All Forum Posts by: Jeff Berg

Here ya go, Kim. This will make the biggest impact with the most minimal investment.

Your budget figure was a bit underestimated to properly correct the issue, and create the critically important curb appeal currently absent.

It's not a bad looking house, but the lack of any celebration of the entry is the only serious architectural liability, which can be easily and inexpensively corrected.

Here are a few pics to help you visualize:

https://pin.it/ukmjsped4biaur

https://pin.it/rrguyitwkvtqa7

https://pin.it/jzcdv2vrt6wtyp

Cheers!

Hi Kim,

The house is screaming for a proper proper porch/entry with a portico... it would completely transform the front facade and give the house some much-needed curb appeal.

That said, with your extremely limited budget, the next best solution would be build a MUCH bigger wood porch over the existing one (no demo cost, and it's below the entry treshold) that extends a few feet farther into the yard from the house, and if you can afford it, to the far right small window.

Either way, build two simple fat columns at the corners of the porch that would be about a foot higher than the railing, and positioned just outside the two smaller windows flanking the entry door.

Then, paint the entry door a deep, very rich burgundy.

It probably would exceed your super-tight budget, but would absolutely be worth the investment.

Hi John,

Just curious, why are you replacing the doors?

Hi Courtney,

I've always been of the mind to NOT follow the rehab "recipe du jour," but do whatever works the absolute best for your specific application, and always had success for the very simple reason it looked correct, professional, and exceptional... not formulaic and ordinary.

If you post a few pics of the kitchen, I'll be happy to give you some color guidance.

Hi Brian,

I would strongly recommend hiring an experienced renovation designer with a very good rep to make these esthetic decisions, as they can make or break the final product. It's what everyone sees and remembers.

A good rehab designer will know where to spend money to get the most bang for your renovation buck, how to deliver everything from curb appeal to intimate interior details, with taste and the proper respect for the existing arrchitecture.

Okay Dustin, buckle up, here we go, as promised. First, we need to establish architectural assets vs liabilities.

It's basically a good-looking building with nice, large, multi-paned windows, and two good contrasting finish materials, brick and siding. It has a strong entrance facade, and separates the four units well.

The prominent staircase obviously takes over the entire facade, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing... I've always looked at stairs as potentially a bit sculptural (plus from some reason here it looks kinda "beachy"). The liability is too many "sticks," all the balusters that create a very cluttered look, as well as obstructing half of the lower story windows.

So first, let's replace all those sticks with a material that is less visually obtrusive, emulates the architecture, is far more updated and hip, and affordable.

https://youtu.be/SPKgdEqnR3Q

You could also do a slightly more designed baluster at the second-floor front-facing landings to celebrate those entries and add interest.

Wrap approx. the bottom third (or 36" to the railing) of the second-floor posts with 1x to give them more visual weight, and create a very simple capital at the top.

At the very base of the stairs (ground level), create two simple but very LARGE newel posts, and if at ALL possible, cap each with a very clean-lined light fixture.

Give all the lower posts the 1x wrapped one-third base, with a capital. Then create a patio/entry for each lower unit by a simple screen of an above-ground planter from the post to the stairs, or maybe at an angle to where the stairs begin.

The rest is comparatively very simple... don't paint the brick, do the siding in a darker dusty green, the window muntins in a very dark gray (it'll match the black powder-coated hog wire balusters), get a very LARGE round fake attic vent for the gable,

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2196/8707/produc...

and install a clete at the bottom of the gable which will look like a horizontal supporting member for the second-story columns.

Lose those shutters, paint the entry doors a very deep, rich color, with the first and second story doors slightly different. You're by the water, so a couple of specimen-sized palms somewhere would definitely be in order.

All this should be easily done within your budget, and will DRAMATICALLY change the outward appearance/curb appeal and VALUE of the property, no question.

Esthetics for a property don't have an exact mathmatical equation for ROI. People choose a place to live based primarily on emotion: Will I love coming home to this place? What will my friends think when they pull up to visit? Even an appraiser reacts to positive and negative design features.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Cheers!

-jb

Jeremy,

Correcting architectural mistakes and creating a more welcoming facade and curb appeal doesn't always have a direct mathmatical equation for ROI. A person's potential home isn't viewed as purely a commodity, it's an emotional reaction, e.g.: Will I like coming home to this place? What will my friends think of it when they pull up? Even an appraiser reacts to negative and positive design.

I'd say go for it, it's not a bad looking place, EXCEPT for that big, blank wall. The window wouldn't need to be the exact symmetrically placed twin of the other... in fact, with the gable below, you could create a simple, contempo window that would make an architectural statement and redefine the entire front facade, for very minimal cost. I don't think you could possibly lose. 

Go for it! Don't pass up the opportunity.

Jeremy,

That missing window IS a real blank spot. Will the interior allow for a matching one, or ANY size window anywhere on that side?

Jeremy,

You're fine with the existing door(s). If those are the current body colors of the house, I'd go with a rich, warm hue for the entry, like a deep burgundy, and unless it has a decided function, remove the glass "storm" door.

Find a couple of matching, cool-looking mailboxes and position them together centered under the window.

I'd also paint the garage doors a dark gray, about halfway between the siding and roof colors.

Replace the carriage fixtures with something clean-lined and contemporary, and much LARGER.

Then, do some landscaping... start with about 3-5 junipers or anything that grows tightly (almost straight upward) in a column-like form, plant them in a row along the front of the walkway, maybe with some seasonal color at ground level. 

Get some decent-sized greenery going under the window on the left (maybe create a planter), and think about a specimen-size tree in the yard that will eventually grow to hide the lack of a window on the left side of the second story gable.

You'll be amazed at the difference these simple, inexpensive improvements will make.

Cheers!

Hi Dustin,

You have a LOT of potential here for total transformation and curb appeal. I can see about a dozen fairly simple improvements to make the building far more appealing, depending on your budget. Do you have a range in mind?