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Exterior advice

6 years ago



I added an addition and now the house looks disproportionately long. How can I draw the eye upward?

Comments (13)

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I'd add 2 small trees to the left of the three dormers to break up the length and a third one in between the second and third dormer (from left). The third tree should be set further out from the house (probably, but hard to say without seeing entire lot layout).

    Then add some offset hardscaping in between the trees, probably a patio with raised stone boarder. Again, hard to say if a patio is appropriate here because I don't know what the street situation is.

    I like the idea of changing the cladding but I don't see a natural point for that with your low roofline. It seems like this might be a sunny location however, so you could consider adding a full height wooden screen/trellis at some point to the left or right of the front door. That's going to give you more shade, which you might or might not want, but it will also break up the length. You could also train plaints to grow on these trellises.

    In any case, too much lawn. You don't really want to mow that much anyway do you?

  • 6 years ago

    Change the posts make them more substantial. Paint your front door a bright colour so it breaks up the long expanse, take out the shrubbery and add more colourful bushes, flowers etc.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    IMO you need to draw attention to the front door, get rid of that little arched window and deal with landscaping done well to draw your eye to it too.I have no idea how long your house but ours is aMCM ranch that is 75 long I love it and have never thought it would look better if I somehow did something to draw the eye up to make it taller.

  • 6 years ago

    Become friends with the long look. Look into midcentury exteriors and landscaping.

  • 6 years ago

    You need larger, square posts that look sufficiently buff enough to hold up that huge roof and the added visual "weight" of the dormers. Then focus everything on the door; color, landscaping, a walk directly to the street, trees and furniture on the porch. Everything you can add that breaks up the linearity of it will help.

  • 6 years ago

    Agree with deco above and Jan. The posts do disappear into the house and having beefer posts with a contrasting color should help. Getting a true landscape design will help tremendously.

    In the meantime, post your dilemma in the landscape forum here for some landscape and walkway ideas.

  • 6 years ago

    I had to go back and look for the posts ... I thought they were temporary 2x4s!

    Nothing wrong with a long low house. Beef up the posts and hire a good landscape architect.

  • PRO
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Hey there! Have you considered exterior shutters to add a bit of added dimension to your home's facade? Here are a few examples of some of our customer's shutters after being installed.





  • 6 years ago

    Your landscape can help bring some height and dimension to the house.
    I would add two or three trees and some colorful flowers to the front yard.
    One area for a tree is between the two gabled areas and the left-most dormer, one to the left of the gables and a third just past the right-most dormer. Plant the largest trees which fit your budget (boxed trees are going to require a landscaper with proper equipment), and plant them far enough forward of the house that they will able to attain their full anticipated diameter without ever touching the roofing or gutters.
    Merely adding shutters, even if sized properly, will not add any height to the facade...they would accentuate the length even more.

  • 6 years ago

    I like this idea! What style/color would you recommend with this board and batten siding.

  • 6 years ago

    Here's a mock up based on other comments... Removed the round window in middle dormer, enlarged pillars, painted door a rust color, added some landscaping and a path to the door.... it's certainly not like yardvark would do but it's something...


  • 6 years ago

    The above mockup is going in the right direction. I would suggest beefing up the posts a bit more or getting ones with more details? I would also widen the space between the two posts in front of the main door to make that more of a focal point. I would then install outdoor lights/wall lanterns and topiary on both sides of the door. If there’s anyway to make the front door wider and more prominent that would be helpful also.