Please help my Velveeta box of a house - Updated - Forget budgets! :)

last year

last modified: last year

My spouse says your ideas are so good and I should to ask for ideas that AREN'T super budget friendly... lol Time to dream I guess! Still won't change roof or windows, fake stone is slowly falling off the house, so it needs to be replaced. I still dislike the pass-through door. And the house was just painted, so we plan to stay this color. We'd be open to changing out all the siding on the front and keeping the metal siding on the sides and back if that's what needs to happen.

With this info how would you remodel the exterior with around $15K - we live in a medium cost of living area.

We like a cottage or country style. We'd LOVE porch..

Thanks!

__________________________ original post starts here.

I'm looking for suggestions on how to improve the exterior of our house. The roof and windows are fairly new and won't be changed. The fake stone HAS GOT TO GO. The pass-through garage door right next to the front door is an ongoing discussion with my spouse... I want it gone, he's resistant because he uses it daily.

The existing siding is metal and in great shape.

The house has issues that stunt it's potential resale value, so we'd like to keep things simple / somewhat budget friendly; avoiding over-improvement in case we move someday. However, at this point we plan to be here forever, so we're open to entertain a simple porch addition or perhaps residing the front with hardiplank or something to get it uniform, then painting it to match the existing siding. (aka - get it fake stone-free) I have no imagination for exteriors, as you can tell, and don't know what is simple vs. complicated.

Someone with more knowledge... can you tell me if a porch addition would be "simple" for a house like this? With a cement or decking for the porch part and a roof with columns?

Landscaping is a secondary project. One thing at a time... but would you put in a block retaining wall where the hill shows the foundation right now? Or leave it as is? We own the lot next door. It is empty and likely always will be.

Thanks!

The house in question:

A similar house nearby with the "simple" porch I'm referencing. (And shade trees I'm jealous of. lol) It seems like an easy fix. What do I need to know about adding porch?

Featured Answer

partim

last year

A porch will cost a lot, and you can get a welcoming and country look for much less.

I agree, you need sizeable evergreen shrubs to balance the right and the left sides. Much less expensive than a retaining wall. Plant them well away from the house to give them room to spread.

Paint the garage door and its trim the same colour as the siding. Also paint the white downspout. The secondary door is not an eyesore and I would ignore it.

Keep the focus on the middle of the house with a bright door colour, and repeat it in shrubs. The advantage of yellow as your bright colour is that you can use shrubs with yellow leaves/needles to repeat the colour. Euonymus, junipers etc all have varieties with yellow, for all year colour. Add yellow daffodils, petunias, roses etc in the front if you are into gardening. You could even do the shutters in yellow, for the 2 smaller windows. A yellow Adirondac chair or cushion. You get the idea. The same as with indoor decorating, repeat your accent colour for a pleasing look.

A porch with white railings will give you the country look you like. Don't skimp on the size.

If it were my house, I'd simply paint the stone and mortar the same colour as the siding. With a porch, colourful door etc., it will fade away in importance. Right now there's nothing else to look at so it stands out.

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Comments (17)

Yvonne Martin
last year
last modified: last year
Paint the white garage door to match the house and the front door a bright color. Then go to work on the landscaping.
J from Lakes Country
last year
Would you consider replacing the stone with shake siding in the same color as your current siding?

https://www.houzz.com/photos/query/vinyl-shake-siding
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Brookie Brooke
Original Author
last year
J from Lakes Country - That's a really nice idea that I hadn't considered, thanks!
palimpsest
last year
Another option would be vertical siding or board and batten siding in the same color as the clapboard siding.
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
last year
If you are removing the stone match the lap siding. There is no need for two sidings on a house this small. Be prepared for sticker shock on the porch since it means foundation and new roof.
palimpsest
last year
I think the issue with the siding is that it probably goes around the entire house, and it's aluminum siding, and it may be hard to match
john3582
last year
Am I the only one disappointed that the house was gray?
grapefruit1_ar
last year
I was surely expecting yellow!
la_la Girl
last year
as to the simplicity of adding a simple porch: our neighbors did this exact project and worked with an architect as it impacted the roof etc - I think it is less simple than it appears but their porch is lovely and totally changed the look of the house
Brookie Brooke thanked la_la Girl
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
Waht style of home do you like ? IMO this can go MCM or cottage depending on what you like .The porch says cottage IMO. This is my fave for inspiration for MCM just to show you that choice IMO no matter what those shutters have to go on that big window for sure. No matter which style shake siding would not IMO be a choice for that home .
Brookie Brooke thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
Brookie Brooke
Original Author
last year
Patricia Colwell ConsultingThat is a great inspiration picture and I totally see the potential there, but we are a little more cottage oriented. And we're in a neighborhood of victorian-ish old homes and craftsman style new builds, so it makes the most sense for the street.

The shutters definetly won't survive whatever we end up doing.
PRO
Debbi Washburn
last year
Love the idea of the added porch. Make it big enough so that you would use it. You would need to get rid of that garage door ( look at how the neighbor's porch lands right next to the big door ). I also really like how they did the flower beds what the property slopes down - that would be a great addition to the front. If you do the porch, then you probably could do a different siding just in the porch area.

If the porch roof change gets to be too much, maybe look into a pergola with a patio. Less work

You would probably have to do the more freestanding type like the second pictures due to the roofline height.
Brookie Brooke thanked Debbi Washburn
ptreckel
last year
A “Velveeta” colored front door would actually be fun! 😉
Brookie Brooke
Original Author
last year
john3582Lol - sorry to dissapoint! Ironically, the inspo house is a bit velveeta-colored when it's in full sun.

ptreckel- I believe you are correct, velveeta would be a good door color. That might happen.
Sigrid
last year

You'll have problems with a porch. Either it needs to be wide enough to cover the window to the left of the door, or very narrow to fit between that window and the gray door. To get rid of the door, you'll need someone to fill it in a reside the area.

I would put in foundation plantings rather than a retaining wall. It will be cheaper and look better and if you put in a retaining wall, you'll still need foundation plantings.
Brookie Brooke
Original Author
last year
partim - That's really lovely, thank you!