Dear Homework,
My family recently purchased this Colonial-style ranch. The previous owner implemented many interior upgrades, allowing us the luxury of focusing on the exterior. How might we improve our home’s curb appeal? We would be open to using different siding and painting the brick, but aren’t sure if that would help. To our eyes, the landscaping looks fine, but do you have any suggestions? We are ready to get started and want to make improvements over the next few years.
Sincerely,
−Roadmap to the Future
Dear Roadmap to the Future,
Thanks for letting me know some of the areas you would be willing to change on your front elevation. By replacing the siding and painting the brick, you could make a big difference in your home’s presentation. I would like to show you a two-stage approach so you can picture it in a logical progression over a period of time.
first stage
I would wash the brick with the same color as the siding, allowing the existing brick color to show through occasionally. This will blend all of the major elements together and ease the transition to the siding-only side elevations.
In addition, I would replace the garage door with a more upscale carriage-style door. Larger coach lamps also would improve this area, as would planted urns, which soften this portion of the elevation that is not landscaped. New landscaping on both the far right and left sides helps keep the focus on your house rather than your nearby neighbors’ homes.
second stage
More costly changes are suggested in this stage. The most impactful is adding a shuttered window to the blank gable above the garage door. This brings some of the styling of the right side of the façade to this prominent but under-detailed left half of the composition. New, smaller details such as a copper-roof cupola, a brick pier mailbox and new craftsman grill casement windows work well with the new shakelike siding. Dark green shutters add a pop of useful color.
Finally, additional planting creates a bold, continuous arc that frames the front lawn, while flowers at the mailbox reiterate the red color of the plants in the main bed. The only remaining improvement would be to create a paver driveway that would look much better than the current concrete pad.
Hopefully that gives you the direction you needed,
−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.
