Good Morning friends! Today I’m sharing my design plans for our home exterior. We live in a brick ranch from the 60s-70s and lately I can’t get out of my head the idea of giving it a makeover. Because an addition isn’t reasonable or feasible for us, these changes are definitely do-able, more budget-friendly (with a lot of DIY), will make our home look updated and ultimately boost overall value. I created a design board so I can stick to my original vision and not get distracted from so many other good ideas out there.
Ultimately I want my home exterior to be more of a craftsman style, which is a style that has always had my heart. If you have a similar situation and have been contemplating an update for your home’s exterior, then hopefully this post will give you some ideas that you can perhaps implement as well!
Here is a good before of our home exterior so you can see what we are dealing with:
Since we moved in, I have lightly white-washed the brick, which helped a little. We also painted the front door and shutters, installed carriage-style hardware on the garage, and added a little bistro set to our front porch. They have been pleasant changes, but I’m ready to make some more drastic changes.
Let’s start with the columns, shall we? Honestly it is something that has been bugging us (particularly Bruno, my husband) since we moved in and really was the kick-off point for the rest of the changes to the home exterior.
Source: Magnolia Market
We want to put in some stained columns (Special Walnut by Minwax) and add a 3rd column to flank both sides of the front door. The stain will coordinate with stained planter boxes…
Source: Magnolia Market
…And a stained wood-look craftsman style front door. The front door may take awhile to change out since that is a big purchase. But we’ll get there… 😉
I also would like to update our shutters with some fresh craftsman-style, v-groove shutters and paint them a more subdued aqua than what was there previously: Wythe Blue by Benjamin Moore. I’ll tell you a secret– I’ve already built these, but I can’t share them with you yet! 😉 Soon though!
Source: Exterior Solutions
I also love the dark hinges shown below, and the shutter color is similar to what we are going for, so you can get an idea of what it will look like.
Source: Jules Duffy Designs
Another huge change will be our plan to paint the brick. Half of our house (including the entire side facing east) is already white vinyl, so this will just make things look more cohesive. Basically, ever since I saw this brick ranch makeover by Beneath My Heart, I was sold on painting our brick. It makes such a difference!
Source: Beneath My Heart
The color we are thinking is a warm white (but not cream), either White Dove or Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore.
Source: Style Me Pretty
Source: Atlanta Homes
Source: Design Indulgence
The landscaping needs to be cut back and cleaned up a bit. I’m not sure if I will keep the boxwoods right in front our our porch, since I think they look sorta awkward, but I’m not sure what else to put into that flower bed. There are two small rose bushes between the boxwoods but I know if I let those grow then it will block off the porch view a bit. Suggestions are welcome!
We also want to put in new pavers leading up to the house and also on the side of the house leading back to the patio. The plan is to eventually make a large enough paver space on the side of the house that we can keep our trash cans out there and also have the much-wished-for basketball hoop (for my almost 11 year-old). We have about 15 feet from the house to the edge of our property, so that would leave an area about 25-30 feet long, so not a HUGE space but big enough to play around a bit. Before I gave our back patio a makeover, he would put up a little basketball hoop that hung on the pergola and play around with a mini basketball, but I put the kibosh on that when I put furniture and light bulbs up, so he has been pining ever since.
Source: Bob Vila
So that is about it! What do you think of my home exterior plans? I imagine these projects will take at least a year to complete, so stay tuned for several in-progress posts about it. But I was too excited about the plan to keep it to myself. 🙂
It all looks fantastic! I too have plans for some blue shutters, and I am sold on hanging them with real, movable shutter hinges–the only problem is those a pretty penny! They make such a difference though in the look of the shutter, because they extend the shutters out from the house some and add visual depth. Anyway, just sharing in case you hadn’t thought of that option. I love the painted brick too! Have similar ideas for my house, but absolutely nobody in my area paints brick, and I’ve been wondering if it would hurt our house value. These Texas people need some more style 🙂 Thanks for sharing your plans!
All I can say is GORGEOUS!
We also live in Ballwin and had been looking to replace our front door, but kept putting it off due to price. When you’re ready for a new front door, you should check out Wilke Windows & Doors/Norm’s Bargain Barn in Fenton (near Gravois Bluffs). We came across Wilke when we were looking at places other than Lowe’s and Home Depot. We ordered from the Norm’s Bargain Barn side and got the exact door we wanted (craftsman style without the shelf) that would have cost us nearly twice as much elsewhere. Wilke manufactures their own doors so costs are kept down. We’ve been really pleased. We’ll likely return when we’re ready to replace the door from the kitchen to the patio.
ooooh!! Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely check them out!
What color did you paint the house ? We are having a hard time deciding between Benjamin Moore Swisss Coffee or Cloud White. We are afraid Cloud White is too bright and Swiss Coffee too beige/yellow.
Yes, Rachel, everyone like you would definitely opt for a makeover to such a decades-old home. But, a very few people would have the audacity like you to do it themselves. First, we have to pick a list of designs for that. Barring construction, style and design depend on our choice and innovative ideas. Most of the time, we seek assistance from a home builder for enhancing the elegance of our home as its professionals have enormous experience and knowledge on the recent trend.
Nice Information ! Exterior shutters are a way to boost your home’s curb appeal.
Tons of painted brick in N Texas.. even in high end homes in Highland Park/Dallas. The weather here is great for it too, moisture not a problem. I’m going with Romabio paint which is a masonry paint that needs no primer. Still deciding on the trim!