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slotimer

Stuck with how to improve exterior of my home. Help!

5 years ago

I like my roof lines and the landscaping, but the brick and stone really don't go well (hard to see in the pic but the stone has a distinct pink coloring. Also this is a side split and I find for the main brick body of the house it just seems like a giant wall of brick making the windows look small.


We are slowly replacing windows which will have black trim. The garage door and siding on the porch are wood so can be painted. I have no plans to paint the brick, but I have thought about staining the stone.


Suggestions are greatly appreciated!


Comments (16)

  • 5 years ago

    "We are slowly replacing windows which will have black trim."


    Why black? Personally I think white is the correct window and trim color.

    slotimer thanked millworkman
  • PRO
    5 years ago

    This is why I never like brick and stone mixed . The first thing I see is the landscaping it hides the entry and the front door does not suit the house,It would be nice to see more of the house , so maybe some pics from the street and further back. Do you mean black windows or are you thinking the trim in black? I have to agree unless you are going for a complete redo of the house black would not be my choice .I have to say I dislike homes where the driveway is the prominent feature . I like either the garage door the same as the siding or a new door in wood with some windows . I would start with removing all the over growth so you can see the house. The landscaping is totally overtaking the house.

    slotimer thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
  • 5 years ago

    I personally find white trim always looks dirty and a little dated, I like the idea of making the house look a little more modern so that's why we were thinking black.

    I agree the angle of the shot isn't ideal, in real life it is a little less driveway heavy ;p


    I played around with the Benjamin Moore color viewer and was thinking something along the lines of this:


    Thoughts?


  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I love it! Not sure about the red though- maybe black or charcoal and a red door Instead? Or better yet, natural wood siding instead of red.

  • 5 years ago

    You might mock up stone, brick and wood porch in the charcoal gray. Doors, windows & trim black and cedar for the eaves, garage door, porch area and beefed up porch posts. Can't see behind the plantings, but I'm guessing your porch isn't high enough off the ground to require railings, so I'd remove those.


  • 5 years ago

    The window trim can be charcoal Or hunter green that looks like Cedar siding?

  • 5 years ago

    It also appears that it's hard to get up to your front door do you wanna move on anything or widen the bushes opening from the driveway?

  • 5 years ago

    Is that a tree growing too close to your house that should be moved out to the yard that's good and get into the rough and damage or siding to

  • 5 years ago

    I never recommend painting brick, and I am not going to start now, but this brick is too solid and dark and needs some help. Recommend a Lime Wash, German Slurry or German Schmere.


    https://craftedbythehunts.com/5-ways-to-finish-brick/

  • 5 years ago

    I think you house looks great! It is the expanse of pavers making up your driveway that is throwing off the colors. Does your driveway need to be that wide? Is there any way to make the drive more narrow, and add landscaping to draw the eye?

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I don't like the bright red with the rusty coloured bricks. If you want a good contrast, blue is the way to go instead of the red. I like the dark gray on the stone and the garage door. Yellow flowers will look better with the brick than red.

    If you dislike the larger area of brick between the upstairs windows and the stone, add a 6 foot high horizontal band of wood. It's a classic with that style of house. And instead of red or blue on the left, use wood too. You may want a darker stain than I have shown.

    German schmear is absolutely not the right look for this brick. This house is not cottagey or old-country. Use a solid paint/stain if you must but I like the rust brick colour. It's authentic with your house.

  • 5 years ago

    Nice home. House has a bit of a modern vibe to it.


    Not really a fan of pink for any part of the exterior of a home -- but that's a personal preference.


    I'd definitely stain the pink stone a darker color. Is your roof gray? If so, a dark gray would be worth considering or pick the lightest color from within your red brick. (Not usually a fan of painting brick or stone, but in this case, I'd likely make an exception. )


    You've clearly expended time/effort/energy/$ on your landscaping and it looks really good.


    From the angle of the pic you've included, your front yard and porch appear to be blocked off. from access via the driveway. If you want the entry to feel welcoming to guests, you m ight consider how you might draw attention to the entrance/path to access your porch from your driveway... if there is a path; if not, you might want to create a path -- or make an existing one a bit more obvious. You might consider adding a post with a solar light atop it beside that path.


    As your spruce tree grows, it may well provide more shade than many of the plants you have like/need.


    I like trees in my yard and the shade they can provide my home, especially during the hot summer, but adding one too close to the foundation has the potential for eventually giving you some trouble. Do keep that in mind if you're making any changes to the landscaping or even to the house itself, such as if you're considering covering a walkway by extending your front porch roof as a flat roof (4'-6' deep) over the walkway to the garage.


    You might consider a white portico (about 18" deep) above the garage door supported by brackets on each side of the garage door, wide enough so you could have the option of adding a hanging basket with flowers that bloom from each corner as the spruce provides more shade than flowering plants might like.


    A gate ( perhaps with a portico above it continuing from above the garage) could "hide" utility items on the right side of the garage -- the area doesn't look particularly bad as is but are just more obvious (by comparison) because the front yard landscaping looks so very good.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    That is a wide span of open brick. Have you considered adding an exterior pressed metal wall sculpture to "break up" the visual?

    https://www.touchofclass.com/infinity-sun-wall-art-bronze/p/W842-001/?code=YMF03&color=Bronze&size=&tid=YMFPLA&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8pPC3-_o6QIVFrbICh0GrQhiEAQYASABEgIVofD_BwE

  • 5 years ago

    Thank you everyone for your ideas and input!

  • 5 years ago

    I'm not a fan of painting brick or stone and if there is an alternative to doing so, that should at least be considered first -- even if the stone has a bit of a pink hue to it.


    If you lighten the color of the painted siding, the contrast would not be as great. The fact that some of use might try staining it darker shouldn't be the deciding factor, especially if you're considering re-painting the siding any time soon. There is also another alternative to minimize the pink stone.


    If you're even thinking of keeping the siding color or even repainting it another dark color, first consider painting the garage door and that pinkish trim around the garage door -- especially that pinkish trim around the garage door -- and, perhaps, that horizontal "chair rail" at the top of the stone as well as the porch posts and railing first. If these are decidedly NOT pinkish -- a darker color, perhaps a tan or light brown or even your siding color, the stone will likely look less pinkish.


    Without those more dominant features being pink, I'm inclined to think that the pinkish stone would not even be noticeable, especially if you have plants between it and your sidewalk.





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