I would remove all the timbering from the top floor. The bay window is small in proportion to the wall it is on. Is that a bedroom? If there ever comes a day when windows need replaced it would be good to resize and reposition all of them. The upper right window looks crooked. I would paint the lower floor in the grout color of the stone. Paint the brown trim and the garage in that same color.

When was the house built? And the addition put on?

The house was built in the 50s and the addition was put on in '81.

The room where the bay window is located is a huge (500sqft) living room. Where the balcony is located is the master bedroom. It would have made more sense if the balcony and bay window were reversed! :( The right window isn't crooked, it's just a bad picture.

An architect could redesign the 1981 window and the too-skinny timbering, as chiflipper says. You may like to get a new diamond paned window to replace the 1981 contemporary window.

You have received some very good advice. Go with an architect familiar with tudor houses.

I would completely abandon the whole idea of keeping a bad 50s faux Tudor if I had a chance. Take a heavy chisel & hammer, or rent a compact power chisel, and remove the badly applied stone, rip off the faux timbers and ditto the aged Windows - including the bay. Run Hardi plank siding on the horizontal all around the base of the house. Repair what needs repairing of the stucco above and install some modern efficient Windows. A new garage door along with some much needed landscaping, and there you go!

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To make it work, do a tone on tone which will minimize the awkward roof lines/stone work/windows/garage. Think this combo may work for you.

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Thanks for some great advice! The diamond pane windows are actually just a wooden diamond frame propped up on the inside of the window. A real pain to clean and kind of cheap. Getting an architect is a great start. Thanks for getting some ideas going, I really appreciate it!

Love, love, love Judy G Design's suggestion to go tone on tone. Here's another Houzz thread where two posters did just that, and it really improved their houses' appearance:

[tone on tone Tudor[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/advice-on-facelift-for-daggy-70s-tudor-to-modern-tudor-hamptons-dsvw-vd~821193?n=11)

I tried to photoshop your home with a tone on tone color scheme, but the mock-up didn't come out well. So I left the old color scheme and ran with the Tudor theme. Semi-circle steps by the door per kathleen MK's idea. A brick walkway draws your eye to the new Tudor style door. Landscaping softens the stone facade. I tried to draw brackets under the bay, also per kathleen MK. I've beefed up the pillar on the left and added a support bracket. New Tudor style exterior lights. Wood look garage door. Also, I added a little trim over the first floor windows just so they don't have that blank space above them.

Do you use the balcony? I wonder if switching to metal spindles would make it less heavy looking. Metal spindles recede visually better than wood spindles do.

Wood rails with metal spindles

Love it! Thanks so much for the mock up awm03. The stone circle steps and brick pathway look so nice. The landscaping also makes a huge difference. Also agree tone on tone would be much better. This is all very helpful. We do use the balcony but I see what you mean about the wood looking too heavy. I like the suggestion of wood w/ metal spindles.

Any constructive suggestions, Patricia?

Patricia Colwell, you are being insulting. People come here for advice on how to make the best with what they've got, given the limitations of their funds.
There are plenty of reasons for buying a house, style being the least important factor sometimes. No need to make someone feel bad about her house because it probably won't grace the cover of Architectural Digest.

Most houses in America are poorly styled. So what are we to do if we don't have a spare $200K to totally remodel an exterior? I tried to show some things that can be done bit by bit as funds become available and with stock items -- certainly doable if spread out over the years. It may not transform the house into an elegant 1920s Tudor revival, but it pulls the house together a bit better. And sometimes one can fall in love with a quirky or bland house after a few changes and pouring your own personality into it. Ask me how I know.

By any chance, have you seen houses similar to yours in your area to see changes they have made?

I tried to find a similar house to yours by entering 'upper cantilever' in exterior Houzz photos. You may find some inspiration if you do the same.

Personally, I would not continue with the Tudor theme. I would go a bit more contemporary, simple cleaner lines. I would consider removing the stone, tudor boards & window grills. Replace the bay window with a similar window style to the rest. A lighter color on the bottom to make it look larger and draw your eye, darker on the top.

Definitely worth investing in an architect rendering.

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I like the idea of putting up siding to make the house look more modern and new but it's an expensive option. Does anyone have experience with engineered wood siding? It's much cheaper than the Hardie board. Because of the size of the home (~3,500sqft) siding gets very expensive! The cheaper option would be to keep the tudor and widen the exterior beams and go with the tone on tone paint. I feel like it may be wiser to invest money to make the windows larger, especially in the front (especially taking care of that bay window). Our family loves our home and has had it for over 40 years. My dad built the 2nd story himself so this house means a lot to our family and we want to make the most with what we've got it's just after 30+ years it really needs some TLC!

