Dear Homework,
We have lived in our Clayton Gardens home for seven years and are deciding whether to stay and do an addition or move to a larger home. We love the location, community and neighbors but would like more space and an updated feel. We’ve thought about painting the brick (so the house will match the addition), adding stonework around the windows and turning the lower windows into French doors. We also would like a different entranceway. What ideas do you have?
—Make Me Want to Stay
Dear make me want to stay,
Clayton Gardens is a very popular neighborhood and one of the few where major remodelings can pay for themselves. The goal here is to make the front elevation look more pulled-together and upmarket so that it does credit to a newly expanded home. Your front door case feels too narrow and the windows are a bit short and stubby. The roofing is very drab and the house colors too predictable. You have tall ‘street trees’ that frame the house beautifully, but the smaller trees, close to the façade, will merely grow to block things. I would start with a new slate roof with green/gray, blue/gray and maroon tiles. Painting the brick a khaki beige and adding blue/gray shutters pulls all the colors together. By adding limestone window heads, a door surround and two wall plaques, the façade takes on a more elegant feel. Also, note the raised central gable, which gives the elevation a sense of composition. The ground-floor windows have been turned into French doors, the central second floor window has been raised, and a custom flower box in blue/gray is shown only on the central window. Finally, sidelights have been added to the front door to give it more impact. All I would do for the landscape is remove the young trees and the Liriope grass on the near side of the walk and add two large planter boxes at the front porch. These changes give the home a sense of subtle sophistication that will hopefully give you a reason to stay. Hope that helps.
—Homework
[HomeWork is penned by Paul Doerner, president, The Lawrence Group. If you would like your home critiqued, contact us at homework@townandstyle.com]
