How to improve this grim facade?
We purchased this house in coastal Georgia and plan to live there while we search for waterfront land to build a new home on.
The plusses:
It's marsh front, on a very pretty large lot (we are buying the adjacent lot also), and it's well built, lovely pool, huge nicely-fenced yard, 3 car garage, very large deck, travertine flooring, etc.
The minuses:
The front facade is just awful, from the stained tabby stucco to the odd (ugly red) front door placement, to the cheap shutters, crummy stairs, cheesy porch... UGH.
I am thinking to remove the front stairs and small porch/overhang altogether and add a porch of some kind, but realizing that the back of the home is the focus and the living space, I don't really want to sink too much expense into a front porch.
Also, the septic tank is in the front yard, so I can't make the front porch too large.
Here is what I would like to accomplish.
1. Add value by improving appearance
2. Have a safer, less steep access to the front door
3. Make it so that if I remove/close off the current front door and change the front door access to where the middle window is (by taking the 4th bedroom away, adding a powder room and changing the hallway to the center of the house) that the porch will still serve that option.
So I am thinking to put a porch that runs from midway between the first and third windows, and maybe put a landing partway down the stairs and have stairs that run parallel to the house so that it gives access from both sides?
Your thoughts, and maybe an idea of cost?
Also, in the interim, what kind of plantings or container plants could we do in the front to improve the appearance. (We will be power washing first thing!)
Thanks so much!
Comments (17)
oakrunfarm
last yearRelated Discussions
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Comments (5)Thank you for uploading the Gardner plan. This is the first time I actually used the upload function and I was unsure about actually uploading more than one photo. But, in any case I like the crazy roof line of the Architectural Designs plan and dislike the repetitive peaky lines of the Birchwood. The windows could be changed. The AD house windows have what looks like lines going around the perimeter. The Birchwood is just rectangular grids. There are a couple of front elevations shown in photos of the Birchwood and I did see some discussion on this website about the Birchwood from a couple of years ago, but no one has posted photos of their project. I would love to see how someone has recently personalized this plan....See MoreHow can I update this 60s facade?
Comments (9)Maybe I'm stuck in a time-warp but I love the fireplace, And I think the accordion window walls will fit your home style much better than the french doors. Your have a MCM home. Those have become trendy. I believe that trend will develop into a long-term appreciation for MCM style and that homes that have not ripped out and destroyed the original features will be more valuable than those that have. Just like a Victorian with original woodwork and other features is worth more than one that has been gutted. In a lot of markets, MCM homes with original features are going for big bucks. So, besides a coat of paint, I wouldn't change a thing. If you must change anything, please be true to the bones of the home. Don't try to make it into something it's not. Unless you're doing an entire home remodel, you could make things look incongruent. On the patio, are you talking about the niche? I don't know what that originally was. You could be right and there may have been a woodstove out there. If you have a source for wood to burn, it would be cool to have a woodstove out there. Both for outdoor cooking and to extend patio use into the cooler evenings and shoulder seasons. Be sure to have things checked out by a chimney person to ensure that it's safe to hook something up. If you don't want to go that route, I think it could be a fabulous place to create an outdoor storage for BBQ supplies. To gain more appreciation for this style of architecture, you might want to spend some time poking around the RetroRenovation dot com website. The Atomic Ranch website and magazine are also excellent with lots of beautiful, inspirational photos. Have fun with your MCM house! I absolutely love the exterior you've shared. What does the rest look like?...See MoreHelp Wanted. How can I improve the Facade?
Comments (14)When the original poster doesn't give us any information, this feels like twenty questions, doesn't it? Perhaps this site is on the top of a steep incline, so there was no other place to put the garage, and the remainder of the house, and lower down the hill below the part of the house we can see. In that case, I sure as heck hope the poster has a super duper structural engineer evaluating the site and plans and every little change and maybe another one checking them, especially if you live in a seismically active area, and/or one prone to floooding, landslides, etc. Perhaps the front of the house faces the sun, hence the small windows. But if that is the case, does that mean the entryway will be hot as blazes? Perhaps the area has relatively little rain, hence the flat roof, as in Palm Springs houses. The house does look awfully glum. Is it the shape plus the color plus the tiny windows plus lack of landscaping? Taken together (sans the entryway) it has a rather institutional, almost correctional institution or bunker-like appearance. There are ways to do larger windows in area of high heat. https://www.wbdg.org/resources/sun-control-and-shading-devices In Australia the government pushes people to take measures to build in an energy efficient manner and use very little energy. Australia has climate zones very similar to ours. Please have a look at these articles and search for more for info that will apply to your climate area and to your home and ask your architect to have a look. https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/energy-and-environment/energy-efficient-home-design http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/shading...See MoreImproving a plain colonial facade
Comments (15)Many times the desire to make an exterior to "feel more modern (updated)" results in what is called a "train wreck". Like color selection, slight differences rarely work, where contrasts can enhance the aesthetic. A design with a rhythm of double hung windows can be throw off or destroyed by the insertion of a picture window. Although the elevation facing the street is your main concern, do not neglect the other elevations as if they can not be seen, because they can be seen.Perhaps you need to better define the desire to make the house "feel more modern (updated)" to your designer . . . or the next one. Not making suggestions of how it is to be accomplished, but conveying the statement you want the house to make....See Moreoakrunfarm
last yearI do think you are correct in your summary. It is flood-ready with an elevation certification and other mitigation.
I also agree that a staircase in the front that would accomplish what I want to do would need to be large, and there is limited space for it. This is what I had in mind that is common in this area. (This is in the same neighborhood.) It looks like it could project 15'+, and that's not available space.
Thanks for your input.
oakrunfarm
last yearlast modified: last yearoakrunfarm
last yearoakrunfarm
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Sigrid
last year- oakrunfarm thanked simplynatural
oakrunfarm
4 months agoThank you so much to everyone who helped. So far, we have done this, and the stairs will be changed to add a landing next. I think it looks much better already.
simplynatural