Our Exterior Changes
While the majority of our home changes will be on the interior, the exterior could certainly use a bit of a facelift. Currently, the old pine fascia boards are all rotted, and the existing gutters are bent, leak, and some discharge right onto our shingles, which has generated some mildew, and perhaps some mold. We also discovered (unfortunately post home-inspection…) that we are missing some shingles on the original part of the second floor. This was covered by a tarp that cannot be seen unless you climb up on the roof. Also, we have a flat roof over the family room addition, which needs to be resurfaced, and the soffit perimeter on the porch ceiling is rotted as well.
In addition to these maintenance issues, while we are at it, we would like to increase the curb appeal. We love the original limestone, so that will not be changing, but we have decided to change the roof profile over the front porch and cover up the faux stucco exterior on the family room addition. While I love authentic stucco, faux stucco has a tendency to create moisture issues unless a proper water barrier has been installed. Also, it doesn’t seem to fit with the style of our home, and makes the oddball addition look like an after thought!
Below is an existing photo of the front exterior paired with the new front elevation I generated:
Front Porch Revamp
Before
Proposed Update With New Porch Roofline
As you can see, we are replacing an existing shed roof (slopes away from the main roof) with an open gable, which will help to break up the mass of shingles at the front and will echo the gable at the far left of the house for a more balanced look. We are also going to beef up the posts, which are currently thin double posts on either side. We will also be replacing the original front garage door with a black-framed all glass door since we are converting this front garage to an amazing office space!
Exterior Finishes
Now for the fun part! Since pretty much everything has to go, we are making some finish updates. With the existing limestone in mind, I have been very much drawn to the idea of painting the exterior dark to add some major contrast. This isn’t a new trend, by any means. It’s one I’ve had my eye on for years, and is reminiscent of the Japanese technique of shou sugi ban, which was used to protect exterior wood (typically Japanese cedar) by burning it to leave a charred layer, which makes the wood fire-resistant. I plan to choose a color with more richness and warmth than a true black, and since we have tons of shade in the summer and limited siding, I don’t expect it to impact the cooling costs of the home. If anything, I hope it helps to keep it warm in winter! I am also going to be incorporating copper accents to add some additional warmth. Below are some lovely inspiration photos that feature the contrast of natural stone with deep saturated hues and copper:
Design by Tiek Design Group.
Design by Lauren Smyth Interiors.
Design by Studio McGee for Chris Loves Julia. Project also shown on main intro image.
Design Board
This is only a small sampling of finishes, and we haven’t finalized the paint color or shingle selection (We are waiting to hear from our roofer to see where we can view the options I have selected from the manufacturers’ websites). The home image below is ironically one that is on the outskirts of my neighborhood, which I found while looking for local sources for copper or faux copper gutters. The wood elements are a bit too rustic for my taste, and I prefer our original limestone to the stone veneer shown here, but it still provides a pretty good idea for concept (Project below by designer Tamara Day). We are keeping our existing front wood door and the door hardware throughout the home will be a dark bronze (almost black). Most of the existing windows are remaining. They have wood-clad interiors, but I am hoping to paint the window exteriors and trim to match the siding color (My current frontrunner is Sherwin Williams Iron Ore). I will hold off on sharing additional existing photos of our exterior for now, but the corbels are shown because we have a long overhang at the western side of the house that is sagging and needs to be addressed. We are going to replace our main garage doors with wood or, more likely, wood-look insulated steel doors that closely match the color of the limestone.
Thank you for taking the time to read through my post. Please stay tuned to see the project come to fruition!
Welcome! I’m Jena. I am an interior designer and mom who has recently relocated to the Kansas City area. Thank you for following along as we uncover the true potential of our new home.