This article was somewhat helpful.
http://www.finehomebuilding.com/design/departments/drawing-board/character-defining-windows.aspx

Casements where the proportions are right. But sliders would have been used, too. If you want to keep the shutters (functional for hurricanes?), you can paint the area directly under the wide high windows to match the trim color. Think about the function of the windows inside (keep toddlers, dogs and cats inside?) as well as their looks outside when you decide what to do with them. A/C will get more expensive as the years go by, so ventilation is important. If you add an attic fan, large windows will help draw air through the house.

The columns are another story. Think of them as whimsical if you need to live with them for a year or three. Perhaps they were a nod to Vizcaya.

That's a great idea on the taller windows in the front, Lampert Dias! And so appreciate the info that taller-is-OK structurally. I don't think I would have been brave enough to even consider it otherwise. There are several houses in the neighborhood that have the taller windows in that location. I'll drive by and give them a harder look, imagining two sets of tall panes in each opening. May even snap pics and Photoshop a bit. You mentioned a 6 ft height. Just checking but would the window height and placement be the same as the existing tall skinny windows?

I like your ideas, Lampert Dias and Applie Pie, so I'm sold on the casements for the taller windows. Based on your feedback, I'm thinking even a shorter casement window in the bathroom. (It's the shorter window just to the right of the tall window in the whole house pic.)

Apple Pie, I'm planning to eliminate those ghastly faux concrete shutters and would like to do some sort of appropriate but subtle modern detail work on the front. I'd love to do Pecky Cypruss like some of the truer MCM houses in the neighborhood have, but am hesitant to sign-up for that kind of on-going maintenance. I've looked at lots of Houzz pictures and the detail on the Eichler houses is amazing but also like the Hardy board applied to some of the more modern houses. Not sure I could pull that off though.

Ahhh, those columns. Loved the reference to Vizcaya! Such a lovely place. Those ridiculous things are solid concrete! And three of the four are leaning. I cannot wait to get rid of those abominations. Fortunately, they're not structural. Any thoughts on the 4" steel replacement columns I'm considering? I could do one on each side of the garage door or maybe do them in pairs. Just not sure.

You guys are great. Keep the suggestions coming.

Casey

I'd drive around and look for steel columns while also looking at tall windows. Do you have some more photos of the full porch and garage column area without the car?

Except for bathroom and sink windows in the kitchen, I'd want all the interior windows to be the same height as the shutters you have on the exterior. You home looks to be quite Bermudian, so I'd browse Bermuda homes for styling and color ideas. Notice mullions on these too. You'll want function shutters to complete the look.




http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/residential-architecture-101-shutters/

Casey - I echo the call to put in taller windows - unless you buy really high end windows it will be cost prohbitive to repeat the horizontal mullions, but if you do and can, I would as I think it adds to the mcm feel. You can put the sill wherever you like, to match the other skinny tall ones, but look at your interior trim and make sure you won't have to alter baseboards for the new windows - within a foot of the floor is close enough. Double casements are the most attractive for your front - they will have the effect of narrow french doors. Column wise, I don't think you want 4" pipe though I'm in agreement that the others must go. 4" is going to be too small in profile and will look out of proportion small. Not sure that 4" pipe columns are even sufficient to carry the load - we see them often in these older applications but engineering standards have changed - they used to fill them with concrete to make them stronger but in retrofit you don't have that option. I like these square steel tubes and how they angled them out [houzz=]
Obviously, you are not adding any extra roof element like they did there, but the concept is a little more "jetsons" and could kick back under the overhang you have to a plate under the rafter - I've seen these in pairs set narrowly together and could see two pairs where your columns are and another pair to the left of the front door for balance . .

I'll come back with color ideas.

So I know you were thinking pale for the house, and there are plenty of off-whites you can try. If you go pale gray, I think a warm gray would do better with the roof you have . . dove gray could feel pretty institutional. bm silver song is what I pulled in the area you asked for but . . really, I can't recommend a pale color for what you are aiming for here.

To signal your design intention, I like this deeper gray with a lavender undertone paired with a front door in a nod to all the other pastels - soft blue on your door. bm cinder/ seranata
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/cinder
front door - http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/serenata
It is a bolder choice so just out there for your consideration - you might use the tube or pole steel in a galvinzed finish for low maintainance and to harmonize with your roof and white trim - basically nickel but flatter. Then all the palm trees have a backdrop - great in the day and at night with lighting. From here, the garage door you have looks like it only has horizontal lines (can't see stampted squares) - which would suit modern ranch fine.

