1970s ranch needs an update
pam h
2 years ago
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years agoRelated Discussions
1970's ranch with little curb appeal
Comments (28)Your house is nice looking. It does need better landscaping. More on that later. As viewed from the street your roof is prominent. That means you can't go cheap on roofing. What you have now is not attractive. I don't know how many more years it will last but when it needs replaced I suggest architectural shingles in a darker shade.It will make a big difference. At that time you could replace the gutters on the front. They just don't look right. If you think you might make changes to the roof line that would be the time to do it. Actually I do not suggest making changes of that sort unless done for a functional reason. It is not a cost with good return on investment. Looking at your stoop I have to wonder how risky it is to change the bulb in the outdoor light. It needs to be wider as mentioned above. A path to the door would be very appealing. It looks like you live in a semi rural area with no sidewalks. How often would the path be used? You will have to decide if it is worth spending the money. I would make an enlarged stoop a priority over the path. What you have now is small enough to look ridiculous. It looks like you have some nice plants. They are not placed well and are possibly too close the the house. Relocate them spacing as suggested by Yardvaark earlier. Perennials will help the bed look more filled in while the shrubs take the time to grow. Some conifers grow slowly. Don't plant shrubs in front of the stoop or next to the steps. Shrubs need room to grow and you don't want them crowding the entrance. It would be worth investigating the cost of a retaining wall on the left side so the lawn could be more level. In the example above I am picturing the top terrace as being your lawn. Here is another area with a patio on the higher tier and lawn in the lower tier. You would have real steps instead of the silly bits of lawn. ^last one You might want to remove the lawn from the area nearest the road. It looks dangerous to mow and would be more attractive with ground cover which can include prostrate shrubs. Here is an image I borrowed from another site. It looks to me as if you could get a wider door and have a solid window to the left of it as opposed to a prefab sidelight. In doing so the door is much closer to being centered. What you have now is nice in my opinion and suits the house. I only suggest if it really bothers you that the gable is not centered. I am not a skilled artist so my mock up is very basic. I see that I did not make the stoop wide enough. It should extend equally from center and I know a handrail is needed too. If no one else mentioned it, a larger light fixture would be a big improvement. It looks like you just have an exposed bulb right now. On the right side I have two recommendations. First that you plant a tree that will stay smallish about 15 feet off the corner of the house. I would also suggest a row of broad leaf evergreens to eventually screen the view of the neighbor on that side.They came out looking columnar which I am not suggesting. Choose any shape you like. Do not add dormers. Do not paint the brick. Do not watch Fixer Upper....See MoreNeed help updating dated 1970's contemporary
Comments (12)We have the same basic stone on our 1960’s home. We bought the house in the early 1990’s. We loved the house, but not that stone. The rest of the siding was painted an odd shade of green, with black trim. All together, it was very unattractive. We didn’t want to hide the stone, just blend it in better, to lessen the visual “impact”. Our solution was too paint the siding a light brown/tan color that matched the stone fairly well, to lessen the contrast. We then used contrasting colors for the trim, and for the front door. All in all it worked well to make the stone blend in and fit in better, and it actually looked great. I would definitely avoid painting the stone. It might come out really uneven. Keep it natural and maintenance free....See Moreneed landscape idea for 1970’s ranch
Comments (2)Need better photos. Stand in front of and in line with the entrance, about even with the pine. While not moving from that spot, take a series of slightly overlapping pictures that pan from right to left (pivot the camera.) In the pictures, include about 20' of ground space in front of each end of the house....See More1970's California Ranch Exterior Design Help
Comments (9)Mick50 I like what you're suggesting with hat modern dark and natural wood look. Except that I have this fear of doing anything too on trend and then feeling like its out of date down the road. Though, guess how the kitchen is designed?! Hale Navy cabinets, hardwood floor and a butcher block island so we do have that look going on in the kitchen! I'm really struggling with finding what i like and just going for it with this desire to be timeless. Its paralyzing because i like what's on trend but then worry that it'll look dated(argh!) Having said all that, what you suggest is exactly what i asked for.... stylish and stunning. I think what i'm wanting is something more timeless. Think Father of the Bride House but updated and a tract housing ranch (where's the laughing crying emoji?!) so at this point i'm trying to figure out which colors (hide) the anderson white windows) and make it look as timeless and almost Hollywood Regency or stylish cottage as possible (is that a thing?)...See Morepam h
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