Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-19-2012, 09:28 AM
 
Location: Myrtle Beach
3,381 posts, read 9,102,653 times
Reputation: 2943

Advertisements

New bushes in the front, do this soon as they will take awhile to grow and look really good.

Rip up that weed infested and cracked path. Replace is with stone steps and fill the gaps with crushed red granite.

Replace the railing on the porch, put up new railing on the porch.

Reroof the house with lighter colored shingles. Paint the house.

Kill the entire lawn and then reseed it (cheaper than SOD, but is a lot of work and takes a long time)

You should be able to do all of this by yourself... except maybe the new shingles.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-19-2012, 09:58 AM
 
Location: Chicago area
18,763 posts, read 11,755,546 times
Reputation: 64148
I would take the bushes and the big tree out. Over grown landscaping makes a smaller house look smaller. I can't tell if that's a painted concrete porch but if it is I would buy some slate tile and resurface it along with the side walk. No need to rip the concrete out just even it out with the thin set for the tiles. I would take that wide trim piece on the porch and carry it across the top of the house above the windows. I would add some trim to make some round archways around the three sides of the porch to give it some whimsey. I would paint the house a pale yellow and the trim white. Some nice flower beds along the side walk and where the bushes were along the house with some black mulch would give it some curb appeal. I like the flower box idea and some new shutters. I would plant a red maple in the middle of the lawn with a flower bed around it. No need to rip out the lawn. We dug out the dead spots, placed some new dirt, seeded and covered it with a thin layer of straw at one of our rentals and it worked great. Put some weed and feed on the following spring. That house would make a great rental since you got it so cheap.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 10:24 AM
 
1,322 posts, read 3,465,009 times
Reputation: 2024
This is a big budget idea. I am in love with large lounging porches. I would expand the small porch area by adding a long porch that runs the full length of the house. It would be an ell shape wide wnough to have a sitting area and maybe even a small table and chairs to enjoy morning coffee or a light lunch. To keep it private from the street I would have a semi solid rail along the sides...playing up that cottage feel as one poster suggested. I see plenty of hanging baskets, cascading with flowers and perhaps working bamboo shades if you are in a particularly warm climate. I would also love to see a metal roof .
I am not sure what style you are after...you can play up the cottage feel with a soft romantic feel or go boho with a riot of color and pattern. You could also go beachy..with soft greys and minimal landscaping. I agree with the poster about removing the sidewalk and replacing it with a more casual path. You could do a whole front yard garden that you could taikor to be more wild or more traditional.
Congratulations on your new home. Keep us up to date with pictures.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 11:03 AM
 
Location: Alaska
5,356 posts, read 18,514,977 times
Reputation: 4071
My take would be to remove the shutters because the window on the porch doesn't have them. I also don't think that window would look good with shutters. I'd remove all shrubs, especially the one taller than the house and start over. I can't tell from the picture, but it doesn't look like the steps have a handrail. I'd continue a rail from the post and house to the steps and handrails on both sides of the steps. They may be required by code anyway. If you want it to be more decorative, you can remove the rail on the side to match. I'd hang flower baskets on the porch and go with flower boxes under the windows. Definitely clean up the walk, plant grass and paint it the colors you like. A short picket fence might look nice too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 11:06 AM
 
4,761 posts, read 14,251,774 times
Reputation: 7957
Extend the porch and add a porch swing...
http://thumbs.****/thumbla...9413FTwRsc.jpg
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 11:08 AM
 
Location: Alaska
5,356 posts, read 18,514,977 times
Reputation: 4071
Quote:
Originally Posted by animalcrazy View Post
I can't tell if that's a painted concrete porch but if it is I would buy some slate tile and resurface it along with the side walk. No need to rip the concrete out just even it out with the thin set for the tiles.
If there are any cracks in the concrete, you'd need to lay down some sort of anti-fracture membrane. Otherwise the tiles will crack along the same lines.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 01:02 PM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,707 posts, read 79,581,771 times
Reputation: 39445
There were two houses like this one in our old neighborhood. One was evnetually painted Pepptobismol pink, the other brilliant yellow. Much to my surprise they looked pretty good. THe bright colors made the tiny house perk up and look cute. However the one was forever referred to as "the Pepto bismol house" Even after it was repainted.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,707 posts, read 79,581,771 times
Reputation: 39445
Actually I went and looked a tthe pepto bismol house online. It is still pink, but not Pepto pink, It is 1132 North Spurgeon Street in santa Ana California. At one time it looked somewhat like your house (completely diffrent age and roof shape, but a tiny house that had a somewhat bland appearance, the landscapig was overgrown, the porch was bare). This house may give you some ideas. The picket fence, the and porch and stair railing the offsetting colors for trim and base, landscaping. It is pretty cute now. Just pull it up on google maps, clik in front of it, right clik and choose "waht is here" or somethign like that. You should ge a picture.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 10:36 PM
 
Location: Tijuana Exurbs
4,531 posts, read 12,369,672 times
Reputation: 6274
I'll limit my comments to the front, because I can't see the interior or the back of the house.

