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deegw

Curb appeal help

14 years ago

This house is not my style but we are seriously considering it because it's really close to the beach.

Besides changing the trim color and adding some bahama shutters, does anyone have any other ideas?

The windows look like they currently have shutters but they do not. It must be dark curtains showing through.

I'd like to do something with the entry but I'm kind of stumped.

This is this best pic I can find. If it's possible to photoshop it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank-you!

Comments (19)

  • 14 years ago

    The entry being that close to the garage is unfortunate. I have seen homes in this style with wonderful pergolas off the front door. I would be tempted to re-orientate the garage door to the back. That would give you some options for a front yard, patio and walk way.

  • 14 years ago

    Dee, I think the house is kind of interesting.....it looks like a fun project. This topic is not my strong suit but I am wondering if you could start with a different garage door...perhaps one that ties to the color of your front door.

    The other thing that jumped out at me is the vertical space to the left of the entry. Is there room for a taller plant specimen there?

  • 14 years ago

    I forgot to add the main part of the home is tabby which is a stucco material with bits of shells in it. I'd prefer not to paint it because I like being able to see the shells.

  • 14 years ago

    I think your house is very interesting, and sounds like the location can't be beat! IMO, you first need to decide the direction you want to go... What do you want the end result to look like? You could easily go Spanish colonial and paint the house a darker tan ( but still light, not a deep southwest tan color) and beef up the trim in rustic cedar that is stained a medium brown.... Bahama shutters in a stained and varnished wood in the same medium brown, ditto the doors, a pergola of rustic brown wood attached above the garage with vines trained on it (Bougainvillea?) or even a larger pergola that projects out and is supported by posts and extends left to the front door, to create a vine covered arcade entrance to the house. Landscaping and either stamped concrete or pavers for the drive.

    Alternatively, you could go with an island look and paint the house white with grey bahama shutters and more tropical landscaping. Or you could even go very clean and modern---- or even moderne if you rounded off the house's stucco corners.

  • 14 years ago

    For the fast changes -- Switch the indoor window treatments to basic white wood blinds.

    Paint out the outdoor trim AND the front doors to fresh clean white.

    OR paint the front door high gloss deep rich marine blue.

    Switch the outdoor lighting to larger stainless steel ones.

    Add a sleek modern-or clean-line-style fountain under the window near the front door entrance.

    Here is a link that might be useful: bellacor.com -- possible outdoor lighting

  • 14 years ago

    Ooh, I love teacat's suggestions. The house has a great clean-lined look, very California contemporary. Work within that context & you'll have a winner.

    Can you get a better picture? Larger, clearer, with a real camera perhaps? Phone pictures are too small & fuzzy to work with, honestly.

  • 14 years ago

    Perhaps check for house/decor ideas and inspiration in those wonderful marine blue and bright white homes and outdoor decor in the gorgeous islands of Greece or Santorini .....

  • 14 years ago

    Just playing around a bit with the crude-but-effective MSPaint app:

    If it were my home, I'd embrace the monolith & paint all the trim a lighter shade of the siding color. Then I'd just focus on a killer door, contemporary lighting & lots of good landscape uplighting. Maybe save money for a better garage door, painted in the trim color so it doesn't hog the attention:


    or
    {{gwi:1542368}}

    Looks like your roof color is brown? A pale gray or silver would look better (we are really throwing your money around now, but these are all sort of fantasy suggestions anyway).

    One last thing: for recessed doors I love a recessed flood light in the ceiling. It bathes the entrance with the prettiest soft light at night, doesn't greet your guests with glare, and if you get that killer door, shows it off so beautifully.

  • 14 years ago

    Get rid of those completely awful "shutters" that do not belong on a home of this style. A terracotta tile roof would be far more in keeping with the home's style as well. Other than that, it's all about simplicity. A fiberglass garage door that mimics rustic wood would also work.

  • 14 years ago

    If I understand you correctly, you do not have have shutters right now; and I would not add them. It doesn't look like there's room and isn't in keeping with the house IMHO. Embrace that clean style and it can be stunning. Really like Teacats suggestions for a blue door and white trim (keep the garage like the siding so it doesn't stand out.) Add comtemporary lights, a larger shrub on the left with perhaps some art above it. Contemporary boat sculpture, since you're near the beach? Some driftwood in the yard?

  • 14 years ago

    If you have a garage that faces the front you need to spend the money on attractive doors. We have front facing doors and just ordered doors from ranchhousedoors.com. They have many photos and a section with contemporary dooors. Just painting a large garage door to make it blend or disappear doesn't really work. Design the front door and garage door together to make a cohesive design.

