How to turn a Ho Hum Facade into an interesting one

10 years ago

I like the floor plan (with modifications) of The Birchwood-Donald Gardner 1239. I like the front elevation of Architectural Designs W23298JD. I know that I can't transform the front of The Birchwood into the Craftsman style I really admire with the broad wrap around porch, but I would like to improve the exterior of the Birchwood to make it reflect Craftsman style. Although Gardner labels it Craftsman I am not seeing it. I could change the surface from brick to stone. etc., but I would like to see the lines a little differently. The peak upon peak upon peak of the Birchwood is so similar to everything else on the block I don't know if I would be able to locate my home among the peaks of the neighborhood. Gardner says they will answer "Can this plans exterior be changed?" for $80. I don't think that a question like that requires a fee. I am not asking for the modification, just a yes or no and why. Ideas please as to what to do. Thank you.

Here is a link that might be useful:

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Comments (5)

bird_lover66
10 years ago
Ok, I'm just gonna' type it.

I think that exterior is a disaster. I had trouble finding the front door, since my eyes were drawn to that crazy roof!
dekeoboe
10 years ago
I think you really need both photos in the thread rather than a link to one of them.
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rrah
10 years ago
I'm far from an architect or house style expert, but the first thing I would do if I wanted something more Craftsman-like is dump the arched windows and use a different style of window grids in the double hung windows.
krisjb1
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you for uploading the Gardner plan. This is the first time I actually used the upload function and I was unsure about actually uploading more than one photo. But, in any case I like the crazy roof line of the Architectural Designs plan and dislike the repetitive peaky lines of the Birchwood. The windows could be changed. The AD house windows have what looks like lines going around the perimeter. The Birchwood is just rectangular grids. There are a couple of front elevations shown in photos of the Birchwood and I did see some discussion on this website about the Birchwood from a couple of years ago, but no one has posted photos of their project. I would love to see how someone has recently personalized this plan.
User
10 years ago
Lipstick and pigs.