I am not digging the two garage set ups?? seems off.

It is weird but many houses in these subdivisions are like this. :/

It's never going to look American farmhouse on the exterior. Settle for Mediterranean farmhouse or not. Your interior can be however you want. Or keep looking for an older house in an older subdivision where you might find a rancher that could go hip farmhouse. I live in the Bay Area so I know there's something out there in the same price range, it might just be smaller.

Upgrade the garage doors for sure. Big impact there!

Like these:

Tall ornamental grasses would look good planted on both sides of the drive in the bare sections. Paint the door a color like this to bring it out.

And, as mentioned, you do not have a farmhouse. Embrace what you do have.

Have fun with the interior and make it suite your style!

For exterior, upgrade to a wooden garage door, add shutters (if it works with the windows), and change the lights, landscaping, etc. For additional interest, you can add a pergola, creeping fig growing on stucco etc. there are ways to create a super lush looking landscape with low water plants if that is a consideration.

this is not even a very good Mediterranean look. I would actually make the right hand garage the double door entry to the house, turn the entry door into stained glass or something, it looks too small to be an entry door.

remove the 2 pieces of english style fencing, then either put up grill work, or like this

remove the x thingies, enlarge the lanterns, darker trim color. I do not know why you have dark mulch upfront but most of your bushes are too big for across the house, bring them lower. And i would definitely get a new front to your fence.

That sort of weird extra garage could be made over into a great office space or guest room.

Art studio even...

Searching exterior under Texas Hill Country:

Barn style garage doors, other garage door replaced with french doors. Weathered trellis over front door. Add an old bench in place of the iron one. Plant an olive tree out front for interest.

Any chance stucco can be painted this shade?

Paint the stucco! I'm always amazed at what a huge difference that makes. A dark color can look amazing and it hides dirt too!

yeah, but it is in CA, isn't that a lot like FL, nothing dark in the sun?

wow, all the comments! thank you! i think ;) So fyi, the left side garage is a tandem two-car garage. The right side garage is a one-car which inside is floored with hardwood and walls painted. We intend to use this for my soon to be 18 year old, then eventually possibly an office. We have 4 children so this house is big enough for each to have their own room for a while until we don't need it anymore. I understand it is not farmhouse looking at all, however the interior has potential. Painting is a great idea. Removing the x thingies is good too lol We don't even have this house yet but its the first that has had potential and fit my family that is in our budget. I'm just really wondering if the outside is going to bother me too
much. Hard to say. We live in a boxy stucco home right now and its not
my ideal home but if it fit all of us I would stay. Well.. got some
thinking to do! Quick thinking!

Perhaps a European farmhouse vibe? This is one of my favorite foreign country / cottage blogs - features many European (and even American) homes with less glam but lots of charm. I've got 4 children too:)

http://depositosantamariah.blogspot.com

Having fun- poster says she is in "wine country". Leads me to believe Northern CA. Hence, much more temperate climate and NOT like Florida at all. Painting the stucco would be fine.

I live near Redding, CA and have a friend with dark stucco. It is HOT here in summer. Painting near the wine country will work fine.

If you don't like it now, you never will. I'd keep looking, and try to find something closer to your style.

I think ornamental grasses will really make the home look
like its located in the country side. It seems to me that the exterior really
doesn’t seem to match with the modern farmhouse theme.

The easiest way to adjust how the front of a home looks is to change the front and garage doors! There are so many different styles that can give you more of the look you would like: http://bit.ly/1WuGAPM

Yes, i do get that this is nowhere near farmhouse style. I was just hoping to figure a way to make the exterior look better without making it look more spanish/mediterranean than it already is. Like I said exterior is not my style at all but either is the house we currently live in lol It is not easy getting what you want in California. We are a family of 6 too!

Is there an HOA? That will dictate what you can do.

Embrace the Mediterranean. Go there on holidays, you might come to like it. Its a nice house.

No HOA. And thank you chookchook2... it may not be my dream home but it is bigger than what we are in right now and its in a great neighborhood. :)

I would love to have it. I wish you lots of family love and happiness there.

I think ornamental grasses will really make the home look
like its located in the country side. It seems to me that the exterior really
doesn’t seem to match with the modern farmhouse theme.

Thank you trespalmas. Yeah, I guess I'm just tired of the wine country look lol The interior I can for sure do something with it but I really just don't know what to do with the exterior. We own a stucco home right now and there is not much you can do with stucco. I told myself never again will I buy stucco... but there just aren't many options here. And I really don't like the round part of the house at all. Even the entry way flooring is round when you walk in... which we are changing that! ugh... but the interior has potential! There are just not a ton of options here in our small town unless we spend $100,000 more! I guess I just want to feel better about the exterior.

