Dear Homework,
I recently repainted my house, but it didn’t produce the ‘wow factor’ I was hoping for. Do you have any suggestions about what I might do next?
—Wanting Wow Now
Dear Wanting Wow Now,
As a general rule, painting parts of a house a medium gray is not a prescription for achieving a wow factor. I would also observe that there is not a lot of painted surface on this façade to allow much impact anyway. To pull off more pizazz for your home, we need to take more extensive measures. Therefore, I would like to suggest a three-tiered approach, showing increasingly involved alterations.
[phase I]
Starting with the easiest and least expensive changes, I would suggest upgrading your front door and garage doors. I think a red, six-panel front door with sidelights and new carriage-style garage doors would add an elegant, more detailed feel to the home. Making the bedroom windows look more authentic also upgrades things. Improving the continuity of the landscaping and refurbishing the mailbox bring the house up to the standard of a well-maintained residence.
[phase II]
The next level of improvements shows more architectural changes. I think that having made the bedroom windows thinner and taller and showing wider, more authentic-looking shutters updates the 1960s feel of these elements and helps temper the overriding horizontal feel of the elevation. I would use the same idea with the living room windows and combine that change with a major upgrade to the front porch—using taller, thicker columns and a new front-facing pediment makes the front porch the main focus of the composition rather than an afterthought. The house has taken on the feeling of a Southern Colonial rather than a modest ranch.
[phase III]
The final step would be to bump up the architecture even further by creating more roof and window interest. The front porch has been removed to allow a bolder living room window composition. Additionally, a new brick walk leading to the street draws the eye toward the front door, and a new evergreen hedge gives the yard a ‘groomed’ feel that puts the finishing touch on the property. If you want to bring a wow factor to this home, the quickest way is to paint the front door a bright color and add plenty of bright flowers. Beyond that, you can see here a number of architectural upgrades that could dramatically alter the appearance of your property.
Thanks for asking.
—Homework
[HomeWork is penned by Paul Doerner, president, The Lawrence Group. if you would like your home critiqued, contact us at homework@townandstyle.com]
