Dear Homework,
We recently bought this 1939 charmer and have been working to update every area. I’ve worked on the front a bit, but now I’m stuck. We need to fix the landscaping and improve curb appeal. Thoughts?
—How To Stand Out In A Crowd
While your home features some elaborate brick details, it presents a problem that many ‘mid-block’ houses face … how does one tastefully stand out, when sandwiched between similar, nearby neighbors?
The boldest move would be to paint the brick. I suggest a simple whitewash to look like a previous paint job had worn off and mellowed over time. Choosing a color might be too overwhelming for the adjacent homes. With whitewash, the shadow lines of the bold brick quoins and dentil cornice will stand out more, making the most of the home’s best feature.
Next, I would finesse every other detail: add window mullions, paneled working shutters, window boxes, more elegant iron railings, a more integral brick retaining wall and a new, closer driveway fence. Further, I would add a big iron lantern, a curved cap to the front door frame, shutters on the side windows, and finally, I would lower the sills of the living room windows and add new iron Juliet balcony railings. These details move the house upmarket by making it feel more custom as well as historic.
I also would turn the driveway into something beautiful by adding a ground cover bed in the center of the drive and edging it and the lawn with cobblestones. Evergreen and perennial flowers frame and layer the composition to show off its best effect.
Hope that helps.
—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.