hello! I was wondering where you were. Good ideas. Frame work around the door and giving it color will change the look alot. I am going to do that. And a new lock set. I dont know why but builders put those cheap cheap Canadian Tire sets. Hanging lanterns is a great idea too. Soooooooo.....you dont like vines :) ?

I wouldn't go with shutters ( don't match the look of your house) and definitly don't do vines. They will slowly embed their roots into your stucco and damage it over time.

You need to beef up your trim around the windows and doors certainly. There is such a large mass of beige with tiny slits around the windows and doors that it is disproportional to the house.
I am not sure about painting the garage doors to match the house... it will be even more of the same color and will look flat. I think you should do a different color to balance your house. ( Warm grey perhaps?)

Installing large scale light fixtures on the pillars will help bring down their size. Perhaps you can even install a hanging pendant ( large scale) under the covered entrance ( in front of the top window) but not sure what that window is for.
These will just help to give more interest.

Landscaping will also go a very very long way! Be mindful however that with any trees and shrubs, how big they CAN get over time.

you can try painting the stucco to dark gray, now it looks pinkish and contrast with the roof.

bepsf is right on for this one:


“A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.”
― Frank Lloyd Wright

My house had the same issue and we planted vines. Photo attached is immediately after vines were planted and staked into house (about a year ago). Looks great now though.

Also you might consider changing color of garage doors also.

I find myself wondering how they chose the height of the stones on the facade. Any theories? ;) I agree that once that beige dirt in the yard is full of some green you'll be feeling a lot better about the house.

thankyou all.......love the ideas. A pendant and lanterns and wider trim are a go for the spring. As well as grass :) Although with all the wacky weather going on world wide maybe i should be doing a desert-scape. Jamie Jay....the stucco has no pink in it at all so maybe your monitor colors are set too red? Or is it mine? Does anyone see pink? In real it is a nice sandy brown. Let me know. Becky H. I think the stonework is just that high because it comes in strips of 18 inch high and are sold in cases of 25 pcs. I believe. I wondered that too and thats what I found out about the stone. So i guess they put as little as possible to avoid buying another case? By the way, Becky, love your postings! :)

Hi jewel -- I am going to plant ECO NO MOW GRASS this summer . You don't need to mow it or water it all the time. Some people cut it 1 or 2 times but that's all . I am mostly planting ground covers like Creeping Plox - Snow in Summer and some ornamental grasses . The trees I put in Weeping Birch tree ( several years ago ) and it is just beautiful . and a Mountain Ash . Try a few Dropmore Lyndens they are beautiful . They are the trees that are along the streets in Paris. Just some ideas for you. But try the Eco grass , I don't think you'll be sorry.

thanks. i will see if i can buy that grass here. And Dropmore Lyndens....YES!

You can - its been around for a few years now and you can get it on -line from Ontario . But any good garden centre should have it.

I may be crazy but how about this: a very large hanging lantern on a long chain that hangs down in the centre of that grand entrance way? Also, instead of planting vines to cover up the pillars...how about painting vines trailing up the pillar over the arch way?
Yes paint your garage doors a shade darker than the house colour. Maybe some spiffy wrought iron hardware would give the garage & entrance door a more substantial presence?

A oversized light fixture, lantern style would look good. Too bad the posts were not in stone all the way up. I wouldn't look so bare. Agree garage doors need new color and the sidelight/door would look better if darker, similar in color to the stone work. This would take away from the nakedness of it and soften the look.

Hi,

Maybe add a shallow arbor or pergola-type structure to the portico, just above the opening, extending slightly out toward the walkway. Stained a deep red-brown, it might warm it up. The pillars seem to be aspiring to a Craftsman-like style, so angular cuts in the cross beams would look nice (and are easy to do with a common miter saw.) Two large hanging lanterns on the pillars would do wonders. Garage doors would look nice in warm, dark brown -- faux wood grain would be beautiful, but only if it can be done convincingly. This house has great potential. Best wishes!

