Facade Advice

[dave72]

Looking for some advice on improving the facade on the home pictured in the attachment. I had been discussing the project with a couple local architects, but they lost interest in the project after we found that the city will not allow me to add a portico due to set back restrictions. The design then became trim & surface treatments.

The few ideas I had were to obviously change the stone to a different pattern/type. Perhaps add a dutch gable treatment to the center cross gable; or turn the corners in on the gable ends. Cover the T1-11 siding in the center portion with a cedar shingle or shake. The center portion overhangs about 24"; would columns be appropriate, perhaps large brackets instead?

Thoughts or suggestions?

[SDR]

1. Change vertical board siding on center bay to horizontal wide flush chamfered board siding. Consider a slightly contrasting color for this section -- possibly natural wood.

2. Add matching shutters to center window.

3. Add window boxes (flower boxes) below right and left upper windows, to match bottom sill line of center window.

4. (optional) Change stone to brick, or to matching wide board siding (see above), or to lapped siding that matches rest of house. Consider siding garage (and chimney ?) in this second material.

5. No columns -- retain existing "brackets."

6. Take a photo with enough resolution so that the siding doesn't look like it's 300 years old !

SDR

[mx2]

[dave72]

Thanks for the input so far. I guess what I am after here is a general update to the facade; minimizing major structural work. The house definitely shows that it's a 30 year old colonial. I wanted to maintain the traditional look but give it an update adding detail and character. With the attached garage it will never look like something truely built in the early 1900's. So the design does not have to stay true to colonial "rules"; but it should be well balanced and visually appealing. I like the sense of balance and uniformity that colonials offer. Our neighborhood is full of builders non-descript colonials. This house is unique in the neighborhood due to the center upper "garrison-like" overhang. It needs more to make it stand out.

The portico would have provided some of this charater to the entry. In the absence of that what can be done? Landscaping will help the entry, but the center, second story, cross-gable portion is missing something to tie it in to the rest of the house.

The initial plan was to replace the stone with something perhaps of a similar color but a more rectangular uniform pattern such as a ledgestone. While we were doing the entry perhaps covering the chimney box with a similar stone. This doesn't address the problem with the appearance of the second story cross gabled portion.

Thanks!

[csintexas]

I think it just needs a bit better detailing. the t-111 has an ugly seam, the brackets holding up the projection are to thin, it could use some more brackets up high on the main gable, better colors, etc..

look at arts and crafts for inspiration.

[mx2]

I think it could be a rather easy fix really...it is unusual for a colonial to have such a protruding element above the front door, however, it can be played up. Pilasters from the ground up in line with the center portion to the gable, molding, new shutters like SDR mentioned, and all horizontal siding to match the rest of the house and to downplay and reduce the impact of the "overhang" (nix the stone and continue the siding in its place). Then you can add some picket railing at the front entrance, add nice big molding and frieze at the door et voila! a neo-colonial house...

mx2.5

[Architorture]

how about an arched window for the center window?

[SDR]

Palladian ? Or with a fanlight ? How about Tudor ? Gothic ? And we've ignored the Arts and Crafts suggestion (!).

I like mx-2's recipe, I guess. The central garrison IS unusual. . .and seems to have thrown us all (?) for a loop ! I wonder if there's a precedent for this house, somewhere. . .

SDR

[Architorture]

maybe a segmental arch... half round might be too round...

[mx2]

here's an example of a tradtional colonial front door:

http://www.period-homes.com/brochure/images/maurer1.gif

mx2.5

[mx2]

and an example of a pilaster (albeit at a corner of a building and not all the way up to the roof line)...but it demonstrates how the corner of the garrison could be treated and "connected" with the ground:

http://s93883215.onlinehome.us/adamjaneiro/uploaded_images/REBlog-005-757707.jpg

mx2.5

[mx2]

and here's an example of a very traditional colonial house; note the triple windows that have the large molding above...this could a way to treat the window centered in that garrison thingie:

http://www.mhl.org/historicpreservation/images/Colonial-Revival-windows.jpg



mx2.5

[SDR]

[Ya gotta love that last one -- from the "throw everything in the book at 'em" school !]

Thanks for the examples, mx2.

Thank goodness great architectural monuments are (usually) spared the periodic "updating" that we seem to think our humble residences need, eh ?

SDR

[mx2]

LOL...but then again what makes them great is also what precludes them from needing any editing...

yeah, that last one reminds me of a wedding cake!

mx2.5

[SDR]

Yeah -- it could be the prototype (from when ? I'm betting pre-1900) for today's Grab-bag-McMansion style. . .eh what ?


SDR