i think mansard roofs are most effective when 'upper wall' part matches the 'roof' part. something to consider.

I'm not a pro but I think the house is lovely and fits well into the setting. I might try to balance the front entry, since the doors and steps looks off centered, and maybe add a little more prominence to the entry. Also paint the downspouts to disappear into the colors of the siding, since they now give vertical lines that distract from the lines of the house. Just a thought.

Love the house. It is beautifully situated, sits low to the ground, and is well proportioned. What I don't love is the clear-cut style landscape. This needs a serious investment on the grounds and a talented landscape architect to really turn this wall flower into a serious contender. Have the stonework cleaned and make sure the roof doesn't need replacing yet. If it does look at deep bronze colored metal or rubber shingles. She just needs some love and respect. Gorgeous, with even greater potential in the right hands.

Beautiful house and property! I would do what others above me have suggested and hire a professional landscaper.

Gorgeous property, but I don't care for the home at all. One of the biggest turn-offs is actually the carport. It looks practical for boats, but makes the house look weird and choppy. Here's the high-budget plan...

I'd actually separate it from the home and treat it as a separate entity and turn it into a drive-thru garage and carriage house above. Once you have it separated, add a narrow, but enclosed glass breezeway/hallway to join it back to the house.

I'm not a fan of the roof-style at all. I'd be itching for a way to get rid of those weird angular juts on the ends, and I certainly wouldn't emphasize them (unless you want it to look like you live in a barn). I cannot stand barn roofs on homes or mansard roofs. Ditto for tudor. I run for the hills, lol.

I'd replace the roof with a fake cedar-shake-look roof in a weathered grey/light charcoal grey colour.

I would powerwash the entire house and stone. I would certainly repaint the top portion of the home. I'm not a fan of yellow or creamy yellow homes, for one thing, but the house itself just looks tired with the stone.

I'm partial to cedar colours for homes by lakes, and most especially if they have stone. I'd find a way to bring the upper portion of the home back to its natural state of grey or cedar-colour. Paint would work.

I'm on the fence about putting a wash on that stone. I think once the yellow is gone the stone would for sure look better anyway.

I'd definitely beef up the entry with columns, a covered portico, a nice chandelier-type fixture, and grey slate in a dark colour. I would make the columns creamy white, but not yellow-looking!

I'd also replace the front door to a cedar wood one and paint all the window trim the column colour.

For sure play around with landscaping and also landscape lighting.

Gorgeous property! All the best with your new home. :-)

P.S. A few pics. with some ideas that would work for your space and/or to give you a visual of what's going through my mind. Cheers!

Trim and columns idea--not necessarily correct-shaped columns, but these are substantial. They are also open and have the light fixture that extends downward. Both good.landscape ideathis whole home is more my speed colour-wise. It's a grey-green or green-grey, but to me this blends more into nature. Also see the columns, roof, cedar door, and the shingles on upper portion ;-)This stone is a bit softer and has less orange and yellow--hence my hesitation about a wash. I also like the darker roof and the garage doors with the stone.Out of these 2 photos, I like the bottom one. I don't care for the metal roof on the first picture nor the severe contrast between the 2 textures of wood and stone. The bottom picture is a more natural look and isn't as stark. I also like the uplighting.This pic. has nice, but simple landscaping. It could easily be diy and work in your setting.
This photo was for a different thread, lol. I'm not sure why I can't delete it.Another variation of cedar and stone.

Cheers!

Last thoughts...I'm not sure how to add some more interest to the roof line so it's not so flat. Peaks would help. The 4 windows and door on the front just look so blah. It needs height!

One of dozens of styles of breezeway ideas that would work with your home.

I know it is not normally done but I might paint the upper floor to go with the roof to draw more attention to the stone.

I love all the suggestions! Thank you! In regards to the "yellow" looking top color of the house above the stone. It's actually a vinyl shaker shingle. I hate the color too. I'd love to have it a different color and add a new metal roof on a gray or bronze to match stones. Can you paint that vinyl?

Don't bother with painting vinyl. Save up for cement board shingle that will last a lifetime. If budget is a concern buy it primed and paint it yourself rather than purchase the pre-painted. If you are handy it's not a difficult installation. Just follow the manufacturers steps, get a concrete blade for your mitre saw and wear a mask - it's dusty to cut. Cheers.

I would leave both the stone and the siding as is. To me, they look great, better than 98% of what we see. Overall, your house has SO MANY great features....perfect lines and scale (except perhaps that entry is a bit off), dark window frames, great scale and placement on windows, the beautiful stone with the perfectly scaled massive chimney adding dignity and coherence....the whole house could be used as a lesson in excellent modern design. Even the battering of the walls - i.e. the fact that the second story walls are not vertical - reads like a well-considered feature and that is a FIRST in my experience. And I didn't even mention the beautiful lakeshore setting.

The thing that needs LOTS of work is the landscaping. Right now, your front yard is just featureless, flat green....may as well be painted concrete for all it does to enhance the look and the function. I'd recommend getting a serious landscape architect in to do a comprehensive plan for hardscaping and planting that will integrate your gorgeous house into its gorgeous surroundings. It's money well spent to have the plan, then you can spend time executing it as the timing becomes right. I'd focus on a walkway, maybe an added portico to shelter the entrance, native shrubs and trees for seasonal color and scale. Your house can and will be magazine-cover worthy....

Last thought, you may want to take some classes in architecture or do a bit of reading to help appreciate your house more. It is truly good design judging by the facade....I'd like to help you see that!