Morning. the reason the columns look so heavy is that the facia boards on the roof line are out of proportion to the column width. Add a verticle strip up the column from the stone base to the roof. The eye will then be deceived by the darker painted verticle strip ( 12" wide, with 1/2" raised edges) and the column itself will blend into the same color house body.Try it with some plywood. I'll bet after you get those columns right, it will help you define the rest of the facade. Got yourself a big neutral palette there. have fun!

Add a rectangular panel at the top to mimic that front peak, but again, to downplay the heaviness of that peak. thanks

Definitely paint those garage doors in a brown to match the stone veneer. Carry the stone veneer up to the top of the garage if you can. The half walls of stone don't do the house any favors because of the stucco. It only brings more horizontal lines where you don't want them. You also should realize that the builder placed tan stucco with a pink undertone on the house. Your stone veneer has no pink undertone (looks like a gray undertone) so it "clashes". Consider painting the house to a tan with a gray undertone. Plant a large tree on the corner of the house by the large window and a curvy bend to break up all the angular lines . Ah, the joys of home ownership, but in the end, it will be what you want. Good luck!

I sort of agree with Joseph, but instead of a single strip of lumber, I'd use two. In other words, 4 ten-to-twelve foot cedar or redwood-stained PT boards about 8-10 inches wide, one at each edge of the front of the columns. The strip of exposed column between them could be painted darker or lighter to give the illusion of a Craftsman-style double post. At the top of each board, I'd place beefy brackets supporting a shallow pergola, which would span the top of the opening. At the peak of the portico roof and at each corner, I'd place a large faux bracket under the eave and extending just beyond the roof line. The front door seems to be floating and the builder probably put a concrete step there after this photo shoot. I'd veneer that in stone to compliment but not match the stone on the pedestals. I know this is not a Craftsman home, but look at some exteriors of that style for ideas. Congrats on your new home!

I like the idea of two large sconces to help break up the columns. A wood door will help draw attention away from the columns too.

Paint the garage doors a must. if you don't live in a state that is subject to severe weather then you can add another mission style light fixture that could come down from the ceiling of the entrance. It should be majestic with some detail to draw the eye up. You could also think about changing out your front doors for something with wrought iron scrollwork. Then that would draw your eyes straight ahead. I would NOT plant a tall cedar on the corner because once again you would have this tall object drawing your eyes up and all over the place. You can do a fantastic landscape that is full of colorful perenials and annuals and grasses. I love your home. She's gonna be a showstopper when you are done.

Here is what it would look like with the columns broken up with the same kind of stucco trim that's around the windows. Or, you could trim it up with wood and paint it white or bronze. Landscaping will make a huge difference, too.

What is your budget?

Putting in a transom across the pillars helps bring the opening down to scale. Add the transom at the 9' mark and by introducing Ornamental ironwork or wood fret work above the transom fills the space without blocking it in.

Adding a large hanging outdoor pendant light to fill the open void is a great alternative and of course landscaping - which I'm sure you will eventually do. Good Luck :-)

Quik note, 9'-00" looks to puts you in front of the window above the door so I'd be cautious blocking a light source..unless whatever you do is able to allow light to pass through.
- a dropped fixture brings a ceiling down to where you are.. inside or outside- Id try that if you have a smaller budget

I have to say, I love it when you guys break out the photo editing tools. So cool to see what you are describing.

I also love those urns and the hanging lantern idea.

I would leave your house alone! To me, it looks great just as it is! I'd leave the garage doors white b/c the trim around windows is white any other color on the g-doors is not going to be united-cohesive with the trim of the house, nor give a contrast to the color of the house and the decorative stone on the pillars. I also like the rocks you fashioned on the left of the house- they look good...I'd leave those rocks plain just as they are, too, (rocks and no plantings on the rocks). I like those rocks so much, I'd continue them along the right cement curving path to the driveway. Those rocks along the width of the curving cement front path from the stoop to the driveway ( 1 1/2 feet in width?) would look nice and repeat the rocks you have on the left. On each side of the basement windows I'd plant azaleas (white) or something similar that grows in your area. I'd continue the "azaleas" down along the curving cement path to the driveway on one side of the stones. If you don't like the stone idea on the right, plant the "azaleas" without the stones along the cement path. I wouldn't plant a tree at the side of the house. Birch tree (s), if it grows in our area would be beautiful with the coloring of your house.An oval-free-form-clump of the birch in front of the house with some additional stones as "mulch" would look good: in the center of the lawn area over to the right in line with the basement windows. Weeping birch are nice, too.

