Exterior house plans
Tue, 3 May 2011Things are moving along with the plans for my house - and on Sunday night I was ecstatic to find an email from designers Dylan and Thu (of Vok Design Group) with their ideas for the exterior. (For a recap, check out this post of the interior plans). Before I show you their mock-ups of the exterior, I snapped some quick pics of the exterior yesterday evening when I realized I had no decent photos (probably because the exterior is slightly embarassing it's so freaking ugly and boring) that I should share.
BLEH. So uninspiring. Wait until you see this....
Here are some details regarding the materials etc.:
* dark stained lap siding or a painted hardi board lap siding, with a grey stucco above divided by a darker stucco band
* fascia and canopy are clad in a dark aluminum to match the stained siding
* windows are shown as an anodized aluminum finish
* between the front façade windows is an aluminum paneling detail in the anodized aluminum which will give the impression of one large window (similar detail on the corner windows in the new addition)
* corner windows have been set back into the wall to really emphasize the corner window detail
* door is a solid wood door with a v-groove profile
* western red cedar in a clear stain for the soffit beneath the entrance canopy and the accent pieces on the right corner as well as on between the windows on the front façade (square cut with a ½” space between the boards to create a ‘reveal’ affect in the cedar)
* for the roofline on the addition, we have come off the existing fascia line and made the peak towards the back of the home, keeping the top of the new peak in line with the existing peak and mimicking the low roof slope on the original home
So what do you guys think? We're meeting with the designers and hopefully our architect on Thursday so feedback would be appreciated. :-)
Reader Comments (43)
I LOVE it...........the materials, the windows, the style................LOVE it all!!! You're neighbours will be green with envy.
Oh my goodness! I love, love, love it! So excited we get to see this transformation...
very cool! i love it!
Wow. Just wow. Can I move in, too?
wow.
love it. so excited for you!!!
It looks amazing! All the material goes well together.
Wow...that's amazing. Can't wait to see what you decide!!
Awesome use of materials and the elevation is balanced and graceful...But...where will you park?Right in front of the door? Or will you now park on the street.? Losing the off- street parking may hurt your marketability should you opt to re-sell. It would depend on what's the norm in your neighborhood.Conversely, a driveway that heads right into your front door may negatively affect your curb appeal. Not trying to be a party pooper, but something to think about.
Since your posting this for opinions so I will give mine :)
The peaked roof makes it look like the part on the right was added on as an after thought.
"* for the roofline on the addition, we have come off the existing fascia line and made the peak towards the back of the home, keeping the top of the new peak in line with the existing peak and mimicking the low roof slope on the original home"
The roof peak in this architectural rendering really bothers me, it looks like you added on to an old house.
Your new architecture is "new" so why carry the old lines into your new look?
Check out your neighbors straight roof line and imagine how strange it will be to see an old house with no peak in the roof line and then your new masterpiece with a peaked roof taken from an old house.
Would you be allowed to build a deck on the roof?
If you're going this far with your remodel I'm sure anything is possible.
Doesn't look like your architect is thinking about exterior lighting, no porch light or lights under the awning.
The stairs to the entry should have invisible lights built in to illuminate the steps at night.
Do you have to have the three supports holding up the awning over the entry, those lines are pretty distracting with the windows.
My #1 thing to change would be the roofline it would be a shame to have such a small detail from your previous house creep into your new beautiful modern home.
A gravel driveway or a driveway using block with grass growing in between the stones would look nice with this architecture.
"We're meeting with the designers and hopefully our architect on Thursday "
You're not doing the interior design yourself?
Congrats on the new home!
I think it looks super cool! My only concern for you is in looking at your neighbors to the left and what I can see on the right. I don't know anything else about your neighborhood or the house styles around you...only what I can get a peek of in this photo. Does the architecture fit the neighborhood? I ask this because we are building in a New Orleans in a very "New Orleans" neighborhood (the houses are mostly narrow and long also). Nothing is cookie cutter so it's hard to narrow things down and make our house our own yet not have it look like every other New Orleans home out there either. Our neighborhood is beautiful. Yet you drive down some streets and see these strangely modern houses in the middle of all of this gorgeous New Orleans architecture and it's like WTH? They stick out like a sore thumb. Whereas in a different neighborhood the house might be wonderful. I don't mean to rain on your parade at all. But it's also something to think about for future resale. I can't wait to see how things come along for you guys. It's all very exciting!
sweet little house but the things you can do to remodel are amazing...
