Best way to modernise 1850s coach house doors
Hey! We’ve just bought an old 1850’s coach house in York and we are really struggling for ideas on what do do with the original coach doors.
We really want to utilise this space for car parking, inside it is big enough at 2.2m wide but with the doors opening inwards this narrows down to 1.8m.
My original idea was to get a similar looking timber up an over motorised door, the door size would be 2240mm by 2840mm. This way it would remain in keeping with the look of the house and still be practical for parking a car… However, I’ve had a garage door company round to quote today and he’s told me I need a frame of 90mm on either side so I wouldn’t actually gain any space.
Are there any specialists in this field who could lend some advice please?
Any ideas would be much appreciated! Many thanks in advance!
Comments (17)
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Comments (33)Just another opinion...I like the suggestion that others posted to remove the bush and if possible, to put entry door in it's place, to remove the post and replace it with a support beam and brackets, replace garage door, add low wall to separate your driveway from the neighbor's, plant a dwarf tree in the front yard along with some edging plants... But with so many possibilities to choose from, perhaps you could accomplish your desire to make your home stand out from the others inexpensively by...painting over the white part of the house, the downspout directly above the canopy and the garage door to match the lightest brick color. Choose the darkest brick color for all of the other trim and windows. Patch and seal the driveway to freshen it (until you know if you will be permitted to do anything more permanent), definitely taking out the bush and doing some low cost planting just to add some color. It takes time to settle on your needs, style, budget, etc. But it's worthwhile to spend a little cash and effort to get a bit of satisfaction that things are looking better!...See MoreHELP... ideas for modernising and improving our house frontage
Comments (27)Hi Ryan Absolutely love the exterior of your house, i've done a design i hope you like it. I have gone with a touch of modern but also in keeping with the original features and style and history of the house. I've gone for a more Georgian/Tudor door for you in black which i think accentuates the black tiling. You could just paint the door you have and add some DIY stained glass for the pannelling. Adding some lantern wall lights are a great idea to illuminate your entrance space in a safe and also decorative way. Think about adding Drive over lighting around your graveled area to help with parking. I think you should keep the white and exposed brick, maybe just a clean up with a power jet and then a paint should do the trick. I really think you should keep the black features, it adds contrast, so I've kept this in and chosen black outdoor lighting to compliment this. For the garden area I've chosen an alpine and topiary style, alpine succulents and cacti are really in at the moment so if you're wanting a more modern front then definitely go with alpine. Plus you can find some alpine succulents that have a hint of red in them which will compliment the red brick. You could also get some spike lights too, stick them amongst the plants to create a feature. Here are the products I have chosen: Colone Outdoor Lantern Bevelled Glass Wall Light Lantern - Black [Stanley Caspian Outdoor Surface Mount LED Drive Over Light, Black[(https://www.houzz.co.uk/products/stanley-caspian-outdoor-surface-mount-led-drive-over-light-black-prvw-vr~112925188) Georgian Front Door [Nelson Outdoor Adjustable Spike Light, Black[(https://www.houzz.co.uk/products/nelson-outdoor-adjustable-spike-light-black-prvw-vr~124908534) I hope this helps, let me know what you think. Kind Regards The Litecraft Team...See MoreDesign help needed - Victorian house - new front door issue
Comments (14)What a beautiful house. So pleased you have embraced the age and style of the house rather than deciding to ‘modernise’ it as so many posts on this forum want to do to their homes. The door is a lovely colour - agree with you about using that instead of the white on the surrounding woodwork - I’d use it on the inside of the door too. Crest idea is smashing. I think all it is missing then is some softening up ... I would add some beautifully simple planted larger tubs either side of the porch - I think the box look a bit too restrained & out of proportion - I’d go for white flowers spilling over the edge and silver foliage. Maybe something with height - olive trees? Bay ? Maybe echo the planting in window boxes on the ground floor cills (obviously without the trees!) ? White/silver planting looks smart during the day, but just glows in the evening & in artificial light so ideal at the doorway. More colourful planting would compete with the door, keeping the palette restrained would, instead, complement it....See MoreRendering a Victorian house - keeping it 'in keeping' but also modern
Comments (14)I did also read about the Window Tax - it make sense to explain why I have so many blocked up windows. I think I do need to put a window back in on the side above the front door or at least give the impression of a window or similar - looks too plain otherwise. I think on balance sticking with just the off-white looks best and most in-keeping. The pic above has the window put back in and it does look much better balanced. Could I maybe put the window in with some obscure glass (or maybe mirrored glass) but have it blocked off on the inside? It would make very useful in-built storage in the bathroom....See MoreJohn Bryan
3 years agoThank you both for your comments.
We were planning on replacing the two upstairs windows with uPVC sash windows, the bay window i’m not really sure what we can do with it. There was a beautiful original shop like window in there originally but the previous seller had removed it. Any ideas?
Car parking is more of a hot commodity than an extra room would be I think, I didn’t include it in the original photos but the car port area runs through to the courtyard where there is more room to exit the vehicle.
Thanks again! 😊
Jonathan
3 years agoJonathan
3 years agoAnd the visible mark of a little suggests there was once a sag window at ground level where the bay is now.
Jonathan
3 years agoIf you do convert the former garage into accomodation perhaps you can retain the character of the Coachhouse by recessing any wall. This could have the advantage of creating a perceived front garden, or a bin store, or giving opportunity to move the front door if that gives layout benefits or improves privacy.
John Bryan thanked Jonathan
E D
3 years agoJonathan
3 years agoJohn Bryan
3 years agoThanks all for your comments.
Jonathon, I really like your idea of creating the recess at the front for storage and we could maybe then utilise the space behind as a gym potentially. If parking a car in there does turn out to be impossible I may well go with this!
I found a slightly oldpicture of how the window once was too -:
Sonia thank you, your idea does seem practical and I will definitely look into it! I just hope it doesn’t detract from the appearance too much.
arc3d Thank you very much for your detailed response, I’m going to get straight onto the phone with the garage door company and a builder tomorrow to see if this will be possible with our wall thickness! If this works it would be great!
Thanks again everyone 👍🏻Jonathan
3 years agoJohn Bryan
3 years agoE D
3 years agoarc3d
3 years agoCatherine
3 years ago
arc3d