Ideas to Spruce Up Too Plain Garrison Colonial

9 years ago

We need to paint the house this Spring, but I'm thinking we need a change up to add more depth and character. Questions:
- paint: warmer dark gray (BM Amherst Gray) with blue door (BM Blue Wythe), white trim?
- shutters or no shutters?
- add a covered front stoop porch?
- landscaping - its blah...
- on garage add a cupola with copper top, windows and light and copper weathervane?

Featured Answer

tatts

9 years ago

I think it looks pretty good as is. The one thing I would do is paint (or buy a new) the storm door the same color as the front door. The white storm door hides the pop of color and makes the door look tiny from a distance.

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Comments (14)

mandy_moo_pants
9 years ago
I also like your house as is. I think spending your money on landscaping would make a big difference. A raised garden bed with pavers, dark mulch, and flowering bushes would be fantastic
jenn cloutier thanked mandy_moo_pants
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Tammy Lawhorn
9 years ago
I would leave the house as is and redo the landscaping. A coupala over garage doors would be nice with some asiatic jasmine or climbing roses on it.
Tammy Lawhorn
9 years ago
I love the color of your house as well. Gray is depressing and boring!!!! Overdone too!!!
jenn cloutier thanked Tammy Lawhorn
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Fairway Style Living
9 years ago
Hi, Jenn--

Your house may look 'plain Jane' to you, but to me it just looks well-edited! Also, I love this palette you've selected as it really compliments your mature landscaping. If you're interested in making some changes, I totally support your idea of the garage cupola to enhance its profile, possibly painted in your white trim color to really highlight it. Not sure of your current porch dimensions, but may also be worth considering beefing that platform size up a tad in stonework and adding some complimentary white railing.

I'm not normally a shutters person, but your house is doing them proud - they look fantastic here. Cheers!
jenn cloutier thanked Fairway Style Living
ladma
9 years ago
Here's what grey with a red door would look like, Mine!
This is Cabot Stonehenge, with Navaho white trim, and BM cottage red on the door.
I like your color, and agree just tweaking the landscaping will go a long way.
jenn cloutier thanked ladma
felizlady
9 years ago
Your house is beautiful as it is now. A cupola on the garage would be very attractive...no climbing vines on a cupola. All your landscape needs is a bit of color....a Japanese maple, a nice crabapple, any flowering tree or a trio of birches with white bark, plus a few perennial flowering shrubs and some bulbs for early spring color.
jenn cloutier thanked felizlady
miss lindsey (She/Her)
9 years ago
Your house is very attractive. Grey will not be an improvement imo. I'm also not a fan of cupolas for no reason. This is not a farmhouse and trying to force it that direction won't add anything of value. That's my blunt thought for the day.

If you love the look of copper, you could consider adding it in new light fixtures:
Vaxcel Mackinac 9" Outdoor Wall Light, Antique Red Copper · More Info

And then as everyone else said, put the rest of your budget into adding colour and four-season interest to your landscape.
gtcircus
9 years ago
You need new landscape and new lights out front. A sage green grey would be lovely as the base color. Your white garage doors are all off. They should be dark and receded, not pop. You want the front door to pop. Also consider installing a sidewalk to the street as your eye follows solely to the garage door as that is the only line to the street.
gtcircus
9 years ago
You could put an arbor trellis across the garage. Lose the tree in front of the window it is not correct. Bring landscape out in front of the sidewalk and frame the house properly. The landscape needs a major rework. Add the sidewalk to the street.
jenn cloutier thanked gtcircus
decoenthusiaste
9 years ago
I like your house as is. It carries off the shutters pretty well, and I usually don't like them on a Garrison Colonial. I would paint the garage door to match the shutters or just a bit lighter than they are so it recedes more.

A new color - I'd stay within the woodsy tones of your surroundings
Upper Saddle River Garrison Colonial · More Info

Not sure there's room between your door and the upstairs window for a portico.
Summit Colonial III · More Info
If you want to convert it to a farmhouse, here is someone's before and after.
Federal Front Porch · More Info
Another dark woodsy color
Upper Saddle River Garrison Colonial · More Info
You might fit a flat roof portico into the facade
Westport Farmhouse for the Modern Traditionalist · More Info
calidesign
9 years ago
I also like your house as it is. If you want a change, keep the paint color light so you have contrast to your roof. A dark gray paint with your dark gray roof won't look right. If you want gray, use a very light gray, and paint your door dark blue. Remove the small amount of grass between your sidewalk and the shrubs/tree, and plant perennials there.
mscary
9 years ago
You need to have the shutters hung properly. They should not be nailed to the house but to the window casing. Contact a reputable shutter company and go with wood. Most manufacturers offer a 20 year warranty on wood shutters. The vinyl ones look cheap.
Frank Acquarulo
4 years ago
Do you have any updates of your home?