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nandologist

Curb appeal advice with carport

Nando
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago

our House is in need of a facelift. But I’d like to read some ideas.



we’ve considered the possibility of enclosing the carport into a garage, maybe that’ll make it look better? but the front door would stay recessed back. the cars wouldnt fit if garage door is on par with front door. We’d also like a front porch area.

I made a little pergola porch on our previous house and turned out ok, but not sure if that would work here.



maybe chunking up those flimsy columns with some rectangular wrap. I like craftsman style.

no idea on greenery/pots. I’m clueless there.

.I’d love to make that roof steeper, but theres no budget to redo the roofline.

If we don't enclose the carport, then any thoughts on paint color for the inside of the carport and trim?

painting the brick is also an option.


any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Comments (19)

  • carolkelley
    3 years ago

    I like Craftsman too, but you do not have a Craftsman house. You have a Mid-Century house. Look at other MCM houses, RetroRenovation.com or Atomic Ranch for inspiration. We also have a Mid-Century brick ranch and we have one plain brick column at one end of the carport and one painted wooden one with a iron railing along the gallery/porch to the front door. Whatever you do, should be consistent with the basic style of the house.

    Nando thanked carolkelley
  • Nando
    Original Author
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Thanks Carol. I had no idea of “atomic ranch” style. (name makes me think of chicken wings). It inspired me to draw a mod to the Gable front. Never mind the colors I was playing with. Its the exposed rafter/beam tails sticking out of the front.


  • Irene Morresey
    3 years ago

    Some inspiration, carport looks good in pic

    Nando thanked Irene Morresey
  • Irene Morresey
    3 years ago

    Whoops pic

    Nando thanked Irene Morresey
  • freedomplace1
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I would keep the brick and bring in wood. You see the wood detail and wood door in Irene’s second pic. Also the black trim and lighting. That is the direction I would go in - with the existing brick.

    Various car ports:






    Planters and lighting. Put some black planters around front of house. And in front of the brick.



    And some landscaping and lighting on grounds.





    Nando thanked freedomplace1
  • freedomplace1
    3 years ago

    You definitely need another color on front door. Maybe wood or black.


    If you would like to see how various color ideas, etc. could work on your house, I recommend this company.


    https://www.houzz.com/pro/uoflcardfan77/creative-visual-concepts-kevin-strader

    Nando thanked freedomplace1
  • Little Bug
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I like your inspiration for beefing up the carport supports.

    The thing that jumps out to me, though, are the 3 entry doors..

    The front door looks cheap. I’d get a substantial, maybe wood door. Could you add sidelights? A nice pendant light or a side sconce? And the 2 doors under the carport - since they are a different color from the wall, they jump out. They don‘t need to be fancy doors. They just need to disappear, so paint is all they need.

    It looks like a pleasant house. Ranches are my favorite.

    Nando thanked Little Bug
  • RedRyder
    3 years ago

    Your least expensive option is beefing up the design on the carport and going strong on MCM features. Absolutely
    need to make the carport doors “disappear” with paint and get a new MCM style front door, consider painting the brick and window trim when you have a complete design plan. This house can be a showstopper with new design features.

    Nando thanked RedRyder
  • rachann61
    3 years ago

    Mid Century is having it moment right now. But I do not think it is a trend that will fade. It is a classic style. If you like MCM go for it. Great ideas from posters above

    Nando thanked rachann61
  • carolkelley
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    @Little Bug, those are most likely not three entry doors. The most leftward one is almost certainly to a storage/utility room, The middle one goes into the kitchen and the one in front goes straight into the living room. We have a storage room at the back of our carport and they were the laundry room pretty frequently. If you live in Southern California where your pipes are unlikely to freeze, that might be a good idea. If you live in upstate SC, not so much.

  • Little Bug
    3 years ago

    Sure, carolKelly. I didn’t mean that all three doors were front doors.

    It looks as though the two on the left are subsidiary entrances. Subsidiary entry doors shouldn’t be obvious to a casual observer, thus my recommendation to paint them to disappear.

  • Nando
    Original Author
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    @carolkelley is right. Left door is laundry room. Which also has a 24” door into the kitchen. But we need that big one when washer/dryer need to come in or out. Middle one is kitchen/den. I just noticed that the pic has the old front door. What a goof. Here’s the door I replaced with. Yes it’s a little Craftsmanish, not very MCM but it’s not the old slab it had.



    And yeah. That Flower bed need all kinds of help. We’re barely getting into gear.

  • houssaon
    3 years ago

    I like your idea for faux rafter tails and a pergola extended to the larger window. I would keep the board and batten, paint the carport doors and back siding a dark color. I would get a new MCM front door.

    Portland Mid-Century Modern · More Info


    Custom Residence | SE Eugene · More Info


    modern red entry door at cedar siding · More Info


    Nando thanked houssaon
  • houssaon
    3 years ago

    Didn't see that you recently replaced your front door. I would paint it a bright color.

    I would plant the area under the large window with perennials, such as, sedum, ferns, Sella D'oro day lilies. Plant some evergreens under the other windows and a flowing shrub between the far right windows. In front of the bed, use a variegate low growing plant like a creeping euonymus.

    I would remove the block edging or make it a straight line with a soft curve at the end.

    Kelso Property · More Info


    White Album™ Euonymus · More Info


    Nando thanked houssaon
  • Irene Morresey
    3 years ago

    Yes a nice bright front door and when you do get around to the landscaping, make it an impact with big pavers and repetition plantings, it will make a huge difference to the overall effect

    Nando thanked Irene Morresey
  • Nando
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Great ideas. I'm showing them to my wife to get us started. Thanks a bunch. Any more insights are always welcome!

  • RedRyder
    3 years ago

    Pretty good sketch! It is looking more MCM just from your drawing.

    Nando thanked RedRyder
  • vhamley
    3 years ago

    Nando, I’m not a pro, but IMO your design sketch looks great. The cedar privacy screen on the left of the carport keeps the clean lines of MCM, and the cedar pergola adds focus to the front entry door. Love the mailbox design and that you included large, modern house numbers — details make a big difference. Be sure to change out the light fixture by the front door.
    With the existing brick color, I think a medium charcoal gray paint (maybe even one with some green undertones) would work well for the carport and eaves. You could use green on the front door to make it stand out. I’m not a fan of orange, but a color in that family might also work to bring attention to your entry door. Not a big thing, but if you painted the mullions of the window frames charcoal gray or black, I think the contrast would help on the right side of the house. You could wait until everything else is painted do decide if it’s needed.

    Nando thanked vhamley