thankyou all! j222b thanks for the link and i loved the big orb. ej610 great ideas! Our budget is probably not much 400 500 or maybe i can talk him into more lol. the trim up the posts lanterns and a pendant willdo wonders. the big planters are beinf made now so i will be ready for spring. Leya M. thanks for the great pics. I will never be able to get him to make a curve but the window trim lanterns and painting the garage door will be a go! Thz so much, seeing it makes it so easy. should the door and window trim be white and 8 inch wide planks just painted? The door, side door will be the color of the urns. Chili pepper red (not built yet). what do you think of that?

Dytecture......where are you :) ? :)??

Hi Jewelgirl, thank you for following my posts and answers all this time. You've got lots of great advice here.

Well - Dytecture - I would love to see what you come up with too !

Possible idea. Have a contractor carry the decorative stacked stone further up to cover 2/3 of each column. The stone and the roof are similar colors. By doing this you tie the stone and roof closer together, closing the columns height appearance. The additional stone would also soften the cold, hard edge squareness of the columns a little bit. Pencil it on paper first to see if it works.

Good idea. I am going to print off some pictures and try coloring them in with some of the ideas all the great people have posted to me. yours included! Thanks!

I have a very similar scenario and since I have never wanted to emphasize my garage doors they are the same color as the stucco. I love the idea of the stone going all the way up the pillars. Have you ever considered a black entry door? This is a late post, so you are probably finished with the project and I am curious what you have done. I bet landscaping has or will make a big difference. Hope you have some large scale plantings (or potentially large) to match the scale of the house.

thanks for the commwnt, we have done a lot outside, a red door, grass and tree and rock bed . picture is attached. Dytecture gave me some great ideas. Actully you all have.

my other (better pics wont load, will try later :)

Now it looks Even Better !

Looks great jewelgirl with all the landscaping and red door ! Thanks for the update :)

I thought black, but red looks great!

Landscaping looks beautiful. Nice job!

This is a tough problem and I gave up and looked at other houses. I kept thinking about it and the problem is the door the little window looks tiny surrounded by the huge columns. What is needed very cheaply is to put a rectangler molding up the side of the door to the top of the window. across the top and down the other side of the door and paint the area between the door and window the same color as the door/window molding. This would make the door look huge and fit in the area. Also do the molding like ej610 but put the lights up higher since now you have the look of a 12 ft door in that space. Sorry I dont know how to add an attachment. The molding should cost you a couple of hundred to have done.

Here is a further update....fredm51 , love your idea ! have you figured out how to attach a picture?

Looks great!

Very nice landscaping. I'd like the curtains slightly more tamed.

Here is an idea I had months ago, I hope this works

I do like the idea of unifying the door and window. I also want to paint the raised stucco around the windows. I color from a the brick or same color as the eaves trough.

I like the idea of painting the stucco around the windows,but don 't go too dark maybe a shade darker than house. I like the landscaping.

The door is way too small and has too many little rectangles. Splurge on a big meaningful door and light fixtures. Plantings are still too small.

Jewel girl--it would help to add a little detail to them. One option is to build out a trim like that which surrounds the windows--do this along the inside vertical and top edge of the columns & change the color from the body color (darker) & repeat for the window & door trims. Option two would be to remove the stone cap, add to the height of the stone, say up to match the window head of the adjacent window, replace the cap (and I would still paint the trims slightly darker. Happy Houzzing!

what happened to bepsf? the quote from Frank Lloyd Wright was priceless! lol checked out bepsf/s houzz page but " I got nothin''.

I think the raised trims need to be painted for architectural contrast. Paint garage door, same as house color. Like the landscaping and door.

Jewelgirl--You have gotten some great feedback. I liked Maya's idea of sketching over the photo, so here is the graphic interpretation of my earlier post. Happy Houzzing.