You are on the right track to take off the shutters and I wouldn't worry about aiming for any mcm trim out front. The tall windows will be enough of an investment and change the lines completely for the better out there.

Apple Pie, Here's a few close-ups of the garage door and columns, some before the new roof went on. The "shin buster" solid garage door will be replaced with something like the Overhead Door Thermacore Flush Panel Model 298 in white.

(For the record, I'm not living in the house now. The inside is almost gutted but I have to order windows ASAP to hit my move in date. )

Can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Casey

Thanks for the additional photos. I think the apparent massiveness of the concrete columns should be nearly matched by the new steel columns, though of course they need not be so thick. Hope that is clear: what I mean is that spindly decorative fake wrought iron scrolls won't do. I gather steel is perferred to wood in Florida due to termites.

Any particular hurricane safety items you need to take care of?

Decoenthusiaste,

I was at the house at lunch today and agree that the new taller windows should be the same height as the tall skinny ones. With everyone's input, I saw my avocado green short sale in a whole new light. Getting super excited to place the order.

I love the landscaping and color palette in the houses you show. They're light and airy. I only wish my modest home had such great architectural detail. I was thinking maybe a lime green front door or even a beachy green could work too. I used to live in Miami and have a modern vision of the great tropical ranches in Coral Gables.

Ideally, I would have done a metal roof, but with everything else that has to be done (kitchens, baths, roof, etc), the budget just wouldn't bear it. So I went with GAF Timberline White shingles.

A few of my inspiration pics...

This house is actually in Miami:
Midcentury Exterior

Tropical Exterior by Naples Design-Build Firms Barnes Construction Group

Midcentury Exterior by Carpinteria Architects & Designers Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP

Midcentury Exterior by Los Angeles Architects & Designers make architecture

libradesigneye,
Baseboards? Ha! If only. I tore those out last month. :-) There will be new molding throughout house. Trying to figure out how to do completely square trim, maybe a 1X5 or 1X6. Planning to do stained concrete on the slab throughout the entire house, but I digress. (It's a bit of renovation overload right now, and this is mostly a DIY project.)

And totally love the slanted columns. I picked this one out a while back:
Tropical Exterior by Coconut Grove Architects & Designers Hamed Rodriguez

I also liked these. Wasn't sure on the diameter of the posts but liked that they were in pairs.
Modern Spaces by Stuart Architects & Designers Balfoort Architecture, Inc.

I'm glad you mentioned the part about putting an extra set of posts to the left of the front door. I've been struggling with that debating between should I or shouldn't I.

The roof is trussed and those columns are nearly falling over. I dearly hope they're not load bearing. I posted some close-ups of the columns too which may be of assistance in how bad a shape they're in.

Looking forward to color ideas!

Thanks much.

libradesigneye,
I've been worried about the grey looking too cold as well. Like a house transplanted into the tropics from up north. There are a few houses in the neighborhood that are grey and unhappy, so I'm a bit nervous about that direction to be honest. I'll need to swing by BM and pick-ups chips. Not even gonna try this on an un-calibrated monitor. Will report back after the weekend after I swing by the paint store.

And I love the dark colors. My concern is that in Florida the intense sun has a tendency to fade quite quickly. My other concern is that the white windows (as opposed to the aluminum ones I'd love to get) will stick out more than they already have to. Maybe I'm over thinking it, so would appreciate your thoughts. Could the Serenata possibly be the trim color instead of white?
Midcentury Exterior by Palm Springs Architects & Designers H3K Design


The blue color is fab! I have this one in my exterior Ideabook:
Midcentury Exterior by Campbell River Interior Designers & Decorators Denise Mitchell Interiors

I also really like lime green for front doors, so I'm not afraid of a little selective, well placed color.

The current garage door scares me. I fear for my life every time I push the button to open it. It will be replaced with a a garage door like the Overhead Door Thermacore Flush Panel in white with no windows.

I'm really excited about the taller windows out front. Still have to figure out how to "take off" those integral concrete faux shutters. I can see me out there with a chisel for a month just to get rid of those things. I'll hold off on any detail work on the front facade until the new windows go in. Hopefully, I'll have those bushes under control by then. It will be several months, but will post new pics and we can decide if any detail work is needed.

