Help with my ugly house
I have just bought this not so attractive 1970's house, I have always loved period and character property, however I was won over by the space and amazing views over sonwdonia !
The exterior needs a complete update and I would like to add a little character and warmth. I would like to remove the front porch and the dark dated windows have got to go. I am stuck with a not very attractive brown roof but I think I can work with it.
So I am thinking cream windows and a central front door composite or painted. I am really stuck with what colour to paint the house to contrast the windows. I really like the idea of a lichen or pistachio green ? maybe a darker green or even red front door ?
My other half is really not to sure about this ?
The driveway is a very worn concrete block print, this is a death trap when wet so also needs replacing with some kind of permeable brick as it slopes towards the house.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Comments (15)
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We bought an ugly house.... Help!
Comments (3)I would definitely change the front door to a wooden one. Change the red tiles on the porch to black to match the roof. The porch would actually look better with a bigger full length window to the left side & maybe loose the 2 smaller ones or make bigger next to the door. yes change window frames to black & wooden preferably....See MoreUgly House to Lovely House? How can we transform this tired exterior?
Comments (20)Thanks, Donut. It has taken a long time, but we are finally getting towards the end. We decided to play it safe in the end, and installed hardwood sash windows that come factory spray painted in a warm white. They look really lovely, but now in contrast, the exterior render looks so awful that we will have to do that now! (Bit back to front as this should have been done before the windows, but things don't always work out as they should!). Also, keep meaning to remove that nasty little black plant pot which I only ever seem to notice on photos......See MoreImprove curb appeal of my ugly duckling house
Comments (13)To get to picture 2 you would need to convert the garage and add a gable to bring it forward with the other and very doable to make it symmetrical. You also need to think about approach. Pic 1 it looks like very little space in from car to house whilst Pic 2 has a hedge in front, so working on hard and soft landscaping would help....See MoreHelp to change the front of my ugly 80's (infill) house?
Comments (31)Hi Malley. Thank you for asking my advice! For what it's worth here goes; I agree with you that no extension of the front window is needed, the oak framed porch with A frame exposed, extending further out as per celery girls input with wisteria and box plants looks great. Regarding colour, I'm afraid I disagree about the brown windows, to me they scream 80's developer taste and are very dating and clash with the red. If you are going to go to the expense of replacing the windows to enlarge the apertures I would consider grey or grey/green grey/blue, these will all tone nicely with the red brick, white would be too harsh. Love the idea of the juliette window BTW. Do a search in Houzz for red bricks and grey windows, you will get a lot of images to think about. I'm not sure I agree that adding solar panels to the roof will be an improvement, yes they will break up those tiles, but they are not a thing of beauty are they, could they be on the rear instead? If budget did allow, after you have done your extension, windows etc I would look into the cost of replacing those roof tiles with slate as again I think they are dating, but agree with Daisy that it would probably be expensive and would not increase value on the house. Best of luck!...See More
Jonathan
5 years agoI also quite like it-
I don’t mind the drive but if it is slippy you can paint it with a patio paint designed to give more texture and grip.
As far as the house goes I think the issue is the porch which is not the same quality as the rest of the house- furthermore I think it visually cuts your home in half making it seem smaller.
If budget allows I would be looking at building forwards a little, putting the front door on the front, and changing the window proportions
George thanked JonathanGeorge
5 years ago
acew1234
5 years agoSaw this house on my dog walk this evening.
The wood door with black surround looks really good...better than the photo. The house looks really sharp in white render..yours would look even more so with the black window frames. I think the straight lines of your porch look fine with the style.
George thanked acew1234George
5 years agoacew1234
5 years agoDaza
5 years ago
rinked
5 years agoYou could try to paint the pvc, with the proper primer, but don't expect much from it. Temporary make-over. We live in a small white 1950 home (Netherlands) and have replaced most of our windows over the years, from wood to pvc (with woodgrain, white indoors, warm grey out). Better insulation (sound and cold), less to paint, but immense cost.
Do you have the budget to change them now or does your budget limit you to rendering and paintjobs? Same for the porch redo, changing the location of the front door and/or roof shape.
Rain in Snowdonia comes plenty, so I'd adress the driveway first. I'd suggest an infiltration pit* a few meters away from the house, with drains alongside the garage and house. Enlarge the 'patio' and steps and add gravel along the front, so water can sink into the ground quicker.
*) We've made one by drilling 30mm holes in a large pvc rain barrel, burrying it upside down with plenty of gravel and sand around it and connecting our gutters and regular rain barrel overflow to it, since we have no sewage in the back of the house. You could add a pump to the pit for summer lawn sprays, but we decided not to.
J Hen
5 years ago
rinked