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Paint Design Dilemma Exterior

Exterior Makeover Help

last year

We just purchased this home and the exterior needs some serious help for curb appeal. It is easily the blandest house in the neighborhood. I would love some ideas of how to make it look not so boring... and I cannot stand that the trim, garage doors and gutters are 3 different colors. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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PRO

lisedv

last year

I don't know if it's what you're looking for but I gave your house a classic look. I added wide shutters to the front window and metal roofs above the garage doors for more detail.

I would paint the horizontal gutters the same colour as the trim and the downspouts the less visible colour possible to blend-in with your brick or black.

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Comments (13)

KW PNW Z8
last year
My first thought & impression is that the easiest thing to do is paint gutters & garage doors the same color as trim. Leave downspouts as don’t want to emphasize. Looks like gutters never painted. That trim color is good with roof & blends well with window trim..Garage trim looks like only top painted. Front door could be an accent color but might be challenged to pick color that’s good for both brick & front rock face. I’d start with greens - not brights like fern green & not dark like hunter green.. Think about changing entry ceiling light to a prettier hanging light that fills area above the door. Landscaping & lawn could use some love - looks new. Take those ties & support poles off the trees if they’ve been on close to a full season. The ties will girdle the bark & kill trees pretty fast.
Marcia Hunt thanked KW PNW Z8
HU-695822714
last year
I would change out the garage doors to a natural wood to warm up the feel, with windows and a full-view front door of the same.

Would look more welcoming instead of a barrier. The lawn and planting will add softness when the season changes. Congratulations, it's a beautiful home.
Marcia Hunt thanked HU-695822714
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Some idea to go with soft white/off-white. Your brick repeats your roof color, so you do not have to paint it. It looks good.
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I just completed a remodel on the exterior of my house which, before the remodel, looked a lot like yours (including the sloping down one side). Like yours, my house also had a long and narrow front porch with lots of columns. I started by going through Houzz’s extensive collection of front porches and pulling out the ones that had elements that I liked. I found that I liked front porches with a larger front door (with side lights), a gabled porch cover that extended slightly from the house, and chunkier bottoms on the columns (especially ones clad with stone or brick). I also pulled the entire porch out by about six feet and adding stone flower boxes all the way down the entire front of the house. This helped with the weird fall away on the one side. Like you I added shutters, but unlike you, I added them to both the upper and lower windows on my house. I also changed out the very dated and energy inefficient windows on the first floor. As you can see from the before and (mostly) after pics below. Unfortunately, the new windows on the house were added after these pictures so they are not reflected here (I’m actually waiting for spring before I take a new set of pictures), but I hope you get the idea of what was accomplished. Btw, I own an architectural sheet metal company which drove the decisions for the columns and metalwork on the porch. I also added some lighting so the porch also looks amazing at night.
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Wow, you house is almost all brick. A lovely color at that. I would struggle to suggest a color, because I don't think it will be an improvement. Sorry. What ever paint was used on the back dormer is washing down on the brick. Maybe you can clean it off the brick and paint the dormer with a new paint meant for the outside. Khakii or light tans look really good with brick. Think about painting the clapboards and all of the trim. Prune the azaleas and other foundation plants. They are way too tall and are hiding your charming house. Maybe redo the planting of the slope so it isn't all ground cover. Paint the front door an interesting color.
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elcieg
last year
last modified: last year
Whoever built the house had a problem with colors and undertones. First thing....the yellow/gold brick around the front gable is a good place to start landscaping. Plant along the foundation something that you can trim, which will fill in as a hedge, and will stay green year round. My go to for all of that is Cherry Laurel.

Now that that unattractive color is gone you are left with a very decent color brick.
Marcia Hunt thanked elcieg
decoenthusiaste
last year
Add more light at the front door and more personality in that recess with a custom transom above it. This is just for concept. A hanging light would hep too.You could paint the garage doors to match the window trim so they would fade away. Figure out a way to move those two downspouts away from the entrance. Then find a pro who can help you develop a new landscape plan. Some of it can be installed this fall and some next spring. Avoid died mulch; go for natural like cypress to help repel pests and to degrade nicely over time.
Ascher Davis Architects, LLP · More Info
Marcia Hunt thanked decoenthusiaste
chloebud
last year
“You could paint the garage doors to match the window trim so they would fade away.”

My very first thought since the garage is prominent. Keep as much focus off of it as possible. Same with gutters and downspouts. Trying to think of a color for the front door. It needs to be pulled out of the shadows with a lighter color.

Agree with Judiana…the brick is nice!
Marcia Hunt thanked chloebud
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
New garage doors with some windows will help I agree the same color as the trim. But the biggest pay off will be some great landscaping and a new front door in a color .
Marcia Hunt
Original Author
last year
I’m not sure I can afford t replace the garage doors yet. May have to get a quote and plan that for later. Hopefully painting will help for now.

I was also thinking of maybe doing a lime wash on the stone to make it less yellow?
KW PNW Z8
last year
@Marcia Hunt About those garage doors- seems like damaged panels on g doors can be replaced especially on newer roll up doors. If you just wanted windows in garage to change look, maybe check out a new panel with windows.
BirchPoint
last year
@lisadev, how do you do those mock ups? I've been longing to do mockups of the front door of my house to try diffent colors and wonder how you do this.
smile4me422
last year
I would paint the front door and garage doors either a muted Navy or Charcoal, the problem with the house is it has no focal point and no contrast, it's washed out. These are the cheapest and least extreme things, so you might as well try them first. Then reevaluate on spending more cash on further enhancements after you've lived with that for a bit.
PRO
Revive AI
last year
New garage doors will go along way to updating your beautiful home and then you can match the trim to those. Here are some ideas for your home! Try on different ones with the free door visualizer app and test out new entry doors too. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/door-visualizer-with-modifai/id1459977254
littlebug zone 5 Missouri
last year
last modified: last year
My first impression - yes, the builder had a hard time coordinating his/her colors. IMO, the garage doors, brick, and stone clash.

Since the stone covers the smallest area, I’d whitewash it to tone it down and try to get it to blend with the brick (which isn’t bad). As mentioned by the OP a few posts up.

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