1st House: Ranch Exterior Update Ideas // Help!

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

Hey everyone! I just bought my first house (woo woo) and although we love the interior and it's open floor plan....the exterior is pretty flat. I'd love to hear some suggestions on shutters, sconces, colors, column updates etc etc on how to update on a budget. My partner and I are pretty DIY savvy so any ideas that can be done ourselves would be greatly appreciated. I'm hoping some strategic changes might give it more of a craftsman/ cottage-y feel. THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE!

Featured Answer

PRO

Creative Visual Concepts, Kevin Strader

10 years ago

Paint siding, columns and trim a darker color

2) Replace windows with something like a 6 over 1 wood clad window

3) Replace door with a wood/wood look craftsman style door and sidelights.

4) Replace wrought iron railing with a craftsman style rail.

It's a ranch so you're never going to get it to look just like a craftsman but you can give it more of that feel. It might look something like this:

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

apple_pie_order
10 years ago
Congratulations on the new house. Do you have an inspiration photo showing the Craftsman details you are looking for?
mmaryf thanked apple_pie_order
Related Professionals
Vineland Interior Designers & Decorators · Lawton Interior Designers & Decorators · Waco Interior Designers & Decorators · Jamestown Interior Designers & Decorators · Merced Interior Designers & Decorators · Las Vegas Interior Designers & Decorators · Effingham Architects & Building Designers · Cherry Hill Architects & Building Designers · Bemidji Architects & Building Designers · Show Low Architects & Building Designers · El Paso Architects & Building Designers · Montréal Architects & Building Designers · Panama City Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Eau Claire Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Edmonton Kitchen & Bathroom Designers
mmaryf
Original Author
10 years ago
Hey Kevin... thanks for the suggestions! What do you use to make these edits? I'd love to play around with that a little.
Bev
10 years ago
Congrats on your first house! It is very similar to one of the styles made by Charles Huber when we lived in Huber Heights! I agree with Kevin's suggestions since the house will never look like anything but a ranch.
mmaryf thanked Bev
PRO
Creative Visual Concepts, Kevin Strader
10 years ago
I use Powerpoint to do these. I paste your picture into the presentation and using shape and line tools I fill in the areas that I want to recolor setting the transparency so that you can still see the details. I then copy and paste windows, doors, railings etc. onto the photo and save it as a JPEG. Probably not the easiest way to do it but it works for me.
housegal200
10 years ago
Not sure if morphing a ranch into a cottage with shutters and flower boxes would work. Kevin's design and colors are fantastic and honor the clean lines of a ranch but with rich color. In any case, rather than gee gaw additions, think about landscape design to set off your new house.