Brick Exterior Sprucing Up

2 months ago

Hello! I am about to become the proud owner of this house and wanted to get some ideas and your thoughts on how to spruce the brick exterior up. Thoughts on metal Juliet awning covers over windows? Thoughts on different material to replace small area of stucco (hardie? pattern brick?)? Most importantly to me, how can those 3 cult symbol/life preserver-looking decorations near roof peaks be removed? Any lighting thoughts (like on ground shining on house)? I do not want to be too trendy, just pretty and classy. Other suggestions welcome! (I would like to replace front door eventually, but will do that last, I think). Thank you!

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Comments (6)

jck910
2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago
Updated landscaping always makes a home feel new. A sage leaning towards gray is nice with brick. If you do the stucco over the door sage, then the trim could a shed darker.
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BeverlyFLADeziner
2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago
Some of the bushes have been allowed to become to large and are not scaled appropriately to the home. Either have someone give them a severe trim or replace them.

Consider investing in properly sized and shaped shutters for the windows. Yours are too small.
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Around here, the only summer “cottages” with stone or brick work are actually lakeside mansions. The actual cottage sized summer places like yours are clapboard or shingled with the only masonry being perhaps a brick chimney. So I think adding stone or brick would actually make it look more suburban and reduce the cottage vibe. Landscaping shouldn’t be fussy, with a tree off each side of the house to frame it from the road side. Beds in front should be at least 5’-6’ deep with either undyed mulch or a groundcover dense enough to suppress weeds. There should be only a very few types of relatively easy care plants such as shrubs that flower during the time you will be visiting, unless you plan to live here for long periods of time in the summer and don’t mind puttering in the garden. Around here, spirea, smaller red-twigged dogwoods, and panicled hydrangeas like Little Lime would work well. An untended flower garden advertises that no one is currently living there full time, but there are a few easy care perennials that could be tended just on weekends. Perhaps a few large pots with Geraniums or another annual that doesn’t mind occasional dry soil to provide some cheerful color on the deck out back, but on that side of the house, you want the lake view to be the star and so I would generally keep it simple.
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Certainly keep the brick because the path and driveway are in the same color family. The yellow is actually very sweet with the brick. If it's to cheery for you, it can be toned down to more of a butternut. In my mind, the problem is that the roof is a cool color and the brick and such is warm. You might be able to tie them together with a neutral light grey paint if you find any flecks of grey in your brick. You don't want to tear off a roof because of the color so I would recommend foundation plantings to minimize the conflict. It can be as simple as a tidy brick-height hedge, or something more complex. A bench across the porch, and move the tree on the porch to the left side of the garage where the one side is thicker than the other.
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Have you considered a galvanized metal standing seam metal roof (if in your budget)? That would be more energy efficient (and maybe qualify for a tax credit or rebate--mine did about 10 years ago). The lighter color roof would contrast nicely with a dark charcoal paint. And definitely consider a new door--maybe a three or four-light modern door--with a nice pop or color--red is an obvious choice with the red brick. If you decide to stucco over the brick, any vibrant color would look good against the dark paint. I like the idea of using horizontal wood too, as another poster mentioned. Also, consider using house numbers with a modern font placed either above the garage, horizontally or maybe next to the the garage, vertically. For the house numbers, choose a metal finish which contrasts the color of the paint (eg. dark paint, brushed nickel numbers or light paint, black or bronze numbers. Also consider a downlight, like a modern sconce to light the house numbers.
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It looks fine now. I would add some big pots, the half-whiskey barrel size, with colorful annuals that will do well in full sun. Fall is planting time in your zone. Big ceramic pots are available in dark cobalt blue, red, orange, and sometimes green. They will be very heavy (and expensive at $200 or so each), so you could start with plastic pots that can be easily moved on wood-and-metal castors.
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kandrewspa
2 months ago
The weird round trim pieces on the peaks may be venting for the peaks. Do they have grills? If so, they can't be removed, but you should be able to find something less obtrusive to replace them with. If they're just decoration applied to the brick you may be able to remove them, but over time the brick may have changed color around them so removing them might leave a shadow. Are there any of these on the back of the house where you could remove one and see how it looks underneath without it being noticeable if there is a color difference? If it is too problematic to remove them, paint them a color closer to the brick color. See how the one on the siding does a pretty good job of disappearing because it's the same color as the siding?
cat_ky
2 months ago
I agree, new landscaping. Leave the stucco, but paint it. I would also color match some paint to the brick, and paint those pieces in the peak that you dont like. They most likely are not removable without doing damage to the brick. Pretty house. I know you are excited to make it your own, but, do not make the mistake of so many others, and jump in and change things right away, and then 6 months or so after you have lived in it, you find what you thought you wanted when you moved in, was not what you should have done. Costly mistakes happen when you are just really excited to move in and make it your own right away. Give it a bit of time, and think about things carefully, once you are settled in. Congratulations on your new home.
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago
IMO remove the shutters they are too small if you want them they need to be large enough to be able to actually cover the window completely so much wider I think all the trim and the succo painted a nice sgae green along with the new shutters would be nice . The go to work on some nice landscaping that does not hide the house but enhances the home .I might consider a double door instead of what you have with the side panels the door really seems to small for the house. All that landscaping on the left needs to be redone and some trees maybe planted in the vast lawn. In fact I would remove all the landscaping to uncove the house then get some help from a good grden designer to plant things to enhance the whole house and yard space .
P Banos
2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago

Maybe start with removing overgrown shrubs and shutters.

If you stain the brick/stucco diamonds the house color, they will no longer show up as much.

Brick Exterior Sprucing Up

Comments (6)

jck910

BeverlyFLADeziner

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cat_ky

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