60’s home in need of a makeover!
Looking for some design advice!! Our house was built in 1967 and obviously has all the 70’s feels goin on lol. I’m so stumped on what to do with this field stone. I’m leaning towards keeping it and working with paint colors and natural wood/cedar shingles? I love all the earthy natural elements. Any suggestions? What would you do if you were in my shoes? Please share pics if you have any inspiration ❤️ thx everyone! I could really use the design advice 🙏🏻
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Pics of small ranch houses (60s or 70s) that look great inside?
Comments (42)We also have a plain vanilla ranch built in 1950. It was never MCM nor any style. It was just churned out as a tract home. The basic layout of bedrooms and living space was ok, but we opened the wall between the kitchen and living room, extended and moved the kitchen so the old kitchen is half of the new one and partly as our new main level laundry room. The rest of the kitchen is part of the extension and is adjacent to the new den we added on. Due to budget constraints, we only cathedraled the new extensions' ceilings and the master bedroom ceiling was vaulted as we extended there too. Where we did not raise the ceilings we added in skylights and a 5ft eyebrow window in the front of the house, boxed in like a skylight (and we have a skylight over the den up high). The greater amount of natural light is fabulous and it feels so much more spacious with the openings for the skylights and eyebrow window. We had hated the all low ceilings when we moved in. Our previous house had vaulted and cathedral ceilings over the living spaces and it was hard to adjust to low and flat. I truly think that being able to raise the ceilings and/or use skylights is one of the best features about a ranch. Since the house was built with little style and updated with no style either (unless cheap and ugly are styles, lol), we felt free to create our own vibe. We went for retro modern with a 40s feel. What a modern person would have done prior to MCM is how I'd describe it. It has some deco feel to it but the lines are simple and not ornate. Crown moldings would not have worked, so we have done simpler ones. We chose modest looking but well designed materials. No one would ever think it is fancy or frilly. We wanted clean lines but not sharp edges. It is supposed to feel homey and unassuming. Like a well worn pair of jeans that fit well. We want guests to feel at home. If you come up with your own style mission statement you can check your choices against it. At one point, we fell in love with white marble and wanted that for our counters. Then one day, we figured out it went against all our other choices and was too elegant. We ended up with Corian in their Rain Cloud pattern, which mimics the feel of a white marble, but is not trying to fake anyone out. It has a softness to the look but with all straight lines and an eased edge profile, it looks neat. We ended up with Carrera marble in our master bathroom for the counter and in the faux rug part of our floor. That space is meant to be more grown up and fancy since it is our private space and not designed for the kids. The veins that make it great there would have been too busy for the kitchen. If we had gone for another look, I'd have loved to use the marble as I usually drool when I see it used anywhere. If I ever do a kitchen again, I would want qs oak with white marble or some other medium toned stained wood. The door style would be different as well. We are happy with our vision and how the look has turned out (the gc screwed us on condition, but that will be fixed, someday). It is not plain vanilla any more! Our house looks like no other in our area and I dare say, it is now one of a kind. Hopefully, you find your groove and your end result reflects your style and vision, and makes you smile too ;)...See MoreShare your favorite links for 60s house makeover
Comments (10)Hmm...I was agreeing with you that not everything is worth saving, and that it sounds like your baths don't have much charm, but that its hard to help you out with DIY or on a budget without knowing what they look like. If you had the budget to gut the bathrooms that's one thing, but if you have a limited budget that usually means working with some things you don't like much, keeping things that you can't change. But what are those? On GW you have to have a thick skin, people will say things you don't like. People will make their own assumptions about things especially when you give limited information and no pictures. Its a holiday weekend and you got two responses, one giving relatively sound general advice to work with the house, which isn't bad advice based upon the limited information you gave, and one "shame", which yes, is harsh and makes assumptions. Two responses on a holiday weekend when dozens of people who normally post aren't around and you're ready to stomp off in a fit instead of waiting around to see what further responses you get? I think your best bet would be to go to a store that has a lot of home magazines and kitchen and bath magazines and get your ideas from a format that won't judge you or give opinions you don't want to hear. You can get a lot of great ideas that way and no opinions to offend you. I'm serious, not being sarcastic...if you can't just brush off comments you don't like and just restate your case without getting defensive immediately, I don't think this environment will work for you...See More60s brick makeover
Comments (6)Bricks breathe but paints prevent bricks from exchanging moisture with the air. Any moisture trapped inside by paint still freezes and can cause damage to the brick and mortar. Dyebrick is a company in England that makes a breathable dye for brick, and they ship to the US and Canada. Brick texture is not altered, but the dye chemically bonds with the brick as long as the brick is not sealed. No maintenance is required, whereas brick must be repainted regularly. Dyebrick goes on with a brush. The 10 colors for brick can be mixed, and there is a formulation for changing grout color. There is also a permanent lightener call LimeLike that contains no lime. There is a gallery of project photos and a multitude of testimonials. I was so impressed I wished my house was brick....See More60's Garage Front Home Ideas
Comments (28)I really like that glass door but it might stand out too much. I sort of prefer the one you mocked up with the glass down the right side or across the top with a wood that blends/compliments the brick But depending on how the glass "shows up", it might not detract. To make the brick stand out, I'd consider painting the gutter trim and the roof soffit (or whatever the underside of the roof overhang is called) a color that breaks up the roof from the brick. I see you like modern so another step would be to replace the bay window with something more modern. If you ever have to replace the roof, then a different color would make the brick stand out. Right now, it all just sort of blends, at least in the picture. But for now, see what you can do with paint. I really like the house. Here's one that has darker above the brick and it really makes the brick pop. And look, your garage door! :-) This one reminds me of your house Here's another one, brick pops when there is a darker color above it...See MoreRelated Professionals
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Lol nope not a grey fan lol 😂 I like everything clean/simple. I guess my style is a bit Scandinavian
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We had a interior designer help us with our galley kitchen and to help create as best as we could a more open concept to our living room 🙌
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last yearlast modified: last yearYour house is so charming! I love the stone, and the interior looks great.