I get that this is not a farmhouse lol so let me restate... how can I update the look of the exterior of this house. To me and maybe I'm wrong, but the Spanish Mediterranean look is kind of dated... how can i make it look more modern mediterranean, the inside I will be doing the modern/industrial farmhouse look. Is that wrong?

the things that look mediterranean are the little faux balconies, the tile roof, and all of the other houses in the subdivision also looking mediterranean.

i can believe the balconies are removable. if it had a corrugated metal roof instead of tile it would be awesome. but the shape would still be that of your neighbors, and i dont think even spending a lot of $$ can buck that trend.

'if it were me' i'd either not own the house or totally embrace (but not embellish further) the outside, and when people walk inside they can go 'oh, this is nice and fresh looking.'

Don't buy the house if the outside or style of exterior is unwanted. Either buy it & love it or not buy because you do not love it.

I agree with Sandra. Either love it or leave it. I don't think you'll be happy with a little change. Also, is there anHOA involved? You may not be able to make substantial changes.

Many a red tiled roof is actually not tile except for the decorative edge. If it's decorative only you could remove and replace with another material. That and doing what others have recommend would help considerably. Buying something closer to what you want probably a lot cheaper.

Maybe you can get some ideas from this ideabook, I think their changes were Way more than 100k but gives an idea what can be done different, unfortunately no "before" pictures

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/houzz-tour-a-new-mediterranean-home-goes-country-stsetivw-vs~31219744

Take down the faux balconies and the little "x" things like nngirt said, also painting the stucco a more natural shade would help so it's not so pink-toned. You could paint the tower a darker shade so maybe it would recede a bit. Plant lavender in the front where the mulch is.

I hear what everyone is saying about don't buy it if I don't love it. However we are a family of 6 in a 3 bedroom house right now. It worked when they were little but now that they are getting bigger its getting really cramped. This house has 4 bedrooms, 2 living areas, a nice kitchen and an extra one car garage with hardwood flooring and insulated walls. Perfect on the inside for us. So yes... my question to myself is the outside so much of what I don't want enough to make me say forget it. The problem here in California is... prices will go up as spring arrives. Inventory is very low right now and when it picks up its really competitive. We are not in the right place to be in competition as we have a contingency to sell our home first. There are alot of details that go into buying another home. It is NOT easy for a family of 6 in our area. So even though I completely understand everyone advising me not to buy it if i don't like it... its easier said than done. Many of the homes here in our town are stucco. Many are wood... which many of those are not my style either. There are only maybe one or two other subdivisions that I like but they are possibly out of our price range or just don't come up on the market often. As far as farmhouse or country here... its rare. And when they come up they are cash offers that get them or foreclosures. That being said lol I just want to know its ok to do the inside my style and the outside just fix it up a bit to make it not look so blah... mainly the entry way. I feel there is none. And I like the ideas of taking down the faux balconies and repainting when we can afford that. :)

My house is just a box - hated the outside when we bought it - even had broken shutters. Mostly, I have done a ton of landscaping and I like my outside now. I know that it is difficult to landscape with the drought, but lots of flowers - flower boxes, big pots and maybe a pergola over the garage - I think it could be kind of cute:)

jhmarie, that is EXACTLY how I feel about our home we live in now! lol a box! a big tall stucco box. the only exterior part i like about our existing house is the brick front porch! Would love that again. I think I could make this house look better than what it is now... definitely needs landscaping which I am horrible at! my husband could do that part ;)

i say go with it, then, as long as your eyes are wide open.

I just bought a home where the exterior was the only thing I didn't like.. been here 6 months & am ridiculously happy. That house could look very inviting if you garden it to look human instead of condo.. funky artistic cottage garden at ground level. Do Web searches and photoshop to try out hip garage doors. Imagine painting the round turret walls dark taupe or charcoal, could that structure seem to disappear? My experience suggests, if you love the fit & style inside, you'll be happy & the exterior ideas will come. In my place I dabbled at the front yard, didn't even take down the useless hunter green shutters yet. NO regrets at all! Good luck!

I understand, most houses are not perfectly fit your style unless you build it from scratch. You can learn to embrace what it has to offer and make it yours by tweaking a few things.

Agree about the faux balustrades, even painting them the same color as the house will make it blend into the background.

For a modern look I would suggest to landscape the front yard with clean lines, rustic elements and drought tolerant plants that will save you water, and ultimately money in the long run.

Thank you 7 Sisters Interiors. So true about that...every house will have something I don't like. So I think I'm ok with that now. Oh and thanks for the landscape tips... I don't necessarily like modern just more traditional with modern rustic style I guess. Updated instead of outdated... But yes landscaping will help a ton. And sounds like taking this faux whatever you called them down is a must!! :)

I totally get what you mean... House is a little dated looking. But I think it could be very cool looking if you painted with these types of colors and maybe did a little board and batten which looks really good with stucco ... And then go super modern on the landscaping. Doing drought tolerant plants will match the look too! I think this place could be so fun to do!

Thank you mcdankat! Love those ideas!

Ooh and also do black touches... Gooseneck lighting over garage. Black door like this...! Or even this color!

Don't buy