What is it you like about the house?

I like simplicity. At least to my eyes it leans modern which may be totally not the case, LOL, and I like modern. Thus, I was wondering whether changing some elements like adding modern exterior lighting or other things would enhance that.

Not a designer here, but I do think your idea of modern exterior lighting could go a long way. Additionally, what are your thoughts on changing the color a bit? Right now the stucco (?) and the siding appear to blend. An accent color or some stonework could create some contrast unless you are liking the simplicity of the single color, which is why @res2architect asked such a great question!

Overall I like it too. Two things: first, are you allowing for solar on your roof? Solar is going to be more and more important going forward, so think about it while you are building. Second: why is the pair of tall windows indented so much? It doesn't look like there's much outside space there, not enough for porch furniture, so why not claim that square footage for indoor use. And those windows are pretty, so they'd be more of a feature from the outside as well.

The landscaping is nice, low at the house. I'd add two or three medium size, airy trees a bit out from the corners of the house.

Thank all!

Yes, adding stone is possible and it’s great idea. Thank you! I actually do not like siding above the garage and on far left side between stucco. Do you think stonework will look good there?
As for the color, in this development they make sure that houses in close proximity to each other do not have the same color scheme going. Because of that, we have only three color options left available for us if we decided to build.
Here they are. Not particularly like any of them but our favorite already taken and I am not sure if we have any room for the negotiation here.
Here they are:

If you like simplicity and you want an aesthetically pleasing home, think of the exterior design as a piece of art with composition, balance, rhythm, form, massing, line, etc. This house just doesn't have it. It only has materials applied to the surface of a series of boxes. You either need an architect to design a home to fit your needs or a good landscape architect to disguise someone else's mistake.

It lacks the clean lines, openness and simple massing of a Modern style house and the architectural elements are too random to be called Post Modern. The two giant facade recesses look odd next to the tiny flanking windows.

The grids on the windows are especially odd with the rest of the composition...

The unevenness of the short windows on the front are odd along with the recess areas.

Will you actually be allowed to change the exterior look of the house? You probably won't unless this is a truly custom home.

The grids are odd. I often see those in ranches or prairie style homes.

This is not a custom home. Maybe some time down the road, we will have an opportunity to build custom. For now, we have very demanding jobs and must live close to work. Resale houses in this area are all very old and need a lot of work. This is why we thought having new house is a good idea. This house is in track development and it's only new development that works location wise. Unfortunately, we can only make cosmetic changes to the exterior, like adding stone, lighting, possible could eliminate the grids on the windows and etc. I found houzz community and decided to post it here, hoping to get some great ideas from experienced people like you, so we could implement them if we decide to build. Agree that the is not perfect but thought it could be improved. Understand now that this may not be the case. Thank you all!

Eliminate the grids, make sure the front door is simple/ modern, buy great door hardware, and put in some nice landscaping away from the house (builders tend to cram the bed between the house and the walkway four layers deep with things that want to be eight feet wide so you end up having to trim endlessly...)

Perhaps instead of building a new tract home, buy an older home in an established community and remodel. Just a thought.

The garage door is wrong--skip the MCM wannabe windows.

The tiny high windows are really weird. Are there lots of house-invading alligators in the area? If you could enlarge windows, it would help.It sort of looks like the house has only bathrooms inside. :)

The siding is in odd locations in relation to the stucco. I'd pick one (probably stucco) and stick with it. The siding above the garage makes it look like there was once a taller door that got partially filled in. If it were all stucco, the garage would look fine.

Keep looking for a plan that is closer to what you want.

Is the developer only offering you one house design? If so, I would consider that a red flag.

I don't like the fact that there are two large rectangular things in the middle about the same size, competing for my attention.

I LIKE the last one of the three options -- simple colors, gray roof. Really, it's a nice looking house. Sure it could be tweaked, but overall it's perfectly fine. Personally I even like those short, high windows --- they are interesting. Add some more trees and it will be great. I assume the whole development avoids the horrid McMansion look -- that's good. And you are 100% right to not take on the burden of building your own custom house until you have time and funds to devote to getting all the details attended to. Enjoy your new home!

PS when you're ready to landscape, maybe a pic of the actual house plus general location or planting zone will allow some of the pro's to chime in with specific recommendations.

Hahaha, I did not hear about many of house-invading alligators, but we are in Florida, who knows:)
We found this development kind of late. There was only one lot left available that is very nice, private, with back facing beautiful wood area. They allow to build four different house models there but this is only one that has right size and most functional floor plan for us....

Anyway, thank you all for your feedback. It’s incredible helpful and really is eye opening. You all make me curious about architecture which I did not think much before. I would love to see some house examples that, as Mark Bischak mentioned, have right rhythm, form, balance, composition, line and massing.

This is very nice Dig Doug’s Design. Exactly what I needed to open my vision to some possibilities. Thank you very much!

Is there enough room on lot to move the garage door to side so it's not in direct eyesite. You could use the space where the door would be as a long set of windows.

This design can't be salvaged; see if one of the other designs can be modified to meet your needs.

We were driving around this area again yesterday and noticed that someone has built this house. Here is how it would look like in real life...
We have about two weeks to make our mind. It’s difficult decision, but your feedback will help us a lot. Thanks all!

It’s not a bad looking house. It doesn’t have a bunch of weird unnecessary components. If it works for you guys and you like it go for it. What does the floor plan look like? I agree the little windows detract from the house overall. Can those be changed? You aren’t going to get tons of support on the thread because most don‘t like non traditional houses that have large front facing garages.

I still like it. The front-load garage is efficient, the roof line isn't pimped out with a gazillion extraneous gables. The two columns framing the entry makes more sense now, looking at your real-life picture. I prefer the light trim around the windows instead of the dark, but that's not a show stopper either way. If the house has an interior floorplan you like, and a pleasant lot on which to build it, and a good location for jobs and schools, and is affordable, it's a no-brainer, go for it :-) With Dig Doug's Design landscape plan, of course.

The basic design is fine, but the recessed window and door are strange. I'd recommend pulling them out to be flush or nearly flush with the front of the house.

I'd also look at the windows --- many of them seem small. If you live in a very bright, sunny place, that might be good for you, if you live somewhere it's often gray in the winter, that might result in dark rooms. Only one small window on the side of the house might be what you want if you are close to your neighbors, otherwise, you want more, bigger windows.

When looking at all the elevations, think about your site. Where are the good views? Where do you need privacy/to avoid an eyesore.