Colonial Curb Appeal

A white painted brick colonial-revival home from the 1960s gets “revived” for HGTV’s Curb Appeal. A new vestibule, vintage colonial color scheme, and lots of detailing with recycled materials give this home a newfound polished charm. Traditional foundation landscaping and bluestone walkways add quaint curb appeal and a warm welcome.

Description of original landscape

With the original entry door, windows, and color scheme, along with the original foundation plantings being overgrown and unruly, this white colonial two-story home from the 1960s seemed a bit old and stale. The white painted brick was a bit drab and dreary after forty years of touch-up paint, and the redwood columns of the portico seemed massive and out of scale with the home. The lower sections of the columns were rotting and lacking of sufficient support for the roof. The front yard has settled over the past forty years due to flow of groundwater under the neighborhood, creating a depression in the front yard and drainage issues between the adjacent properties. In a notoriously friendly neighborhood with several homes in the area being renovated or rebuilt, this home was calling for attention. This was a perfect candidate, as selected by producers for HGTV, to be featured in an episode of Curb Appeal.

Before

 

Owner’s vision and goals

The owners’ vision was to create a new entryway for the home that offers more closet space, and with a tight budget, to update the home with materials from the reuse center or salvage yard in order to achieve a classic, colonial look. They were nervous about introducing a new color to the home, but were tired of the stately white on white brick with black shudders. The over-grown plantings from the late 1960s were intimidating and lacked cleanliness, and the front yard with the unusual depression made the space unusable. So a new, flat open front yard and classic foundation planting with colonial design was desired to make it more welcoming. They were extremely ambitious and fun people who enjoy watching HGTV, and they hoped to have this transformation have the attention of a good professional touch while they could have fun with it while the cameras rolled.

TriDesigns assessment

A new vestibule could be created to offer useable space and a more practical entryway, while breaking up the massive scale of the front façade. This will offer more character to the exterior, and allow opportunities for detailing with more ornate features. A new, classic color scheme could be introduced to also give it a fresh look. The front yard could get leveled out and graded to create a useable lawn space, with a paver walkway that could be taken up as the yard would need to be leveled and regarded after the ground slowly settles in ten or fifteen years, and then reinstalled. A foundation planting with a classic selection of plants could give a nice visual frame to the house from the street. This project could make a big impact for the television feature.

TriDesigns solution

While the cameras were rolling, the old landscape was removed and a new vestibule was installed with reclaimed brick to create a functional entryway and add interest to the façade of the home. The redwood columns and trim from the entry door were reused in the new trim and fascia, and a solid, classic entry door with textured glass sidelights found at a reuse center was installed to create a nice centerpiece to the home. Recycled wrought iron was used to create a railing and create a balcony affect to the upper portion of the vestibule, while matching window baskets were fabricated to add detailing and tie it all together. The color scheme, as carefully and meticulously selected for the television show, was selected as a classic colonial blue, black, and white to give it a formal charm. In order to create a useable front yard and continue the colonial style, the yard was leveled meticulously and resodded, and Silver Creek Bluestone tiles were installed in an ashlar-pattern to create a walkway and stoop. Ornate, colonial-style detailing in the light fixtures, door hardware, mailbox slot, and mounted flagpole with American flag set the home off in an abundance of welcoming color and charm. When the cameras stopped rolling and the project was complete, the transformation of a revived colonial America thrilled the homeowners and neighbors alike. Please look for this HGTV episode of Curb Appeal debuting in 2009! And, please let TriDesigns know if you need help finding the inner charm and beauty of your old Colonial, Tudor, or Craftsman-style home. We can make them shine!