Exterior Design Ideas

3 years ago

My husband and I live a gambrel colonial that currently has a small mudroom and 1 car garage. We’re about to kick off an addition and renovation in the next couple of months and we need to pick our exterior siding options. We’re also trying to finalize the design plans above the front door. Attached is an imagine of the house current house, as well as the exterior rendering. We’re embracing the gambrel look by pulling it through to the new garage addition. Where we’re stuck is what to do for exterior siding. The house will be long, so we don’t want it to look rambling.

I should also note we have a pool house in the back. Photo attached. We can’t match the siding color, so hoping to find something to compliment. We live north of Boston, in one of the suburbs.

What would you do for exterior siding colors and looks (singles, board and batten)?
What would you do above the front door? (Portico, etc)?

Thank you!!

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Comments (8)

cpartist
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
In the new elevation, the garage side looks more important than your front entry.

Personally I feel the elements of the addition and the main house do not meld well together.
PRO
Sophia Van Zyl
3 years ago
Beautiful house and extension plan! I can’t say that I’m a pro by any stretch, but I thought I’d offer up some suggestions.
First, I don’t think the horizontal siding would look rambling, but if you wanted to break it up on the section between the garage and the main part of the house, you could bring in some brick accent.
The picture I attached has the brick and the siding in the same wash of color, if your plan was to change that as well.
For a portico/front porch, I’ve attached some pictures of houses with the double roofing. Porticos are a great option, especially as a place to stand coming into (or out of) the house while staying out of the rain or sun.
Those are my humble opinions, and I wish you all the best in your renovation/extension project!!
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PRO
Sophia Van Zyl
3 years ago
While the top picture was not the one I had originally intended to attach, I think the same principle applies with the second type of siding 😂
PRO
PPF.
3 years ago
I've always called your house style Dutch Colonial. You might Google that term to see some ideas.

Does your designer do 3D renderings? What you show are 2D elevations.

One issue is the windows. They read contemporary, but the basic house itself says not.

As for siding and colors, are you residing the existing house, or just painting?

Will the roof stay and be matched on the addition?

Your designer has made a good start, but the ideas seem unfinished and lack the details needed to make this a truly successful project.
PRO
PPF.
3 years ago
The proposed roof addition over the front door is typically seen as a dormer with a shingled roof to the side.
PRO
PPF.
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I made the first floor windows taller, and added one on the left side to the 1st and 2nd floors. Added muntins to the windows.

Dropped the 2nd floor addition and roof over the garage down, and added a gable on the right side.

Still need a roof over the front door.
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
3 years ago
Design a house as sculpture, not as a painting. Pay attention equally to all sides and design continuity can be achieved. When designing in a traditional style, seek inspiration from the originators of the style, not bastardizations that have occurred through the years.
palimpsest
3 years ago

I think the gambrel to the right should be a genuine gambrel, not a fake one with gambrel trim on the front