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ellenandco

help me simply this exterior

ellenandco
11 years ago

I think we may have too many materials going on here with stone, brick, Hardie plank and Hardie shingles. And a roof, too!

The rest of the house is all brick (lower level) and Hardie plank (upper level).

The brick I love is "Old St Luis" by Texas Brick. I also like Horizon Stone's "Shenandoah."

Anyone have any helpful opinions or ideas???

Comments (5)

  • virgilcarter
    11 years ago

    Too many materials, too many shapes and forms, too many types and proportions of windows, too many bulky roofs...

    Best solution is to strive for some architectural and materials unity, including reworking much of the real and faux roof framing into fewer, more natural shapes and to limit materials to a "major" material and a complementary "supporting/secondary" material.

    IMO, brick and stone seldom work well together, and you certainly don't need both horizontal lap siding plus shingle siding.

    This is a good example of Mie's dictum, "Less is more"!

    Good luck on your project.

  • renovator8
    11 years ago

    I would eliminate corner boards on shingled walls, eliminate trim other than a projecting sub-sill a window (it will just look amateurish and draw water into the house), eliminate stone half walls (stone should always stop at a floor line, eliminate the triangular vents at the top of the pediments (use a ridge vent or seal the attic), eliminate the odd gable just behind the smaller gable, eliminate either the brick or the stone (or both) and add some space between paired windows instead of mulling them tightly together (something only a window salesman would think was appropriate). Why is the main roof so tall; what's hiding in there, a sea of trusses?

  • ellenandco
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I appreciate your input, virgilcarter and renovator8. You both have a depth of knowledge that helps me and others.

    Can you clarify which are the paired windows? The 12-lites or the 4-lites? Or both;)

    I hadn't realized how tall that roof is. We have 4 bedrooms under there, mechanicals, and yes probably a sea of trusses as well.

  • marie_ndcal
    11 years ago

    Who is doing the design? You or a professional architect?

  • ellenandco
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    We are not designing this home ourselves. I like to use GW for a second set of eyes and to get ideas before I meet with the pros and get their input. Sometimes I even learn about issues I hadn't thought of bringing up.