Budget?

I'm imagining a long portico on the left side of the house over the side extrance that would continue the look of the roof that is on the front of the house. Adding painted or wooden stained shutters on most, but not all of the windows of the first and second floor would make the house more visually appealing.

Budget is $20k, no more than $30k depending on how much value it adds.

Ideas:

1- Shutters as @Cecilia describes. Try foamcore boards first. Denim blue, forest green, cinnabar red.

2- Hanging flower baskets- big Disneyland size for impact, not the $10 size.

3- Parking bumpers for each car to stop them from driving in too far.

Beautiful before and after pictures but MCM is not going to work on our street. We’re on the beach so we have to go east coast costal. Quite the challenge for this house.

why won't it work? the house is already contemporary. it lost the cape cod look when they added on. Does it have to match the other houses? just because you're on the beach doesn't mean you HAVE to go east coast coastal! lol

If you don't want to go dark, fine. then do the wood w/the lighter colors. Or, do it modern, but in the coastal blues and grays.

I would redo the window above the front door (maybe two larger ones) and remove the arches over the others.

some lighter options

Your home is a beautiful size. The thing that I dislike is the big window centered on the addition over the front door. I call that the cyclops look. It would look so much better if there were 2 windows the correct dimensions and properly spaced. I think I would just concentrate on that section of the exterior and put the rest of the exterior in the background by painting it a dark color. There is no way to take a chopped up giant house and make it look like a quaint cottage. But you could make that small section in the front look like a beach cottage and camouflage the rest of it.

Yep, create an illusion with color. Not saying these are the colors, just showing how dark makes part of the house recede.

Hi M C - I like your house a lot! I immediately knew it was east coast. I’m no pro, but I’ll tell you my first impressions. I like the idea of pulling out that coastal traditional feel by adding properly sized shutters on some windows as Cecilia mentioned. I don’t feel MCM working here - maybe because my first impression was so east coast beach traditional. Also, I’m a fan of using one color for siding. I have no idea on cost, so I may be wildly unhelpful but I like natural color shakes. Or, even weathered shakes both with white or off white trim. Yes, your house is a bit funky but it has tons of windows and seems like it’d be bright and welcoming. I’d live there! Good luck to you - your house is very nice.

I don’t see any issues with the house. I would personally focus on landscaping, lighting/lights on grounds.

ETA: For example, I don’t think all these bushes piled up in front are really enhancing the house.

I think I’d just remove them -

and bring in some low plantings, coastal style and minimal.

Maybe add some rocks/stones.

I think the house would benefit the most from a landscape designer. That is my belief, anyway, and why I said I would be mainly focused on that aspect.

There is a lot going on with this house and my Feng Shui bones are rattling. Two entry doors facing front say “house divided”. To remedy that a lattice screen to disguise that left side door would help and a bright painted front door(the one on the right) would help a lot. The half round windows on the high back portions have to go. They do not go with the house. It almost looks like a hold church that has been converted rather badly. A white picket fence across the front yard would help unify the front area. I would convert that portion of the yard into a pretty garden. I would paint the whole house medium blue with bright white trim. That would be uniting. A way to possibly deal with those tiny palladium )half round windows, might be to add little curved swings in the exterior color. They would somewhat hide those windows and probably cost less than removing them. I will look for some inspirational photos for you.

Here is concept and photo with the blue I envision with white trim. See if there is a way you could make the high point look more like a lighthouse look out. Add some arbors and flowers. Add bright color front door.

It’s a bit different but nice ! I would just add some white balconies ...one over the front door for access form the upstairs windows ...and over the garage ...perhaps a picket fence ...in my opinion ..less is more . Enjoy your house it does not look like a Frankenstein house ...it looks like a rambling nice house near the beach ...missing only balconies and a fence ...flowering climbing roses .....romantic landscaping .....

It is something that I noticed after I posted, as I looked at the house closer; it appears as though there are bushes totally blocking the entry here, also (?)

Is this door not ever used? That door would (at least) appear to be the main front door of the house; so having it impassable does not really work. Even if that door is never used, having it totally blocked off by foliage, making it literally impossible to enter such a prominent ‘front door‘ ( without a machete :) - would be a Feng Shui issue; and would just generally speaking be confusing. It’s fine to have a front door + side entrance/service entrance, etc.- which is what your house would appear to have. Or to have a front door to one house section, and a door for another section, such as another part/apt/inlaw suite, etc. But to have what would appear to be the official house front door totally covered by bushes and impassable definitely creates a “Frankenstein” type of setup.

So as I mentioned, my main focus would really be landscaping.

