Sad exterior...how can I make it stand out more?
dblahusch
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
This house looks much better in the photo. It's asbestos siding, some rotting sills, carport and the front door goes to a screened in porch, and then there is another door to the house. I want to rip out the two huge shrubs. Thoughts please? Open to painting it or residing with cedar shake...it's a Southern Maine beach town, very close to the water. The windows look like they are missing something. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Also, there is a lighter purple house behind this one that can be seen from the road on the other side, and a whimsical ice cream shop and then dog store right across the st. Thank you!
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dblahusch
10 years agothis is what the back looks like still....almost. I purchased it as a rental and have done nothing yet but paint the entire interior. Previous owner reno'd the entire inside. Fabulous hideous before pics.
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Sad bedroom
Comments (9)Your bed is in the best position for keeping all your furniture and getting out of the bed comfortably on both sides. I would recommend that you change the headboard to one much larger that makes a statement. Judging from your prints, you like colour and modern, so try a headboard like the screen idea below. It is bold and colourful and looks great against white walls. (Old doors mounted horizontally work well too). Choose a colour that works well with your natural oak furniture (yellow will not). A contrasting colours are opposites on a colour wheel, so if you were to choose something like the teal , a terracotta or lime green would contrast well with it. Soft furnishings like cushions and a throw would bring more colour into your room. To save money, retain the plisse blinds on the window but add a Roman blind to drop down at night as blackout. Bigger lamps with quirky bases would add interest and throw better light. Using a rug, as you have, makes the room appear smaller. If you want warmth when you step out of bed, smaller rugs, one each side, can add colour but leave more of the wood floor exposed....See MoreHow do you make your home stand out?
Comments (28)Yes, but it also take a special kind of arrogance to override an architect's vision for a particular development. For example, my parents' housing estate was designed with no garden walls at the front so that the houses would seem as if they are almost in a park and there would be an expanse of green all the way along the roads. Then a few territorial types took it into their heads to build piddly little garden walls so now the road is a hodge podge of some green with a few silly walls around some gardens. There is no design consensus so the street doesn't look as good as it could look. Anarchy in design doesn't usually work. Usually it looks better when one person makes the design decisions and one, cohesive vision is expressed. For example, would you employ a different interior decorator with wildly different styles for each room in your house? It might work, but there's a greater chance it will look like the hodge-podge that it is. Would you have one dress designer make your whole dress or would you ask for pockets and collar to be cut by someone else? In some cases, a good result can come of an individual resident on a street making their own strong statement with the exterior of their house (we're not talking about subtleties such as colour of doors etc), but they are definitely the exceptions that prove the rule. I can think of many examples of tasteless 'improvements' made by individual residents to their properties (e.g. the one pictured above, frankly) and only a few good ones....See Morehow can I make this room more cosy?
Comments (9)I would find a more interesting, warmer and less stark paint and also paint the radiator in the same colour - whatever colour you choose, you can get an exact match paint suitable for radiators, mixed by someone like Valspar (they do it at B&Q) . I would then get a lovely rug to coordinate with the paint colour and make it more "homely". I'd also get a coloured/patterned/textured roman blind. I'd ditch the yellow stool and replace it with something less dominant and a lot more comfortable. I'd also be reluctant to introduce a bright yellow desk. Do you actually need to two work stations? The desk on the left in combination with that high stool looks extremely uncomfortable and difficult to work at, is it overly high?. Personally, I love the taupe desk, but I can see it is of little practical use in terms of size. I'd be tempted to get rid of it and have some sort of shelving or bookcase on that wall, where you can have photos and accessories, but also to provide somewhere to keep papers, files, post etc. I'm not sure there's room for the mirror as it stands, but if you feel you need to keep it, would it fit on the wall in between the desk on the left and the window wall? If you're keen on introducing that bright yellow into the room, why don't you add it with files/folders, cushions or vases etc? You could even choose it for seat upholstery or as accent colour in the blind or rug. Personally, I think it would be a mistake to have too much of such a bright colour, in a relatively small space....See MoreHow can I lay out my lounge to look more sociable with seating
Comments (6)Firstly, you have got a lovely sized room which looks like it can be quite bright. I can see what you mean, having the two doorways makes placing furniture difficult. I would try putting the 3 seater & the 2 seater next to each other in front of the main window (as long as they didn’t block out too much light from the main window, you do risk sun fading and possibly damaging the leather sofas by the sunlight though so maybe a coloured throw draped over them would be good with bright pastel coloured cushions) and put the armchair in place of the 2 seater with the TV where the 3 seater is now. You’ll have greater access to the doors and your room should feel more spacious. Paint wise the colour Egyptian Cotton by dulux would really lift the oak colour doors and tone really well with your carpet, it is a greige with slight green tone but very restful, you can then accent this with bright pastel coloured accessories. I hope that helps a little....See Moredblahusch
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PROJ. White Handyman, Design & Construction
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ohsuyque
10 years agoohsuyque
10 years agoUser
10 years ago
PROLinda Zaff Architecture, P.C.
10 years agobrickln
10 years agolast modified: 10 years agodblahusch
10 years agodblahusch
10 years ago- PRO
Linda Zaff Architecture, P.C.
10 years agolast modified: 10 years ago - PRO
Linda Zaff Architecture, P.C.
10 years agolast modified: 10 years agoTo add to brickln's comment, if you could remove the asphalt driveway - or wanted to decrease its area, I think a separation between the driveway and the sidewalk to the front door would increase the focus on the house and front door. A 3' to 4' wide planted area would give the house some breathing room. If you wanted to do that, the carport might have to go as well, although, depending on the zoning requirements, you might be able to replace it with a freestanding carport (detached from the house). Check the zoning ordinance for setback requirements and other applicable laws first. A planting strip in that area would also provide an opportunity to add fence in that location - if you like the idea of fencing the front yard. In that case, your sidewalk could be separated from the public sidewalk with a gate and be part of the more private front yard (See Princeton Road house below). A front porch could be nice and would give the house a whole new character, but check the zoning ordinance for requirements that might affect that type of addition and fence construction.
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