Dear Homework,
We love the traditional look of our home and the neighborhood. We know we are seriously overgrown and need landscaping help, and we are planning to paint the exterior trim but are not sure whether a color change would make it lose its character. Any ideas to freshen up this 80-year-old classic would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
—Can’t See the House for the Trees
Dear Can’t See the House for the Trees,
There are a few landscaping rules I hold dear and the first one is: Never hide good-looking architecture with plantings. Your house is a good example why. Your home has a handsomely composed façade, but important elements such as the dramatic chimney are completely upstaged by a giant Magnolia tree.
Upscale houses from the ’20s and ’30s rarely need much landscaping to look good. They have great materials, composition, details and neighborhoods—in other words, they start off looking good, so don’t mess it up. In this case, only the front-facing air conditioner needs to be hidden (which, amusingly, it isn’t).
You also ask about color options. I think if you choose one of the colors typically found in a multi-colored slate roof, it will work on a terra cotta-colored brick house. In this example, I used a slate green color, which I think enhances the home’s character.
Finally, I show a simple landscape scheme at the base of the house, all kept lower than the ground-floor windowsills. A new evergreen hedge hides the A.C. unit. A new semi-circle of grasses and flowers at the sidewalk gives a welcome pop of color and completes the foreground view of the house. Thanks for sharing this example.
—Homework
[Homework is penned by Paul Doerner, Founding Partner of the Lawrence Group. If you would like your home critiqued, contact us at homework@townandstyle.com.]
