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Design Dilemma Before & After Exteriors

Help make this a pretty house!

6 years ago

We have bought a great house, however it isn’t very pretty to look at! The pipes at the front of the house are an eyesore and always imagined myself in a house with lots of charm. How can we make this house prettier and give it some character?

Anyone know how tricky it will be to move the pipes?

Featured Answer

Jonathan

6 years ago

I think this is a handsome house and needs only a little tweaking.
On the left hand side the garden slopes down and it’s impact on the house could be softened with big planting by the left corner of the house.
I think the Christmas lights need to come down- when they are up year round it a house looks neglected. If you like the house lit at night consider three floodlights across the front of the main house or spotlights recessed into the soffits.
The window boxes are undersized- consider putting both under just one window or getting rid.
There is a white box in the front (gas meter?) paint this a brick colour to make it fade away.
The two soil pipes are ugly and because of what they represent should never be put on the front of a house. I would relocate these inside the house hidden in boxwork in a corner. If that is outside budget then paint them to better disguise them.
Front door- the hedge and chairs in front of the door are a barrier- take them away and add tall planting to the left of the drive and matching plants in pots between the front door and the garage to signpost the entrance.
Garage doors- these are obviously great quality but consider painting them a sage green or ivory to better compliment the brick.
Flat roof/ terrace- consider adding barge boards to the front edge to make it look more solid. Consider adding trough planters and evergreen hedging to help make the upstairs room feel more private.
Hanging baskets and driveway pots- consider if they are the right proportions for the house- personally I would rather see the cordyline together a border.

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Comments (7)

PRO
DecoZen
6 years ago
Your house is lovely! As with everything it all is dependent on budget and effort so I will make some generic suggestions since I don't know how much of each you're prepared to invest!

The guttering pipe can be moved and it shouldn't be a big job depending on where the soakaway is. The shorter pipe seems to me it could be from a toilet and that's harder to move but since its near the edge of the main building you might be able to move it just around the corner to make it less apparent in the facade. I have planted a climbing rose in front of such a pipe in my house to conceal it and to prettify it a bit. Climbing plants add much charm and caracter to exteriors, make sure you avoid invasive species though. Wisterias and roses are great.

Going a step further you can add timber or composite cladding or install bay windows in place of the current ones on the ground floor. You can also replace or spray paint the upvc. I hope this helps!
Sandra Marshall
6 years ago
Hi,
It does look like a great house to me, big, well maintained and sunny.I wouldn't do anything too quickly, it's not hideous and you will only see the outside once or twice a day when you are coming home. Pipes are a fact of life, although white pipes would be less distracting. The garage doors do look a bit wrong though.
If you have plenty of money, I'm sure it would be easy to turn it into a stunner, but live with it for a while because you will then make better decisions.
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Juliet Docherty
6 years ago
Wow that is an amazing house. I wonder if some clever garden designer could redesign some planting at the front to give height and create some visual interest? I also think that the strong orange of the garage doors dominates. These would look smarter a colour that was repeated somewhere else such as matching guttering etc.
artisan_1
6 years ago
I placed my finger over the garage doors on the photograph and already the property looks better. Sometimes disguising pipework with climbing plants/ trellis etc just accentuates them more. I would paint the garage doors black to match the front door and do something fantastic to the front garden area. You won’t notice pipes once you have the distraction and softening effect of a gorgeous garden. Lots of soft planting, small trees with all year round interest and a few flowering shrubs will do wonders to the look of your house.
PRO
Norton Ellis Architects
6 years ago
It would be very difficult to relocate the soil vent pipes - however if you paint them white / light grey on the first floor where they go in front of the white render then they would be much less noticeable.

I agree that the garage doors dominate the front of the house- could they be painted a softer colour. I would add linear planting boxes with hedging/ grasses along the roof terrace.

The front door should be a welcoming focal point, a porch or canopy would make the entrance much more of a feature.
PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
6 years ago
Paint your pipes in the same color as wall, make them invisible.

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