Advice on Exterior Refresh

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

I’m updating this home and I am torn on a few elements. I plan to do a white mortar wash on the bricks and replace the windows. We just painted the exterior in white dove by Benjamin Moore and replaced the colonial columns with cedar columns.

Should I remove the front door and side lights and put in a double door in its place? Is it worthy of the cost or should I simply replace the glass for the side lights and paint the front door? If keeping the front door what color should I paint it?
Should I keep the shutters or remove them? Thoughts on wood shutters?
Should I stain the columns or paint them? (Note, they are covered in paper at the top as my painter is still painting).
Should the windows be white or black? I'm leaning towards white.

Featured Answer

apple_pie_order

6 years ago

Thanks for info.

Keep the windows. The diamond panes were an expensive luxury when the house was built and they still look great.

Paint the door white or a terracotta to match one of the brighter bricks. Test colors on foamcore, not the door.

Remove the shutters and store them for the next owner. However, if the bricks have discolored behind the shutters and you can't clean them up. put the shutters back up and paint them denim blue or sage green. Paint the door to match.

The roof needs cleaning. It is the single most noticeable thing about the house itself.

Pressure wash the sidewalk.

There is nothing you can do to keep a golf course sod lawn looking perfect if you have renters. Use some fertilizer and compost on the existing grass, then hire a gardener to care for it every week or two. Pretty good, not golf course pretty, is good enough.

When you are ready to put it on the market, buy a new door mat and some gallon pots of bright blooming annuals to plant out front.

Change the light fixtures to something black and transitional, not carriage lamps like you have now.

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Comments (12)

apple_pie_order
6 years ago
Is this a flip or your own residence? What's the motivation behind the changes?
Danielle Y.
Original Author
6 years ago
It’s a rental property in an older neighborhood. We want to make the house look more upscale/modern but we are also considering selling. We’ve owned the property for 5 years and rentals are slow in the area since COVID.
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emilyam819
6 years ago
Do the windows NEED replacing? Those diamond panes windows on the sides look awesome; hopefully those can stay.
No double door. It’s absolutely unnecessary.
I’d see what it’s like with shutters removed and columns painted. But mostly I notice the tired sidewalk and landscape.
Danielle Y. thanked emilyam819
jslazart
6 years ago
Wait to decide on the columns until after you do the brick, replace the porch lights, power wash the concrete, and fix the landscaping. I agree that the leaded windows look good. Is there something wrong with them?
Danielle Y. thanked jslazart
Danielle Y.
Original Author
6 years ago
There’s nothing inherently wrong with the windows although they are several decades old... you don’t think they look outdated?
emilyam819
6 years ago
OMG, no. They are the best part of the house!
Danielle Y. thanked emilyam819
jslazart
6 years ago
^ completely agree.
Danielle Y. thanked jslazart
PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
You need to work on landscape. It makes great impact.
Danielle Y. thanked Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
Danielle Y.
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
What do you guys recommend we do with the landscaping? It looked nice before we had renters for 5 years. We kind of gave up because renters rarely take care of it and will often kill whatever you put in. Would mulching and trimming the bushes be enough to sell the house or do we need more? Obviously if we decide to keep the house the solution would be different than if we decide to sell. We already plan to put in new sod and fertilize the grass either way. We are waiting until the renovations are done. The grass was beautiful and looked like a golf course before we had renters in it.
jslazart
6 years ago
In my experience, unless you are very lucky, you have to pay a landscape service if you want it to survive renters. By the fact that you have grass, I have no recommendations (I live in the desert), but I'm sure there are other people here that can help you.
Danielle Y. thanked jslazart
Danielle Y.
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Thank you for the input. Do the cedar columns look ok? They came out a little larger than I had hoped they would... Should I paint them? We will pressure wash the sidewalk and roof, thanks for the suggestion. I will leave the diamond pane windows and I will buy more modern lights. We are also installing a brick mailbox by the curb. Do I need to replace the other 4 front windows or do they look ok? If I do need to replace them, should I choose single light or divided light? Does the front door need to be replaced or should I just paint it?