  • 14 years ago

    I think the garage door in a rustic wood finish, but closer to a driftwood color reminiscent of the beach would be wonderful.

    If you are going to paint the existing door, pick up the color of the shells in the stucco, which will highlight the tabby effect.

    No shutters for this style house, imo.

    The front door in a strong blue, as teacats suggests, would be nice. I could also see it in more of a turquoise blue or a rich coral.

    I would do the trim in a color of the shells in the stucco, again to compliment the tabby effect.

    Plant a tall bush or add a trellis with climbing plants on the tall wall to the left of the front windows. Some uplighting in the landscape beds on the garage wall and the left front wall of the house would be a nice addition if they aren't there already.

    I don't know if you could add a light fixture centered above the garage, but something there in a modern, clean vibe but with double lights would be good.

  • 14 years ago

    I like the idea of the mostly glass modern front doors, but in the meantime, I tried the suggestion of blue front doors. I painted the garage door brown, on the theory that it helps to recede from view. Maybe I went too dark, but the current garage door, which is lighter than the tabby, attracts the eye more than something darker. Tabby... are you in SC?

    I agree that higher-resolution photo would help -- it's pretty hard to see.

  • 14 years ago

    You have a very classic Florida Modern, with the clean lines and minimal trim. They don't tart up well, but they do the equivalent of the "little black dress" simplicity easily.

    I'd minimize the garage door by painting the door and trim the same as the house. Emphasize the front door with color, perhaps painting the wall and ceiling a bright tropical color that you pick up in the landscape's flowers.

    URGENT! Get those vines off the side of the garage ASAP - they will destroy the stucco!

    Start your landscape from the street edge of the property and frame the house, lead your eye to the geometry of the house, not puddle it out from the house like a doily on a barren green lawn (I hate front lawns!). Use strong geometrics and plants with strong branch structure and great leaves. This could use those big Birds of Paradise (Strelitzia?), small palms, and other tropicals. As an underplanting, anything flat that flowers and grows in your area.

  • 14 years ago

    How much money do you have to spend?

    A pergola 2-3 feet wide over the garage door.

    A more elegant garage door, wood, windows, panels, perhaps replace the double door with two doors.

    Trellis or vines growing up that blank wall on the left. Or a columnar tree. Vines are faster, more colorful.

    A brighter or lighter front door so it doesn't look like you're walking into a cave. The pergola perhaps continuing over the front door and windows?

    Add windows to break up the monolith look? To the wall over the garage, and the front wall of the garage? Some sort of blinds, shades, that keep your privacy and security in the garage while letting light in.

  • 14 years ago

    I missed the post that described the shells in the stucco... I love that, there is a lot of tabby construction in coastal Georgia and it is wonderful. The fact that it is not smooth coat stucco strongly lends the house to a Bahama type shutter as you mentioned in your original post. This is a classic old Florida look that is beautiful, especially in your setting of what looks like older live oaks. Typically, that type of building material is either a natural gray or whitewashed.

    Here is a link below to photo that might help you get started, it is also crushed shell stucco and has black Bahama shutters and some decorative railings that look great. It's the third one across....yours was the first image that came up with those search terms :)

    Here is a link that might be useful: House of tabby stucco construction with black Bahama shutters

  • 14 years ago

    i'm going to suggest glass-panel garage doors (just do quick google on residential glass garage doors, very sharp looking) with glass entry doors for consistency.
    stain the concrete walkway different color; and either vine, climbing plant on left part of house, or wall water fountain feature.
    (and don't forget the windchimes, lol!)

  • 14 years ago

    Thanks so much for all the great suggestions.

    The Bahama shutters in the picture below are what I had in mind. For some reason, I couldn't extract just the picture of the front of the house so the front and back pictures alternate. You may have to click on the picture to see the front of the house.

    I kind of like the front door overhang too. I'd have to play around with the shape to get the right balance and probably add some ooomph to it. Or else a header/ modern look pediment over the front door?

    Paint the trim white. White Bahama shutters. Tabby color garage door. Turquoise front door. Maybe add some windows/shutters to the street side of the garage?

    Will it work or will it clash with the modern aesthetic?

  • 14 years ago

    If you are keeping the house white I would do the shutters in black and would paint the front door and garage doors gray.

    Painting the door Turquoise will not relate to anything else there, unless you do the shutters the same color or a lighter shade. One shot of a color is usually not enough to create any context for a style or motif.