I like what the designers have drawn up for the exterior...
maureen
I like it very much but I'm also wondering where will you park? In my city, parking is an awful problem!
agreed on the lighting comment, but seems like that's an easy adjustment. DYING over those massive windows! looking forward to the progression......
Beautiful! I also like how your architect eliminated your neighbors and gave you a nice big lot. :)
I share the others' concerns about "fitting in" on this street, in terms of style but also in terms of scale. The new facade will be twice as wide as your house now and, unlike in the drawing, you won't have empty space around the house to give balance to its breadth---not necessarily deal breakers, just things to think about. All practical concerns aside, I'd go for it in a second.
Good luck. Decisions like this are always so agonizing.
Whoa! That is amazing and I love it all! I can't wait to see it when it's all finished!
It's a bit cold looking I'm afraid. There are some very current modern touches but I think you would like something a little more timeless and cozy better.
Thanks everyone for your comments.
Parking won't be an issue. There will be lots of space on the driveway. It will go further left than in the mockups. Should be enough for likely 4 cars. And at that point we'll hopefully only have 1 car not 2 and we can keep it to the side, away from the front door because I agree that parking in front of the door is annoying.
I don't want to change the existing roof. This house is going to cost enough as it is. And the peak is at such a low angle I think it will look alright. Also, this is Canada - having a flat roof is a really bad idea given the weather here.
And I am not concerned about the house fitting in with the others in my 'hood. Little Italy is filled with boring, ugly, architecurally lacking little houses that are slowly being bought up by young people (or builders) who are modernizing them. And since my 'hood is so close to downtown, any decent sized house can be worth some good coin. Also, there are 18 modern townhomes going up in the empty lot directly across the street so we'll certianly fit right in once those go up.
The landscaping/stairs/lighting outside has not been discussed at this point. We only need exterior plans and materials to present to the city for a permit right now.
The cables are necessary (not sure exactly how many we need), or we have no awning, and I REALLY want an awning.
The roof line sounds like it has been talked about already :)
I agree you have to have an awning (with or without cables) but.. "having a flat roof is a really bad idea given the weather here" what about a flat awning?
Don't worry about fitting in, people will drive by and admire the place!
Regarding the lighting, I'm sure you have tons of ideas.
Did you mention that you're hiring interior designers or were you calling the architects designers?
Love the design. Just a thought about gutters.... is the rain going to pour off both roofs right onto the awning and then just pool there?
Beautiful. Amazing. It's going to be quite and upgrade! I do wonder about the parking though. With snowy winters, wouldn't you like to add a garage, or at least a carport? Or maybe that's phase 2, after your bank accounts have recovered from phase 1?
Tom, the awning is flat. ??
We have an architect and we are getting some assistance from this team of interior designers for the interior and exterior plans. Once the architectural plans are finalized, the rest is up to me.
bjm, I assume we'll have eavestroughing so water pooling on the awning won't happen.
christa, I SOOOO wish we had room (and $$) for a garage. we considered a carport but we sacrificed it for more space (larger entryway than initially planned, which bumps out too far to also have a carport and be within the city variances).
Absolutely beautiful. I don't suppose you'd be willing to share the cost of things with us would you? I understand why not but I just thought I'd ask.
Wendy, we haven't gotten any quotes yet as we're still trying to finalize the plans. Here's what I can tell you. We either cannot afford this house, or we will have to take out a second mortgage or something to that effect, and spend every penny we have in savings and lines of credit etc. etc. I'm hoping some blog publicity will get us deals on supplies/trades etc. :-)
I love a front porch so you can sit out in the rain with your tea and you can visit with your neighbours. With the new design, which is lovely, you have a modern porch of sorts, but it is off to the side which is less inviting and may not offer protection from the elements. Is there room for a small table and two chairs on the front step?