Apple Pie,

Hurricane safety wise, I just had a new roof put on. They finished it last week. I had a giant invasive ficus tree removed from the backyard as well. Those things are so dangerous and it was heaving the pool deck. The new garage door will be impact rated. Combined with new impact windows, the entire house will be buttoned up for many storm seasons to come.

We avoid wood at all cost down here, though I'm thinking a nice wood slat ceiling under the protected front porch would be a nice detail. As for the columns, you think round or square? All the pics I've seen on Houzz are round, so that's why I picked round. Another thought I had was to maybe do a few pairs of smaller round columns. Like Decoenthusiaste mentioned, a pair to the left and right of garage door and an extra pair to the left of the entry door.

I've seen hundreds of pictures and just can't wrap my mind around a cohesive story. My biggest fear is investing all this time and effort with the resultant product looking like a collage remodel from Home Depot. Sigh.

You are intrepid and have a strong interest group here who would like to see you succeed. Exterior wise, I think you are close on the building . . . let's utilize this wonderful detail you found here.

[houzz=]

I found this one, and love the mcm Y element here - this would work for you. You an want to find a metal / welding shop to weld a top plate and bottom plate to three pairs of pipe columns in a pre ordained dimension at the top - they would get them all the same. Then you could have them painted / coated at an auto body shop. I suggest you design them around 8" shorter than the distance between the rafters and the concrete so you do put them on a curb to make up differences in land level at the curb height.

The thing about white framed windows is that so long as you have them, you want contrast. Since your roof is really light, and you want a contemporary look, I think you want to be darker than a mid-tone. If we can settle on your favorite accent color, then we can pick a deeper neutral for the stucco that will make the most sense. The cool grays tend to pick up sky colors and shift to blue - which contradicts my 1st rule of stucco (unless you are in bermuda or a bermuda like neighborhood). My 1st rule of stucco is that it should be a color you can find on a natural stone . . .this actually gives a great latitude but long term is always the problem with stucco that isn't. Exhibit A, there are green stones, but they aren't this tone of green!

Now, lets take your suggested lime green / citrus green door and columns. Let's say your front door and columns was bm fresh green. White windows, white trim, white fascia,
Can you see this with bm chelsea gray on the stucco? This is a classic taupe . . Open these links next to each other
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/freshgrass
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/chelseagray
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/winterwhite

ps to put in the new windows, they should strip back the stucco around the windows anyway so they are fully newly flashed - so the areas next to the windows where the fake shutters are will need to be reurfaced and the removal and rework of that area is something you can purchase from your window contractor who usually will have a small stucco sub who comes to do that work when they are ready . . .they can get a price for it and you will not spend as much as if you try to do it yourself.

Is it possible for you to remove the shutters soon for new photos? If they are part of the area's vernacular architecture, an architectural salvage place might want them. Someone may be searching high and low for them. A brief bit of googling turned up modern hurricane shutters which are designed to pass Florida codes.

Libradesigneye's Y posts are just the ticket if you want a statement out front.

apple pie - you are so nice, but florida casey listed this link that she found and I was just able to embed it so all could see. She states that the shutters aren't real at all but are like concrete - I'm imagining sort of a plant on under the stucco made to look like shutters! casey, if you are concerned with fade, the lrv of the color needs to sit aroun 40 - which the chelsea may not meet (i'm on mobile so can't just pop over to look) Back w/ more color combos - especially if you list your favorite shade of bright mod color besides lime / or tell me about your interior colors for inspiration. we could shift to something like coastal fog on the house with eggplant metal and front door bm black raspberry . . . thinking outloud

Ah, now I understand about the shutters being molded on as part of the wall stucco. I learn something new every day. It's quite possible that the house would look better with "real shutters" meaning properly sized impact resistant shutters that open and close for hurricanes. Just a thought.

As for landscaping, perhaps think about a long term plan and then move your plants around accordingly. Think of the plants you have as your own in-ground nursery. The tropical plants will come back with water and fertilizer. Just choose the ones you want to encourage. The hibiscus in front of the window should be moved out where it can't get in much trouble when it gets bigger- and avoid planting where its roots can get to a sewer pipe. They are very lush once they get their roots in sewer pipes. Sewers clog as a result, of course. BTDT.

Thanks for info on hurricane-related steps. All very interesting from afar.

Floridacasey - we would love to follow your progress . . so come back here whenever you have good bad or indifferent news and we will keep faith with you . .