Is this, coupled with a 3 ft overhang, better? I do plan to use more modern colors/materials that are not reflected in the image.

I am not liking the line on the windows. But you might have something if you could increase the size of the portico at the front door. Raise the roof on the entry and give it a little volume. Bob's house has that generous entry that looks very modern and appealing.

Everwood - Modern Ranch · More Info

This porch would look much better on your Prairie style home.

The attached sketch is not meant to replace a thorough study of your exterior as additional info is required and roof and mass needs to be adjusted. I believe there is hope for your home to be what you want, you only need a skilled designer/architect.

Do not forget to use typical prairie style elements like a low pitch roof, large overhangs, windows with prairie grids, masonry columns, the right chimney, the proper sconces and more.

Using a two story house as inspiration will take you nowhere, other than getting a couple of ideas, like the color scheme or type of stone

@phassink I really like this one!

Look how Naf_Naf created the volume you need at your front door by incorporating the facade next to it into the porch. Very well done!

I’m loving the sketch. I’ve forwarded it to my designer.

The pitch on your roof in the OP is too steep to be a prairie. I'd recommend the material @Patrick A posted above to get a thorough grounding in "Prairie" style before heading off to the architect.

Like very other style, prairie style is not a bunch of features: it has its own spirit. If you don't have the "essence of prairie-ness", the house won't be in prairie style. So much goes into the "spirit": not just roof overhangs, but how people move through space, the exterior proportions, the materials used, how you enter (and not just what the door looks like, but the experience of entering), etc. etc.

Look at REAMS of photos before you arrive at a sense of the style; attaching a prairie feature to a ranch won't give you priarie.

I think you need to forward Patrick A's post to your designer.

What I gather from the OP post, specially by looking at her inspiration picture, is that she is not asking for a full blown 100% accurate Prairie Style house.

She wants a modern, clean looking, single story house with Prairie Style influence.

Her elevation does not reflect that so needs to be adjusted.

In a case like this, we as designers/architects/drafters push the client to the 100% style accuracy?

It depends: Budget, life style, client willingness, location, and more.

Most prairie style homes (originals, I have visited many of FLW homes and we have one in my city, The Dana Thomas House) have a very low ceiling. Would I suggest or push for a very low ceiling in this time and age? Absolutely not!

I don't know if your elevations are tall enough to split them with siding and stone.

@Naf_Naf You are 100% correct. I plan to make the porch area bolder and use materials to create the more modern 'prairie-influenced' elevation that I am seeking. I believe I will end up with something similar to the image that Phassink shared.

"Attaching a prairie feature to a ranch won't give you prairie." - Tangerinedoor

Wise words that should not be ignored.

Any suggestions for colors/materials to modernize the elevation?

Your inspirations are all 2-story, so what your architect created is necessarily going to look low-slung and squat in comparison, and especially so with that horizontal line of stone veneer. By ”modern” do you mean “bigger in front”?

It’s tough, because quintessential “prairie“ are the low projecting rooflines that result from interesting stacking of upper floors; not sure how you’ll get that in a one-level.

Think in terms of adding bigger projecting geometry like the porch in phassink’s photo. As it stands the original seems to suffer from a lack of three-dimensional thinking, it’s a flat straight line across.

I like a mix of materials for your prairie inspired home. I would really like to see an apron of clear cedar above the windows, stained or natural. A neighbor of mine added that element to her ranch style stone home. Her stones are a light limestone color and she painted her eaves a darker gray color. That clear cedar apron really brightens her facade and lifts the roofline. It is an interesting illusion because her roof did not change. And I don’t think it cost her very much. Last year, she put cedar in her entry, under the porch.

@phassink Would you happen to have a picture?

Ps: just wanted to add a word of encouragement in case my post sounded too negative: you’ll get there, I promise! This is just the most painful (but necessary) part of the design process. Don’t give up heart! ;)

My neighbor wrapped the porch in cedar and placed a clear cedar accent over the windows and garage door. She painted the house a dark gray color and changed out the front door. And she improved the landscaping.

You can go to Zillow to see the before pictures of this house. What a transformation with just a few exterior design changes, including new windows!

5416 S Oxford Ave., Tulsa, OK.

Is there an affordable design company who can add colors and suggested improvements to my elevation?

Posting for work on Houzz? I thought that was frowned on.

@Hemlock I did not know it was wrong to ask for resources that provide a service. I will delete my question if it is.

Dragon, I believe that was the case when garden Web owned this site. Isn't Houzz all about helping you get the services? I see posts in here -all the time- of people suggesting hire this or that architect.

I asked because I did not know where to go. I appreciate any and all responses.

I am not offering anything. I am not looking for a job (I have tons! plus a full time job, thanks God). And in the many years here I have helped for free.

