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melannie_rose

Exterior Design HELP!

6 years ago


We recently had to re-do part of our exterior siding due to water issues and I feel like I keep making one mistake after another. We chose vertical board and batten siding, which I am not liking, but it can’t be changed now. When finished, the entire front will be board and batten. We chose to do our porch in black (Sherwin Williams Black Magic), which I love but am not convinced on the trim work/style. And now l’m totally lost on what to do about the front flower bed, porch railing, lighting, etc. I need help tying it all together. We were going for a modern craftsman/urban farmhouse style (if those are even styles? We want a mix of modern and approachable, some contrast, but not cold). We are handy and determined to make this look right, so no suggestion is out of the question!

Comments (7)

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    We are handy and determined to make this look right


    Is this a DIY project?


    Did you consider taking the black roof across to the left side?


    The area I've circled and the black fascia seems too big, and the small vertical pieces on that fascia seem out of place.



    Melannie Rose thanked PPF.
  • 6 years ago

    LOVE the black porch and agree with PPF that if scaled properly, you should consider taking black roof across the left side. I think board and batten siding painted white on body of house with the black porch would look stunning!

    Melannie Rose thanked Melanie Hooks
  • 6 years ago

    Make the entire main floor black to reduce the clumsiness of the porch.

    Melannie Rose thanked jbtanyderi
  • 6 years ago

    You have black&white-framed windows on the black porch, but white-framed windows on the gray walls. The gray color seems more like putty color to me. The black porch/roof/windowframes area is too dominant. Paint those windows gray to relate to the gray portion. The railings need to be stained to match the fence. You will have black, gray, white and brown stain. Do you think four house colors plus the concrete color will be too much? If you extended the black roof across the left entry area, the room behind the white windows would lose all the available natural light. The black roof and walls of the enclosed porch will attract and hold the heat of the sun and that room may be too warm for comfort.

    Melannie Rose thanked felizlady
  • 6 years ago

    The roof and porch are DIY, the siding, windows, and trim are being done by professionals. Flippers bought the house and added the second story. The original house was a single story bungalow with an existing porch where the current one is with a hip roof. With the new roof line, the hip roof looked out of proportion and out of place. It also only had a small, single window on the second story in the front of the house. The two double hung windows up top are new. The flippers did not put the siding on correctly, as we learned over time due to water issues. In order to save money, we opted to only have the front of the house and the bottom portion of the house resided as that was where the water issues were occurring (i.e. on the original part of the house). We selected a gray board and batten (vinyl) that is a near match to the horizontal lap siding that is currently on the second story in the sides and back of the house and also on the garage. I like the idea of carrying the roof over to the left, but do worry about blocking the natural light coming in through those windows (our living room is on the other side). Other ideas for a way to carry the look through? know adding greenery/landscaping will help. The photos below were my original inspiration for the black porch. I like the contrast provided. Thanks so far for all of the input! It’s very appreciated!




  • 6 years ago


    Here is a picture of the house when we bought it.