Mason...and a good one at that.

And prepare your wallet. I do like the look of the modification, but it won't come cheaply.

Yep a mason and why are you asking us this is a question for the person doing the design.

Are we sure the arches were removed and not just covered over?

I am the homeowner. Not the designer. I would ask the designer but they are a no frills designer. they dont do anything more than the first design.

if anyone can comment on arcy_gw that would be great. I would love to just mostly cover up the arches. it would be a lot cheaper. but how would that look. any examples would be great

I would think even though this is a "facelift" job you would still need a general contractor to manage it. He/She should have access to sub-contractors like masons.

"So I paid for an exterior design plan."

"Are we sure the arches were removed and not just covered over?"

That is not a exterior design plan, that is just a photoshopped rendering not anything of any use. It is just a picture. You need someone on site to investigate what is there and what can actually be done.

How about you just replace your roof and light fixtures to black?

its brick and batten. the name is there. and you are correct you get what you pay for. I wish I was dripping with money. I would have gone to the best designer and the best builder in the city. The reality is the bank owns everything.

also the reality is I probably wont do all the suggested upgrades. as they are expensive. but might as well kick some tires with a local mason. a good one. I wouldn't even know the starting cost. does anyone have an idea on that?

thank everyone for their help. this forum is so great for educating the homeowners.

thanks so much Beverly, a faux lintel is probably the most reasonable option. just what I needed.

torontohome3000, seems like a lot of effort for minimal effect.

The details on your home currently are really lovely and appropriate for a Country French home.

I would keep the eyebrow arches, and windows and simply spend my money on new garage doors which really don't fit the style of your home.I would also increase the size of most of your exterior wall lights.

Don't turn this into a farmhouse.

The "new" render looks so stark compared to the softer, warmer feeling of your current French Country style. Perhaps you should consider changing the color of the windows so they aren't so harsh. Warm and soften what you have and redo landscaping.