Hi There! It is a lovely house. Where is it located? Call me crazy, but I would carry the stone all the way to the roof and take away the wood siding. the main house feels like a lake house, however, the wood is throwing off the classical lake feel. I would not paint the stone. Keep it natural. You want the house to compliment the natural landscape. Cedar shingle the roof and add copper gutters. As it ages, it will be beautiful. I am attaching an image of a house we did that overlooks a pond as inspiration.

What are you doing for you interiors? What period or style of furniture?

What a fun project!

All my best,

Rhonda

And to the Houzzers chiming in wanting to mess with the roofline (!) ... Seriously! Columns and porticos!?! This is not a traditional bungalow...it is a contemporary home! It appears to be borrowing heavily from the Usonian/Prairie vernacular in terms of design. This is a well built bruit that does not need tampering with. So inform yourself on architectural history and styles before suggesting these gawdawful ideas that have no connection the the building and its origins.

I try appreciate all the input. Our home is located in FairPlay, SC in Lake Hartwell. We move in June 23. Super excited!

@terri--I'm sure you and your family will make many amazing memories there! I wish you well.

Oh. Remember, it's your home. Don't let people on here try to bully you into keeping things as is and/or changing them. It's your home. Do what you wish with it ;-)

Happy boating, barbecuing, water-skiing, tubing, swimming, fishing, relaxing, and renovating!

Still a little baffled as to roofing material and color for future and the top siding color...above stone is the yellow beige cedar shake looking vinyl.

With this much stone a common method for choosing paint color is to choose a color from the stone or grout. I think the previous owner meant to do that but it is a little too yellow for my tastes.

I would take the darkest color of stone and use that as your color. Go far away from the yellow. That dates the house. Try to find a washed grey in the stone.

I see some grey in the top leftish corner. It is a soft, washed grey. I would go in that direction. We do a lot of historic properties, and you want to use a pallet that is as natural and seamless to the property as possible.

Hope that helps...

The only thing that seems off to me is the entry -- poorly defined stoop and entry. i think I'd want to do something there. Maybe some combination of iron railings, a planter to the left, and/or an extended roof. This might be tied into landscaping plans.

Thanks to all! Very helpful!

I'm still baffled why the front door itself wasn't centred when built. Weird. Did they have too many martoonies when framing and --backwards out came everything?---Lol. ;-)

Like saying, "But Ossifer, I only had 1 tink..." Or, "My wife drinks and thinks too much. She says I have a problem. Whaddya drink? Do I think too much?"

:-)

@Eleish--the grey would look great!

OP, see if someone is kind enough to Photoshop it up for you.

And maybe a roofer will post some ideas...here's hoping.

MAARRSSHHAA,!!!!!

Lol.

Ha, ha, just found this old thread. It's a reunion! Quick, where's Alice?!

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/brady-bunch-kitchen-remodel-dsvw-vd~3532070

I'm afraid Alice will not be at the reunion -

That faux-Mansard roof bugs me no end. The top roof should not overhang the 2nd floor like that.

I'd love to know how that was framed. If the home's structure is standard (outside walls go straight up), then the 2nd floor mansard parts are just hanging off the wall framing and could be removed and new siding added (going straight up) that doesn't look so weird and dated.

That's a pyramid roof.

Wow, I think the house is gorgeous. Yes front door needs enhancing, like the addition in pic, you could grow a nice creeper over it. If you are thinking of painting have a look at BM Copley grey, the lighter colour and BM silhouette, they look great with that stone

@robin701. I know, she's gone. Ann B. Davis if memory serves. And Sam was her boyfriend. He was a butcher. I'm trying to remember if he ever proposed or not?

@blenheimnewzealand--that is a gorgeous red! Do you happen to know the name of it? Friends of ours have a heritage home and are looking for colour ideas. They were tossing red around as one possible idea.

Maybe Paint What do ya'll think??

I do not know why some posters would suggest totally changing the style of the architecture of your home. Shame on them! (luvourhome).

The only suggestion I have is centering the steps to the entry porch by extending them clear across the whole porch. Landscaping as you can afford it. Changing the downspouts to match the siding it is against. What a beautiful setting.

So Sandradclark What do you think i think that they could maybe change the look and do some new things to it? What do you think??

@luvourhome - I think they got engaged at the end of the series and married in one of the later movies.....I think :)

This is an amazing contempory home in a gorgeous setting. Agree with the posters that think the shakes would look better in a darker grey colour taken from the stone...that would contrast nicely with some new purposeful landscaping. Also agree with extending the front landing area all the way to the right. It would make the front entrance appear to be planned to be asymmetrical and still be in keeping with the architecture. Columns and porticos do not belong on this house and to try to add them would just make a "muddle" of it's design.

For landscaping, some wellplaced redbud, dogwood and birch trees would be lovely and some white pine trees and cypress shrubs would provide some softness and winter interest....all would tie in nicely with your natural setting.

Thanks all' I'd LOVE to change upper shaker vinyl siding to gray but all the gutters and downspouts and eves etc are all dark brown. It would be so costly to change all of that as well! If we put a dark brown metal roof with the existing dark brown gutters downspouts etc what color siding? I REALLY don't like the yellow look it has now. Maybe a copper/bronze color roof?

I would do columns with an arch in it. If you choose to go that way,I am a mason and I would be able to do the work for you. My prices are very reasonable.

@sandradclark--Lol. And I don't understand why some posters would suggest keeping it. Shame on them for being in a time warp! It works both ways... :-)

And good thing people can live vicariously and/or daydream on sites like this. If they actually had to live in or pay for x renovation, they would sing a different tune.

@robin701-thanks!

@OP--Perhaps gutters and downspouts could be taken down and spray-painted a different colour saving some of the cost? I'm not sure.

Paint the front door a Fun color, add some railing, and beautiful modern landscaping.