For the record Naf-Naf deleted his soliciting "PM Me" post located between tc9876's post and mine taking away the context which is what I was responding to. Isn't that was frowned upon here too?

I thought Naf_Naf 's "PM Me" message was to warn the OP of a certain architect that was ugly, smells, a pink nose, short tail, white hair, dresses funny, and his favorite band sucks.

1. @Hemlock, Do we assume that each time someone say PM (which happens many time each day), people is "soliciting? You need to chill unless you are gathering evidence of a crime or you are getting paid by being the forum police - lol - I removed the comment only because I did not want this to escalate. In fact, I removed some other comments for the same reason.

Dragon, that didn’t look like a solicitation post to me (I’ve been here 15 years and have seen lots of them) — just a generous offer to provide references/ ideas for seeking the requisite professionals in OP’s area.

@tc9876 you did nothing wrong, no worries.

Attached is the latest version of my elevation. I could not easily extend the eaves due to the window height. I've accepted that it may not be prairie style. I'd like to try for modern. Any suggestions on materials/colors to achieve a modern elevation.

Porcelain tile on bottom and stucco on top where I live has a sleek more modern look but I don’t know if those are good options where you are.

I am in Michigan. I don't think tile will work. I plan to frame the windows in black and I'm leaning toward a dark roof, and door. Appreciate the feedback.

No because right now their is no cohesiveness and the focal point is getting lost.

Go back to Naf Naf's version and try and make it more like that.

Be sure to evaluate all four elevations when determining the exterior design. What looks good on the front elevation may make the other elevations disasters. Here is a Prairie influence house addition project in Berkley currently under construction.

BEFORE

PROPOSED

I put the two nice looking options out of this thread with your elevation below. One thing that really looks odd to me in your current elevation is the asymmetry of the roof line next to the entry portal roof. Circled in green. When looking at the other ones it looks like they are symmetric everywhere. I would fix that part.

The other part that stands out to me on yours is that the entry just looks tacked on to the front, kind of like a 70s ranch house was taken and renovated to add on the entry overhang. It also looks too small in proportion to the the rest of the roof. See the first inspiration pic and naf_naf drawing. They have more width, which makes it look more integrated. I really like how naf_naf solve the 3 windows to the right of the door as that seems to limit you in making it wider. She integrated that part and made it look more part of the entry and thus more substantial as well as increasing the window height to draw more attention to the front area.. The other thing that is different between both of them is the window style. Yours doesn't show the prairie windows present on both the inspiration ones.

I also prefer the stone treatment in the top two designs versus the taller area of stone on the right side. It somehow makes that side look like it doesn't tie in with the rest of the house and it looks a bit oddly squat in comparison to the height by the entry. In the first one it is all the same height around and the entry is the focal point. In the second it is all the same horizontal line, but around the windows echo the entry columns. Either integrates more with the house than adding a 3rd element which is not reflected anywhere else.

Thanks all for the additional feedback. I really do appreciate this. I will make further modifications.

My daughter just bought some 14ft. by 6 inch skirting for her house project. It cost $50 a board. So, the cedar may not be as low cost as I originally thought. Good luck with your project. Let us know the outcome!

There are many of us on Houzz who love architecture and beauty. I want to live in a town where everyone benefits from the improvements people make on their real estate.

This is what I'm leaning towards. Thoughts?

I looked up one story Prairie style homes and then played around with your original elevation picture.

@misecretary What changes did you make? I like the landscape addition? It softens the front area. What do you think of my latest revision which adds more weight to the front door area and modified the cladding on the garage?

@misecretary Okay, I see it now. I was thrown because many of the changes you made have already been implemented. I'm unable to to elongate the window to the left due to a wall nor can I elongate the 2 piece window as it is in the kitchen above the sink.

I think the latest revision is a step in the right direction, but there is a lot of more in the journey

@Mark Bischak, Architect What would you suggest?

Agree with Mark. Your eaves are still not deep enough. They should be at least double what they are.

I would suggest your designer study the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, William Gray Purcell, George Grant Elmslie, William Drummond, Parker Noble Berry, Walter Burley Griffin, Marion Mahony, Robert Spencer, Thomas Tallmadge, Barry Byrne, John Van Bergen, and other architects of the Prairie School. Then redesign the house with an appropriate grid.

There is a dark line over the kitchen window that needs to be completely over the window to match the other side of the house. The new design is a huge improvement over your first drawing. I wonder how the cedar would look over that dark line over the kitchen window?

Thank you everyone for your input. I am close to the end.

One of the worst things you could do is spend a lot of time on the front elevation and ignore the other sides of the house; making the front architecturally appealing and the rest like the unwanted child. Granted the other sides may not be seen as much, but they will be seen, and they are part of the whole which contribute to the sense of home.