Updating 70s Raised Rancher

3 years ago

I'm currently in the process of trying to update the curb appeal of my 1970s raised ranch that's very flat in the front with an old looking porch cover. I added on a garage pergola to try to close some of the space over the doors but contemplating if a lime wash would help. The house is up on a hill with a low pitch roof (that will need new shingles soon). Would love to hear any ideas on how to bring this home to life without breaking the bank. Don't think I'd see a return on dumping a ton of money into it due to lower sq footage.

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HU-359946952
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
kazzh
3 years ago
The structure that the stairs wind up is not really fitting with the house. Would suggest a colour more in the terracotta tones would bring it into the house more rather than contrasting. Once you have the colour right, a planting that drapes down would bring in the green background ground you already have behind the home.
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Rho Dodendron
3 years ago
What kazzh wrote about having vines covering the concrete wall. My last house was a raised ranch. If I had stayed one more summer I would have done just that.

Loose the black horizontal buckles on the garage doors. Put flower boxes under the windows.

When you replace the roof go for a different colour such as dark green and change the shutters to match.
Rachel Lee
3 years ago
I would take everything you can dark. Pergola, trims, retaining walls, sides of the steps, garage doors…
tpbond
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I like your pergola over the garage! I'm in the middle of updating my dad's 70's split level, and I'm curious to see what you end up doing. My brick is not a great color, so I'm painting it in shades of green (some people don't like painted brick, I love it & think a limewash would really update your exterior). Forgive the crude mock-up, I "limewashed" your upper brick and did a little contrast darker green on the garage doors/front concrete structure. I also added a bit of horizontal wood siding for interest, and removed the shutters for a more contemporary look ;) Good luck and look forward to seeing your finished update!
HU-359946952
Original Author
3 years ago
Appreciate all the comments, lots of good ideas. Right now it's finding the balance of cost effective measures and what is feasible myself. I think addressing the wall of concrete a good art! Tpbond may I ask what application you used to mock that up? Looks good would like to play around in there myself
tpbond
3 years ago
HU-359946952 , Sherwin Williams has a color visualizer that's great for playing w/ paint, you just upload your pic and start painting;) (I'm a photographer and added the pergola/siding using Paint 3D). Have fun!
OhNat
3 years ago
I think you could easily beef up the porch roof with some vinyl trim. Add rafter tails to the front and full rafters on each side. https://www.elitetrimworks.com/pergola-rafter-tail-craftsman-profile.html Wrap the columns and add half columns to the back. I like the carriage hardware on your garage doors. Matching shutters and window boxes would be lovely.