Dear Cottage Living

Claire Gauthier
Spokane, Washinton

Have you noticed most stock builder plans just don't look right? Claire's home is typical of many of these plans, with too much garage and a hidden entry.  The stone base is obviously tacked on and out of place because it doesn't flow around the entire foundation.  The house just lacks unity. We'll make a few budget friendly changes to bring a little balance to her home.  Extend the stone around the home.  White draws the eye, so we'll paint the garage door a darker color to help it blend with the siding. Add mullions to the lifeless garage windows to match the home's windows.  Enlarge the walkway, perhaps with stone pavers. Put a stone base on the porch pier.  You can't go wrong with a big window box under the front window to draw the eye and add some color to the facade.   

Beth Towey

Beth is looking for paint color suggestions for her small cottage.  I've posted a few suggestions below.  Click on the images to see an enlarged view of the new exterior colors.  I added a new bolder porch lamp.  I generally don't like white-framed aluminum storm doors.  A stylish entry door with insulated glass and good weather stripping is typically just as weather tight and adds more curb appeal than a door/storm door combo. I also changed the porch ceiling and floor colors. More substantial paired posts at the corners of the porch would better balance with the mass of the porch roof.

Farah and Lee
New Orleans, Louisiana

Farah and Lee just relocated to New Orleans from California  and are looking for suggestions to  spice up their new home near Audubon  Park. "We’re not in love with the red and yellow exterior, but may have to live with it for a few years as it was recently repainted by the sellers," says Farah. 

Golden yellow is common on many older homes in the city, but the red shutters may be too much.  I've changed just the shutter color to a green I've seen all over New Orleans and widened the shutters on the right to fit the window.  Let's take the iron bars off that windows and replace them with some of the iron railing I see all over the Crescent City. We'll finish it off with a bold handmade Bevolo lantern made in the heart of the French Quarter.

Vicki Dyer
Gig Harbor, Washington

Vicki and her family wrote asking how to add more square footage to their cottage? First of all, what a beautiful home and a stunning setting.  Are you sure you can't live with the house as it is? If not, farmhouses do have a long tradition of growing additions as families expanded.

Look at the way architect Bill Allison extended the living area under the envelope of the porch in the attached rendering. You can click the image to see an enlarged view. You could add additions to either side of your home without going outside the original footprint and keeping much of your amazing front porch. 

These working shutters on a new home caught my eye. It's not often you see someone get their shutters right. The shutters are sized so they'd cover the window completely if closed. Even if your shutters aren't real working shutters, each should still be half the sash width and equal to the sash height. They're also placed inside the side casing trim around the window and have real shutter dogs holding them back. The design of these shutters allows light into the room when closed, a cool design touch for working shutters.

The photo below shows decorative, non-operating shutters. Like most homes, these board and batten shutters are secured to the exterior and aren't on hinges, but they're sized correctly and placed almost next to the sashes to elegantly frame the window. If they did have hinges, they would close perfectly over the window.
Favorite sources for shutters and more.

Holly Doran
Manhasset, New York

Now it's your turn to see if together we can improve Holly's already beautiful Cape cottage.  Enter you suggestions for kicking up the curb appeal as a comment below, and I'll see if I can digitally make them happen.  Have fun and be creative.

I love the subtle changes you've suggested. It's difficult changing pure white to another color, so you'll have to envision the gray trim and the gray body color on the dormers. The red front door announces the entry and the flowering border give much needed color and softness to the facade. Brilliant suggestion for a third dormer. An enthusiastic yes to climbing roses on the arbor and the entry lamps. I think it's turned out very well for curb appeal by committee. Should we try it again?

Meredith Coke
Rossville, GA

I like the shape of this minimal farmhouse, but it suffers from some color and accessory problems.  The bright white foundation draws your eye right to the concrete block; and it's not this home's best feature.

We'll digitally replace the fiber shingles with cedar and tweak the windows with more substantial shutters and window boxes. I've seen some very good looking stone veneers lately from Eldorado Stone. They would cover the block foundation nicely. FYI, If it has a twin on the back side and some soffit openings, the vent at the peak of the gable looks large enough to vent the attic. The unsightly silver turbine vent is probably overkill and they typically provide only a paltry amount of venting.   

Wow,  we have great comments and suggestions from readers.  Look toward the bottom of the posts below and click on the "Comments" link to see some very insightful feedback from other readers.  All of us here at Cottage Living are most impressed.  More home photos on the way!