Small roman brick house...needs curb appeal!
annart24
10 years ago
We had so many ideas to make our 550 sqft home either modern or cute. Our remodeled interior feels great, but we cannot decide on windows or paint colors that won't break our budget. We are stuck with the red tile roof and I want to paint the roman brick. W are still open to fence style as well...help!
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annart24
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Curb appeal indecision... advice please!
Comments (91)Sorry I am so late coming to your site - you are an inspiration to all, homeowners and advisers alike. For your planting advice, I suggest you call Merrifield Garden Center to see if they will come out your way. They currently have wonderful garden centers in Merrifield and Fairfax (both in Fairfax County) and a new one in Gainesville, but they may come further south to wherever you reside. (www.MerrifieldGardenCenter.com) Even if they don't send designers to your area, they are worth a trip to see their huge selection for a day of pleasure and inspiration, or to pick up some plants. Most of my clients are in the Fairfax and greater Washington area, but I am currently living out west below Front Royal, VA on the Shenandoah mountainside - wonderful views. cascio.offsite@gmail.com...See MoreHeeeeelllp for garden novices.
Comments (23)And I would be planting trees – real trees not dwarf versions of trees and no more palms (unless you want to have palm tree themed garden – in which case a lot more palms are needed). I am not advocating planting forest giants but there are trees that will provide shade, shelter and a sense of scale that you won't get from yuccas and buxus and mondo grass and succulents alone. But before you start buying those trees you have a few decisions to make and a bit of analysis to do. 1. Orientation – you need to understand the basics of winter sun and summer sun, how much westerly sun you welcome and how much you need to shelter from it; where your prevailing winds blow from and whether this changes with the season also. So, once you've worked out where you want the sun to penetrate and at what time of the year, how to allow for wind, frost, whatever... you need to 2. Decide if you want a predominantly native garden, a range of deciduous trees or a completely eclectic selection (like the best 'English' gardens – which are planted out with plants from all over the world – Indian subcontinent, Asia, Africa, The Americas etc. Even some from Australia!). 3. Now the tricky bit – what do you love, i.e. which trees and plants make your heart really sing – and hopefully for more than two or three weeks of the year? Once you have that list which of those are likely to be happy in your climate, in your soil and with the amount of gardening attention (watering, feeding, pruning etc) that you're likely to enjoy lavishing on them. Your long list will by now be a much shorter (and more manageable list) but trees are what make a house look bedded in and part of a landscape rather than just sitting out in the open in a way that is both self-conscious and a bit awkward. Although, again I guess you could embrace the suburban awkwardness and go all Howard Arkley in which case keep it all small and suburban... But it is your garden and your house – make it look like what you want your house and garden to look and feel like! Good luck!...See MoreNot sure where to start!
Comments (49)Thanks for the replies! My wife suggested we talk to a local real estate agent, so i think that is a good idea... just that Im not sure how helpful they are likely to be if we arent selling yet :) As for saving for our dream house, I dont disagree, however if doing this up nicely over the next ~5 years or so while we live here nets us some extra in the eventual sale, then that of course will help us as well. Interesting thing happened today actually. I got a knock on the door and one of the older neighbours asked if he could take some lemons from the tree. I of course said yes. Anyway he was telling me he had lived in the street for 40 years. I asked him if the house had always looked like this, and he said no that ~30 years ago the old old owner did a massive renovation and pulled off the timber and put up the bricks and gutted the inside of the house. Interesting stuff!...See MoreYou know you want to have a play....
Comments (51)A very simple layout keeping the floor space within the kitchen, the WIP takes up a lot of space with not much gain, The broom cupboard could be moved to the Laundry/entrance, narrow. If the wall has been bumped out to the eaves on the deck side giving an extra 300 depth to the kitchen you could make the island 2700 x 1200 and all drawers. The wall of narrow pantry will hold all pantry needs and more, no deep cupboards to dig into. cheers...See More
PROKuth Ranieri Architects
10 years agolast modified: 10 years agoannart24 thanked Kuth Ranieri Architects
Tracey Olney
10 years agoCould you tuckpoint the brickwork to lighten the look of the house &/or add awnings to the windows. Not sure what is in front of the windows you could create a paved area using sandstone pavers, this effect would also lighten the look of the front & potentially create a nice seating area (see attached photo ideas). Rather than paint the bricks you could render the walls.
annart24 thanked Tracey Olney
indianpatti
10 years agoDon't paint the brick ... it's very nice.
Maybe add a modern lightpost and handrail?
annart24 thanked indianpatti
PROArlene Awarda Architect
10 years agolast modified: 10 years agoHi Annart24,
This is a very cute house! There are a lot of opportunities on what you can do with it! Here is what I came up with:
1. First, the yard. There is an opportunity for new 'tiered' planter bed design.
2. First totally remove overgrown evergreens, bushes in front.
3. Then divide the planting bed into tiers, areas of design. After laying out 'Stone' or brick into mini-tiers, then plant perennials. And for color some annuals. If you plant 2/3's covering you should be fine. It can be like a rock garden.
4. Retaining wall, because it may be up to property line, you may not be able to face it with stone. Also the stair, it may be at it's limit with it's width. I suggesting painting it with concrete approved paint.Colors maybe a green, grey color, natural but subdued. The exposed block looks unfinished, Painting, or staining block may help
5. Actual house: you have an opportunity to design the entry. Take off old awning. And replace it with pergola, this one has 4 columns, white is good. Then you have structure facing street saying entry.
6. Feature: water feature can be placed in between two front windows. I just included a pot as one idea. Then you could place a walk on each side, around it.
Here are some photos I came up with. Arlene
annart24
10 years agompmoates
10 years ago
victorianbungalowranch
10 years ago
PROBalber Architecture, Inc.
9 years agoGreat lines to this little brick box…it looks nice perched on the pedestal of the land. I think the main problem is that it is a bit hodge-podge. We just need to keep the amount of “stuff” going on to a minimum and then the house should “pop”. This is what I recommend per my rendering: I love the plantings on the left side, but the plantings on the right don’t match, therefore it looks like it is in disarray. To remedy this, just rip out the plants on the right and mimic that on the left. This will create “bookends” and a great sense of entry and arrival. It will be exciting to walk through the bookends. I would then stucco over the exposed CMU a plain white. I’d nix the wood slat fence as it seems arbitrary and the wood is not repeated anywhere. I would nix the small roof over the entry door and add a white and gray awning in its place. I would also add these same awnings over the front windows. Good luck! :)
Joseph I. Mycyk Architects, Inc.