Some great ideas here! Never thought of staining 2 different colors but that is a wonderful idea! The mid-tone blue is very popular right now, just about every major remodel is putting that on. Agreed that the front garden is a bit overgrown but those shrubs are hydrangeas and are beautiful all summer long. I think a good trim is in order.

The cyclops window is ugly. And it’s new, so it’s not going anywhere, plus the interior layout doesn’t allow for splitting the windows. My issue is how do I make it look better. Would a pergola help? This window is east facing and that room is flooded in morning light (and heat in the summer).

A NEW window does not make it the right window! If you bought a new coat that does not fit you would not keep trying to wear it. Waiting until it’s not new is to no ones advantage. Careful removal may allow you to sell or donate the window.

The arched window at the peak, does it do anything? i might remove it, maybe in favor of a window right to its left (on the side wall) the smaller arch you could just remove or replace with a port hole

changing the hipped roof over the font to a full length shed roof might help too. And square up the front of the house. and then a similar shed roof over the side door,. pro probably more than 30k though!

Hi M C, for your budget I think you could 1. replace the two upper half-round windows with plain rectangular ones 2. paint the house a light beachy color with white trim, painting the unused door(s) to match the siding and the main door a bright contrasting color and 3. rip out the overgrown front bushes, and have someone draw you a landscape plan, which you could install as a DIY. If there is money left over, I would spend it on dressing up the entrance with things like bigger light fixtures, a new door handle, new house numbers and mailbox, potted plants, a new front door, etc. I don't think the funky shape of your house is necessarily a problem, it is just part of its eclectic beachside charm. Embrace it for what it is!

Adding a pergola to an inappropriately shaped window is not a good idea. I agree with @valinta. Bite the bullet on that one feature that ruins the look of the house. A two-toned color scheme would be the least expensive way to make the house look better proportioned. Light in front, darker in back is a good start. I understand why MCM ideas don’t work for your location but there are other great ideas here. I suggest removing the nickname and give it a nicer one so you start loving your home more. 😉

I think Flo's idea to add a white pergola structure on the left side over the second entry could really help balance the the front of the house. That along with adding beautiful shutters and a standout front door color could go a long way.

The house kind of reads as a soft contemporary but that section in the front where the front door is located seems to not fit in with it's angled roofline and side wall. I agree with the above that section needs reworking. It's too short for the two story space and needs more dimension. You can hire an architect for a small job like this.

Thank you, everyone. Some great suggestions here. Since our house is located on the ocean, some of the items may not be esthetically pleasing but functional for our environment. The window (which I’m not a fan of either) is not relocatable and is situated in that spot to maximize the ocean view from the room. I was hoping to find a way to make it less weird, but looks like everyone here is stumped, too.

The front door is deep set with the front planter bed raised and angled to keep overspray and coastal floods from entering our home. Clearly I need to prune the hydrangea but I can assure you that we can easily access our well used front door.

The idea to add a pergola to the front porch on the in-law is a possibility. I may take it one step further and make it a covered porch with a deck on top to take advantage of the view from that angle.

Thanks for all of the great input and suggestions

A fantastic idea! I think that will help you enjoy your view and balance the look of the home!

I suggest removing the nickname and give it a nicer one so you start loving your home more. 😉

@RedRyder expressed my thoughts exactly. :) A bit of perspective might help you. So your house isn't ONE true style. So what? Doesn't mean it can't have curb appeal and fit your lifestyle needs. I have seen much less appealing houses and plenty of people happily live in "mashed up styles" houses. (Perhaps they don't "know better"? ;-)) There's no need to transform your house further away from its roots. What truly sticks out to me as incongruous is the Palladian arch window and the upside down checkmark roof over it. I'd consider removing or changing the arched window and let the roofline be. I think the budget would be better spend on curb appeal: paint, landscaping, light fixtures, etc. If a pergola adds function then, yes, look into that but not solely because it would "balance" anything. Seriously, who the heck thinks about mashed up rooflines and unfortunate window selections when enjoying an ocean view? :D

Hi M C, please don't add a pergola to the left side of your house, you have too much going on already on that side, and it would just look more complicated and unbalanced. A tree with a high canopy in the little bed to the right of your front door could help balance the busy left side. And if you are still determined to do something architectural to your house, how about creating a beltline by extending the trim of the first story fascia along the right side of the house and also adding it to the front-facing facade of the in-law addition. Then paint a slightly darker shade of the current color under this beltline to ground the house and minimize its height. But I still think that to optimize the look of the front windows and get the most bang for your buck, you need to fix that front planting bed. Hydrangeas come in dwarf forms which would better suit the scale of this space, but I strongly urge you to have a professional plan drawn up before you start.

I really like Silvia Puntas ideas!