I would choose an appropriate target look, and stick with it. In the case of this house, I think your most reasonable and inexpensive target look would be the "Cute Cottage" look. Once you have a fixed goal, that will keep you from going astray and adding elements of other looks that you like, but will clash with your base look. Many people can't maintain discipline, and begin pulling in all of their favorite things, but their favorite things don't work together.

Landscaping:

You might plant a diminutive weeping willow type tree or other airy ornamental in the middle of the lawn. Something that won't grow so big it overpowers the house, yet at the same time provides a pleasant focal point in the front yard. Surround it with attractive brick or stonework. Don't do cutesy stuff like fake wishing wells, or foot bridges to nowhere.

Work with those bushes at the front of the house and spread them out evenly and trim them into attractive round-ish balls of greenery. You will need to build a front planter bed so they aren't growing on a slope but grow at the same height.

Flowerbeds on either side of the front walk. Work at those weeds in the front walk cracks until they never come back. I would not replace the walk or tile over the front porch. It will just make the house look "wrong" in some undefinable way. You could end up spending a lot money on something that doesn't and will never work. However, eventually the front walk may have to go because of condition, but you can do that later. Plant small bushes, on either side of the front steps so the porch foundation is no longer visible. You can decide if they should be the same bushes as you choose for in front of the house, or go with something different.

Paint the house in a color and trim that "pops," but don't go so wild that it annoys the neighbors or earns you a permanent name like the Pepto Bismol house, or the Neon Green house.

Going further with the Cute Cottage motif, you might add a white picket fence, porch bench, and either a rambling rose or similar, around the porch or the fence. Be careful you don't over do the cuteness such that the house becomes saccharine in appearance.

Porch support pillars: Would they look better if they were somewhat larger? Hard to know. I would think about it, but be careful. It could be expensive and in the end, may not be an improvement.

Having said the above, in general I would avoid adding expensive architectural details the house wasn't designed to sustain. You will spend a lot of money on them, and they will only look like paste ons. They will never work unless you essentially rebuild the house. Your house is a certain type, and you can't make it become something else. It can only be the best of what it is.

And put that lawn out of its misery.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 11:39 PM
 
Location: Tucson for awhile longer
8,869 posts, read 16,280,653 times
Reputation: 29230
Some good tips on choosing exterior paint:
Color Tips: Choosing Exterior Paint Colors - Sherwin-Williams

Most good-quality paint companies suggest color groupings for their exterior paints so you have several selections of trim colors that accent/match/enhance the body color. I had a contractor who swore by Sherwin Williams for exterior paint. He used it on my house and I was happy with it.
Exterior Color Schemes - Sherwin-Williams

The development I live in now specifies Dunn Edwards paint. They have an impressive collection of body/trim/accent trios in their exterior paint line.
Dunn-Edwards - Painting Contractors - Explore Color - Color Ideas & Inspiration - Most Popular Colors - Exterior Colors

Of all the many paints I have personally applied, my favorite is Benjamin Moore, for quality, color selection, and price to value. But note I have only used their interior paints and have no experience with their exterior line. They, too, suggest color trios for homes in a variety of styles.
http://media.benjaminmoore.com/WebSe...ons/index.html

Have fun with your project. I'm with those who say if you clean up, improve the landscaping, and paint in pleasing colors, you won't need to do anything more extreme to have a little gem on your hands.

Do think about what kind of flowers/plantings you prefer (or grow well in your area) before you choose paint colors. So many people make the terrible mistake of planting blossoms that clash (or blend in too much) with their house colors. Red houses with fuschia azaleas were my pet peeve when I lived back east. Now that I'm in Arizona, it's great banks of lantana in freaky color combinations. Flowers are totally worth it, but too expensive to just plant willy-nilly without any thought to a plan. And since the front yard is small, I would consider the suggestion that you plant ground cover instead of grass. If you're a busy student you don't need grass maintenance added to your schedule. Unless you love the smell, of course.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:11 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top