something that you can afford to finish the same on all four sides? We are also in a culture where people are pressured into feeling it's necessary to take everything to a level that we can just barely afford it. And who is that impressing? Some random stranger may be impressed by your house driving by, but what about the people who get inside, and see that there's barely any furniture, and many of the rooms are cheaply detailed drywall boxes. I understand if you live in a HCOLA that it is easy to be house poor, but whats the point of a 4000 square foot house when you are entertaining people on card tables. Sheer volume isn't everything. Should you apologize to friends because the back of your house is vinyl? I dunno, but think about where you are putting friends and family. There is this fancy facade out front that no one ever spends any time in front of. They are escorted to the back yard. There are $1M townhouses here that have stone and brick facades with genuine copper bays and details on the front. The end unit has plain stucco on the side that faces a side streets. The backs are vinyl siding (you can easily see all three materials together.) So some stranger sees the fancy front of the house where the real friends are taken out back where they sit on crudely built pressure treated decks next to vinyl siding with all sorts of PVC pipes and vents and such sticking out all over with no concerns about esthetics, or quality, and it's all right at eye level. As a culture, maybe we should apologize....See MoreExterior color Dilemma. New Home. Need help w/ Exterior color!
Comments (2)I think a light grey would look very smart - white trim. Be sure to paint the garage door the same color as the house to help it disappear....See MoreExterior help! Looking to improve the exterior of home (porch, etc)
Comments (7)Bright green trim needs to GO!!! I am thinking dark Grey trim and a rust red or blue for the door? Adding shutters would look nice too (painted grey or the door color?) The trim on the garage unit should also match the house. Spend the rest on some landscaping or making the fence between the garage and the house look better (paint?)....See MorePlease help me update my rental home’s exterior!
Comments (17)I also vote no shutters. Please don‘t take what I’m about to say the wrong way : ) ... Yes your home is old, and all the other homes in your area may have shutters....however your home was never designed to have shutters. You can tell by the placement and design of the windows. While shutters can act as eyebrows for your windows, the original purpose was to “shutt”. If visually you can’t shut and open the shutters it will look off, and therefore, wrong. Bellow I illustrated what your shutters would need to look like if they propperly fit your windows: See what I mean. Every shutter needs a window, but not every window needs a shutter. Your home won’t look “off” without them, they will look right. Your windows on your first level are wood, leaded, and original- let those shine! Now, as far as trim and door color...I’m pegging you home between 1910-1920....possibly early 1930?? When choosing trim and door color, go historic. I went and did some quick research for you on archive.org. You can also find historic colors at any local paint store. If you design your homes exterior in the era it was intended, it will never look dated. Yes, many of these colors seem bright (not everything was pastel back then as we usually think...) Also remember that your colors will be outside, bleached from the sun. Always go darker and more colorful than you think. Choosing your color outside will help :) 1920 https://archive.org/details/TheMuraloCompanyInc.C1920 1910 https://archive.org/details/RuekelBestQualityMixedPaint 1930 This one is for galvanized iron, but it could still easily be applied to your door and trim. https://archive.org/details/GalvanumForGalvanizedIronTheOneOutstandingPaintNotedForItsAbility Here are two examples of historic homes with proper color pallets, see how they come to life! Notice while this home from 1929 has shutters, visually they can all close. Hope that helps, and good luck!...See Moreaudreydogalus
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoflopsycat1
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoaudreydogalus
3 years agoaudreydogalus
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoSue Hughes Zone 6b in Pittsburgh
3 years agoSherry8aNorthAL
3 years ago
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audreydogalusOriginal Author