Your stone brought to mind this popular house in Austin —
https://www.houzz.com/photos/front-elevation-traditional-exterior-austin-phvw-vp%7E327336
https://onekindesign.com/2013/09/27/exceptional-renovation-austin-goodrich-residence/- last year
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@Megan Elliot this one. It looks like your beige is the same color as the driveway. I like the effect. But the picture with the flag shows the patio near the door is more grey. Maybe it's just an illusion.
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If it were me, I’d remove the stone and go blue or chacoal/black. I love how these colors look in the PNW with the green.
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Regarding Romabio suggestions, I think of the OPs who have come here crying and devastated because they ruined their brick or stone diying this application, and asking what can be done about it.
They’re usually met with crickets and most delete their threads.
So please think long and hard about something that cannot be undone. Everyone sees “afters” they love, but in reality you could end up with the marshmallow/styrofoam effect — especially on this type of stone.
Romabio:
German schmear:
Another German schmear — looks like it was in a fire:
German schmear marshmallows:
I can’t fathom anyone thinking the above looks good/better than natural stone, but I guess that’s just me. I’ll never understand this trend of how natural bricks and stone have become things that must be covered up to ”update” a house.If you decide to go that route, or German schmear, I hope you’ll hire experienced pros for it. I’ve seen German schmear that looked nice, but it’s not something to attempt as diy.
I’ve also seen nice, subtle Romabio jobs, but again, only by very experienced pros, and usually on very different architectural styles than mid-century ranchers. What I’ve seen from OPs here (and all over my town) attempting it themselves is that they can’t get the apply-remove some/apply-remove some/etc method down, and end up having to go solid with it. See: Styrofoam Stone in above examples.
I think your stone is a wonderful accent, and changing the color of it is not going to change the shape, heavy texture, etc. It’ll still be the same strong feature on your house.
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@Jilly you make a good point here. One of the first diy projects I did on my house is paint what looks like the same stone they used outside for the fireplace inside. Just wanting it gone I made a quick rash decision and painted the whole thing white (my neighbor was shocked as his dad was the one who built this house). I’m still “ok” with the look but I wish I would have tried the German smear. I LOVE whites/neutrals it very calming to me so having the brashness of the outside stone really makes me anxious esp with the outdated paint color. I don’t think the stone as is would work with a creamy white as others stated it might make the stone pop too much?? I actually don’t mind the texture and idea of stone but if I wanted to go with a warm white I feel the stone would have to be toned down (below is an example of German smear that I really appreciated how you can still see the natural warmth of the stone pop out). My mom just had her brick exterior done with a smear (haven’t seen pics yet) but she loves it…BUT she did have it professionally done by painters in a bigger city (she swears she showed them what she wanted…they’ve never done it before…and they essentially just YouTubed it. I don’t know how she could be so brave! Lol). First of all…as much as I feel confidently with my skills as a diy’er I don’t feel up for the task. Secondly, I live in a redneck town lol and don’t have the confidence in the contractors/painters here (but you never know what skills they might be holding up their sleeves!). If I were to go darker on the exterior paint I always gravitate towards moodier/modern with warmth in natural elements of wood/stone. Dark browns (which most posts are leaning towards here. Suggest to pick a color that will compliment the original stone colors)…uff I’ll have to warm up to that idea as browns are not my top choice. I agree with people about the roof color but haven’t made that a deciding factor as it will be a darker gray in a few years when we will need a new roof so i can live with it being a little cringy…maybe lol! My windows are white as well so I can’t really change that either. I definitely don’t mind painting the garage door (dream is to have a modern one with windows) and front door but the lingering question is…to work with the stone or to alter the stone!?
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I do like this example you show of German schmear:
Her process would be a LOT of work for your exterior! Whew. I got tired just reading it. :Dhttps://www.uglyducklinghouse.com/diy-stone-fireplace-makeover/
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Lol I get it to be honest I just picked a pic that I loved without reading how…dreamer over here! I see what you mean by the marshmallow look. This was before and after of my fireplace.
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What! I like the funky niches! :D
This has no bearing on your situation, but discussing changing exterior stone — I just remembered reading an article in a British magazine a while back. People bought this old house that had been whitewashed and modern farmhoused, and restored it back to the original look:
Again, just posting for fun, not about your situation. Imagine the work that went into it! - last year
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@Megan Elliott I know you said you don't like brown. You didn't say if you hated a light grey or not. It really compliments caramel colored stone and makes white windows and trim look appropriate instead of incomplete. Look at this cropped picture of your own home to see what I mean. Try to find a light silver grey like that to try on your home picture in Color Snap.
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"but the lingering question is…to work with the stone or to alter the stone!?"
Whatever you do to/with the stone still leaves you the option of removing it, if you hate the results.
In your original post, you said you were hoping to work with natural wood/ cedar shingles, so I was hoping that was the direction you would go. I don't think brown paint will improve the look of the stone, where natural wood might make it all look more PNW and rustic.I think you can easily combine the white windows with natural wood:
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@Megan Elliott here are some greys you may or may not like. Hard to tell if they will be too light or dark.
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Sounds like this is a temporary solution for a couple of years so I would suggest not to touch the stone other than white washing it (as suggested above). Below I show the house painted in a soft white with black doors and window trims. I also suggest you install a plank over the scalloped edge above the garage door. I've added a wood element in the gable for detail.
Here's the look with the stone as is...
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Olychick