Really Ugly House Needs Design Ideas - Please!

[tom0407]

Hi,

My parents have just bought a new house - it's lovely in many ways; it offers us plenty of space and is in a lovely location with great views all around it and stands in 4 acres of it's own land HOWEVER! It's ugly as sin!

As you can see from the pictures attached to this post something needs to be done... We've thought about.

1) Painting it!?
2) Changing the roof tiles to be more attractive?
3) Growing plants up the side to disguise it?
4) Painting the windows and doors white instead of the dark brown.
5) Knocking it down and starting again lol - Not really an option unfortunately.

So I'm really interested to see if anyone has any bright ideas. I'm not an architect but I'm sure something can be done to turn this house into something beautiful... But what?

Thanks,
Tom

[lekizz]

Where is it? It looks like your parents' truck could have a UK license plate.

What are the other buildings in the area like? What is surrounding the plot? From what direction will the house be approached? most viewed?

[tom0407]

Thanks for the reply.

Ok a bit of background information... The house is indeed in the UK. The view you have there is from the garden which is effectively the back of the house. Infront of that is just fields and a big garden, but it would be really nice to make it look nice from there... That's the main problem I think. Although people will approach it from the other side.

Examples of other houses in the area:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/search.rsp?p_t=1&tr_t=buy&mi_b=4&ma_b=4&lo_u=2850&lo_n=WR6&se_c=1&poi_e=0&poi_n=0&nh_st=1&stc_s=false

More expensive than ours, but you get the idea. There are a lot of pretty black and white timber frame farmhouses which we really love.

I've added a couple more photos showing the situation of the house. The pic6 shows the front of the house with our new porch.

[csintexas]

I don't think it is all that ugly. The windows in the dormers are, I know they where designed that way but they look like they are broken or falling apart.

You could try pressure washing the roof if it is otherwise in good shape, take the TV antenna off the chimney, paint the silver pipe dark grey. Plants. Relocate the lawn furniture/junk collection. Add a little covered porch.

Did I mention plants?

[lekizz]

I tend to agree. If the first elevations are the 'back' of the house then I wouldn't worry unduly. You would only see the stark rear view when mowing that expanse of lawn. It seems to look just about OK when viewed obliquely. Generally the garden looks very tired and plain. Maybe if your parents landscaped the immediate area at the back, extending the (miserly) current patio in an organic form, perhaps building up the area to the left with a rockery, it would liven it all up. There are lots of options. From what you say, the neighbourhood says more 'cottage garden' than 'golf course'

To the gable ends and 'front' maybe (like you suggest) you could add a nice creeper or two. Plants can hide a multitude of sins.

I'd avoid painting the windows white! Are they timber frames painted brown? Or is it a bare wood finish? If you paint them white they will look like cheap UPVC plastic double glazing IMO

[tom0407]

Ok thanks.

Maybe just cleaning the roof, taking off the weird solar panel thing, and painting the windows would help - they aren't bare wood but painted brown.

I also thought the dormer windows in the roof would benefit from being a bit bigger and bolder, and also perhaps the windows should be bigger and other houses I've seen with low roofs tend to have the windows all the way up under the roof i.e. No visible wall area above the windows.

I agree about the garden that's a priority, it's just with such a blank canvas it's very hard to know where to start.

Thanks though any more opinions welcome.

[JonBailey]

if the solar panels are working i would not get rid of them

also, do you have any other pictures of the front of the house -- minus the glare?

[lekizz]

Isn't that 'weird solar panel thing', as you so charmingly describe it, up there to heat the hot water? You never know, with global fuel prices going through the ...erm ...roof, you might regret removing it. They're not cheap, and the solar collector type of panel (possibly what you have there) is the most effective means of harnessing solar energy.

If you really don't want free hot water, I'm sure I could take the panel off your hands

[tom0407]

Not at the moment no. It was a sunny evening. I'll try and get some more online but it won't be for a week or two until I next go home.

[tom0407]

[teamjdc]

It's not ugly at all, just needs some love.

Whatever you do, do not paint the brick!

The dormers could use some work. Can't tell what they're faced with for sure but it resembles T-111 plywood. You can definitely improve that.

Paint the wood trim.

What material is the roof? If it's composition tile and has seen better days, you can get a more colorful tile when it's time to replace it.

The biggest thing it need is landscaping.

[mx2]

I agree for the most part with my constituents here...it is not ugly. It is indeed charming and looks very cozy. However, there is always room for improvement. A few quick suggestions in random order and thought: landscaping, landscaping, landscaping (including hardscaping, ie deck), paint the trim less gloomy, new doors and windows throughout (something more rustic, not so modern looking), new roof tiles or shingles (again I prefer going with the rustic feel), clean the brick, remove as many silly and uselss gadgets, keep anything that uses solar energy (restore or repair in needed), I would enhance the fron entrance, pull the driveway at least 5 meters away from the house and pave it with cobblestone or like material, some mature trees near the house and uplights, new exterior wall sconces (again,...a rustic touch), and perhaps some new exterior structure of significance in the rear yard just to break up the long line of roof...like a pergola/trellis and paved patio with outdoor furniture, more landscaping, birdbath or some visual interest,...a nice place for a family dinner....anyway, what I really would like to take a look at is the flow of space inside and how it relates to the outside. Then I would really love to start spending your money (new kitchen, bathrooms, finishes, appliances, maybe an addition or second floor)...

mx2.5

[tom0407]

Thanks for all the comments, much appreciated. Maybe I was a little harsh on the place... It's not that bad really, just needs to TLC as you put it. We'll avoid painting it for the time being then and I agree it needs some serious landscaping, it's just tricky to know what when it's in such a flat area...

[kari_sinkko]

Hi Tom,

I think the house itself is really nice. You can go two ways with it.

Make it sit within a certain style and making it conform or just go the opposite way.

I played with the colours at home, let me know what you think

[tom0407]

Lol that's brilliant thanks! We are definately going with the purple, maybe with pink dots, what do you think? Haha ok I think the white looks nice, although it would be good to see a version without a pink hue. I also think that perhaps the red original brick is the best... I just thought that painting it might disguise the age of the building slightly and make it more timeless - rather than clearly from a certain time period i.e. circa 1970.

By the way this forum is so annoying! It keeps blocking my replies because it thinks it's spam, then locking me out of the forum... I've not come across this before - Am I writing particularly spammy comments... Weird.