Debora, I think the least expensive thing you can do is remove the timbers and paint both floors the same color. What is the surface of the upstairs? Is it stucco? I made an image to show you how I think the house could look if it had a uniform color. I am not good at photoshop, it is very crude.

Thanks for the mockup emmarene. Yes the upstairs is stucco. The beams are set into the stucco as well. Not sure how much work is involved to remove them. I wonder by going the siding route if they can cut them down to so that the wood is level with the stucco for placing siding over the top. The cement on the bottom is crumbling and the stones themselves are very soft, but I know that is just the type of stone it is, almost chalk-like. You can't really see it on the image, you have to get up close. The windows are a bit small to me. The bay window looks small, like a small painting hanging in the middle of a big wall. It would be nice if I can afford to get them more proportioned. I'm definitely not opposed to going a more simple route. Simple may not be flashy but it can be nice enough and stand the test of time :)

I worked with what awm03 did and then did a photoshop sketching of what my house would look like with siding. Here's what I got. After looking at the two, I am really liking how the siding looks and think it would be worth the investment if we can afford it.

We do use the balcony. I see what you mean, it would be nice if there was a post there to balance it, but since it jets out further from the post of the left I couldn't figure out how to balance it.

Okay so instead of trying to make them see this is not a Tudor house you would like me to help them make it a Tudor house I don’t think so.I find so many times on these posts that people buy a house and then want it to be something it is not why not help them appriciate what they have and enhance it instead of feeding into the impossible.These are tudor houses this one is noton any level and if you think I am being rude I do tell it like it is.

Deborah, your mock up with the siding looks really good.

Patricia Colwell, I quite agree with you that the examples you posted are "true" Tudor homes and they are lovely. Unfortunately, most ordinary Americans are stuck with cookie-cutter tract homes. Over the years previous owners have tried to imbue those bad boxes with some sense of individuality, most resulting in epic failures. While most of us would love to hire a professional and spend $75k or more to update our homes, we can't afford it. We're doing the best we can with what we have.

That is what i am trying to say save the money and learn to love what you have instead of trying to make it something it is not. I have no problem with helping make this home the best it can be but I will not help it be something it will never be

We have had the home for over 40 years. My dad designed and built the second story, and he wasn't a design pro, he was a builder. This house was something he loved and something he thought looked great in 1981. Now we are planning to move across the country and realize other people who will buy the house will probably not have the special affinity for the design the way my dad had for it. We are excited for our project and will make the best with what we've got! ☺

I should add we are not trying to force the house to be a tudor like the photos Patricia posted. We just need to find a design that makes the house decent and be realistic. Getting advice and seeing the drawings has really helped give us good ideas and shown us what actually looks good on the shape of this house, so thank you everyone for your help ☺. This is going to be a big project both inside and out. It will take us probably most of this year but I look forward to posting pictures of it when it's done!

If siding is too much for your budget, you could look into repairing the stucco. You rip out the wood and resize/replace your windows, then you have the stucco company come in and repair the areas affected. Then paint the whole thing. It will be much cheaper. To replace stucco with siding you need to rip out the stucco and it can add up. I would talk to stucco company first. (But yes, I agree, don't keep the faux Tudor)

Great advice! Thanks!

I love the way the house looks in your rendering with the siding I think your Dad would be proud you cared enough to make it beautiful

Fixing up to sell is different from improving to suit yourselves. Please consult three very active real estate agents in your area to see what price range the house you've had for 40 years will be in "as is" or with different amounts of money poured into fixing up. Find out who your buyers are and what they expect. Then decide which fix-ups are worth the effort and expense. Residing a house that's been designed with a different finish is a major effort and expense.

I agree with chiflipper about keeping the authenticity of your home, and I would suggest you consult an expert in stone installation and maintenance about the situation with the stone. As for an arched door, why not paint the door, arch, and all red and then have curved, white-painted trim around this arched area? This will give the illusion of an arched door without the expense of the real thing. I have seen some Tudor homes with a very pale yellow-green on the upper story, and this color might work for you, provided you like it.

Entrance out of scale with the rest of the front. Im surprised all you designers didnt mention this. Renderings even show this more. Love this house

That stone looks like something straight out of game of thrones. Reside or replace It for sure. We tried to a reverse image search but this is a definitely a google maps snapshot. Anyone know how this painting or remodeling project turned out?