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Renovating Design Dilemma Exteriors

How to update the front of my house

5 years ago

I have just bought a house which needs completely renovating on the inside and needs all new windows and door on the outside as the my are currently wooden frames and single glazed panes. I would like to have grey widows but unsure how this would look with the mock Tudor. Should I get rid of it or paint a different colour. Also what are thoughts on the porch as it will need to be rebuilt either way due to corrosion. Any suggestions for how to modernise would be greatly appreciated.

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PRO

Rukmini Patel Interior Design

5 years ago

Hi there,

Grey windows would look great but you may need to change the brown on the Tudor strips to grey and give the white a new lick of paint as well.

The alternative you could try is to have white windows and grey strips instead:

This website details how to paint the external facade of a mock Tudor property.

https://www.warlinepainting.ca/tudor-rules-how-to-paint-your-tudor-revival-home/

I hope this helps?

Rukmini Patel Interiors

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Comments (8)

PRO
Rukmini Patel Interior Design
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
As for the front porch, I think this depends on your budget and whether you want it bricked up or remove the existing bricks. It's difficult to tell from the picture. The other thing you could consider is if you are changing the windows to grey you could add a nice modern grey door?

A grey door but you might want to consider it without the side panels
HU-703598591 thanked Rukmini Patel Interior Design
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I agree - this house is true to its period. You could spend a fortune creating a different look but why? Take up a lot of that block paving and plant a garden. You’ll get a lot more pleasure from that than grey cladding or whatever. With the added bonus that when you look out through your large windows, you’ll actually see what you spent your money on.
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Jonathan
5 years ago
You must remember that this is an attached house and you cannot treat it as a detached house. This means that you can only really change the beams if your neighbours all do the same. Trying to modernize attached houses rarely benefits the streetscape or the value and often adversely stands out.
Personally I think this house sits pretty well as it is- I would replace the porch with the same or just make the necessary repairs and look at replacing the windows with double glazed look a likes- I suspect you have leaded lights but I would go for plain glass next time. If your window frames are sound investigate if it is cost effective to just replace glass with double glazed units.
Jonathan
5 years ago
A picture that illustrates that one different house can adversely affect a road and date more quickly
HU-703598591
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you all for you helpful comments. The windows and their frames will need to be replaced as they have all rotted. Jonathan I was not thinking as drastic as that or necessarily removing the beams just painting them a different colour.
Jonathan
5 years ago
For me the issue is that you are attached to neighbours and these houses are designed to be different but have a cohesive thread. When you change the color palate this run of houses no longer sits as comfortably together.

Perhaps the Coronation Street house I posted had a story line before your time but Vera Duckworth lived there, had what she wanted and blow the neighbours and of course it adversely affected the look of that street and remains like that many years later.

In fact a few years ago Sarah Beaney did a programme called Streets Ahead where they brought together whole streets by undoing peoples “improvements” to unify the look and add value. This programs demonstrated the need to respect your streetscape when spending money on your attached house. The trouble is as soon as you start changing your house it green lights all of your neighbors to also do what they like and before you know it your street is devalued by thousands.
PRO
User
5 years ago
Having had a look at the house from all angles, I would suggest that keeping it in true mock tudor style is the best as Jonathan has pointed out.

However, the greatest improvement would be to look at the way the garden and parking is laid out. As it's the corner plot, it looks like the garden to the front is all yours, and, that a portion of the parking bay is also yours, yet, there is no entrance from the parking to the house, why not?

If this is so, then a small gate at the front to re-determine the entrance is a good idea. By All means, straighten up the fence on the right and put another gate up to enclose the garden area and make it more private.

You could also maybe render the bottom and of course changing the windows would look better to match the colour of the render and maybe have clear glass instead of the diamonds?
PRO
Croydon Window Company Ltd
5 years ago
Hi Rukimini Patel Interiors ideas look great. I think Graphite grey RAL 7016 could work well?

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