Old House Guy Services
Virtual Consulting Services - via email
- Restoration, Remodeling, and Design Consulting
- Blueprint review
- Find out what to do to improve the curb appeal of your home and see a photographic image of what it can look like.
- What would your house look like with shutters, a period porch, and the correct windows?
- After years of bad renovations - see what can be done to bring back the traditional beauty of your house and what will give you the biggest bang for your buck.
- House Color Consulting
All services and renovations are based on proper architectural design as discussed throughout this website - of course!
For a proposal, please email us with a photo and your questions.
Here are some examples of what we can do with our Virtual Consulting Services
A Virtual Restoration of the John Onderdonk House
John Onderdonk House Before
John Onderdonk House - Virtual Restoration pic
Virtual Restoration with Shutters
The John Onderdonk House dates to about the 1860's, with an older section to the left.
Vinyl siding in a Dutch Lap style was removed and replaced with wood clapboard allowing the face of the house to properly align with architectural features. In other words, the additional layer of vinyl on top of wood siding causes features such as the window casings and frieze board to appear recessed. Removal of the extra siding layer corrected this problem. Notice the additional shadow lines. Although subtle, they do add to the overall character of the house. You no longer have that "tacked-on" look.
Fake plastic windows were replaced with true divided light, two-over-two double hung windows as the original windows were, and six-over-six in the older section. Dark green window sash color is typical for the period enhancing the appearance of depth.
The arched window on the 3rd floor was retrofitted with a plastic replacement sash that just screamed "wrong". It is now restored back to its original appearance.
Louvered shutters were added to the main part of the house; solid-paneled shutters were added to the older section, on the left.
There is a section of the porch to the left that was enclosed. I opened it back up and continued the balustrade to follow the porch roof although I don't believe the porch is original. Additionally, since the porch floor is so low, there was probably no balustrade between the posts, however they will remain for now.
The Italianate frieze board features some nice colors, but when combined with the white vinyl, there is no possibility for this house to look good. Colors for the house were based on the frieze board and are typical for the period.
The vinyl siding extended down to the ground concealing the foundation. A fieldstone foundation now provides the appearance of a solid base and makes the house appear stronger. The small window in the old section just doesn't fit in, but I left it there for now. A slate roof was added, chimney painted, and a period door replaced the Home Depot looking door.
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The following house had been remuddled over the years. A previous owner had gathered the stone and constructed the wall himself some years back. For this reason and sentimentality, the owner chose to keep the stone and use complementary colors allowing it to blend in with the house. Based on the client's preferences and building structure, Arts & Crafts elements were proposed as shown below for this lake-side home.
Before
Proposed
Before
Proposed
House Color Consulting
Exterior House Colors - Hand in Hand with Architecture
Color is all around us. It is a sensation that adds excitement and emotion to our lives. From something as small as the color of your shirt to something large like your house, these colors stimulate our senses and affect our mood and emotions.
Color plays a more critical role in a house due to the large expanse of "canvas" you have and the large impact you can make in your neighborhood affecting the senses of those passing by. This is why the process of painting your house is most critical.
There are colors that work together and those that work against each other; colors that over the course of history were popular in certain architectural styles or during certain periods of history.
What is most important is color placement. There are certain structural features on a house which need to be displayed correctly to give your home the appearance it was designed to have. To accomplish this, the colors you choose must work together with the form and structure of the building.
This is where most people fail when having their house painted. They may have chosen the most beautiful colors that work very well together, but placement of these colors on the house do not follow the architectural form of the building and can make it look off balance.
As usual in architecture, although these errors are realized by our minds, most people are not in tune with their inner senses or have the time to really notice disharmony.
To help you avoid these errors we now offer a Paint Color Consulting Service
We will help you select a color scheme that will both reflect your tastes and be appropriate for the style, age and setting of your historic home.
Cost for this service starts at $125.00 for a more basic house and higher for a house with more architectural features. But wait, there's more! Act now and we will include your Dog House at no charge!
Click here for more information on the Color Consulting Services.
An example of how color consulting can improve curb appeal.
This nice little bungalow started out with a great warm rust color. As good as the base color was, something was missing.
Here we first replaced all the White with a Cream color to soften the contrast between the base color and the trim. The blocks in the foundation needed a dark color to visually provide the house with a strong base. The lattice under the porch now connects the house to the base and makes it visually appealing by picking up the colors in the house. We carried the dark green in the foundation forward to the shutters, front door, and garage door. The garage door actually has good detail but can't really be seen in a small photo here.
Although this small change in color really improved the house, there are still some additional changes that were made here to improve the overall appearance.
The front door does not match the style of the house. Here we replaced it with a period Craftsman style door in natural wood that blends in well with the base color of the house.
The garage door style was ok, but a quality new door like this makes a big impact. Highlighting the vertical structure makes such a wide door look less wide and more aesthetically pleasing. In addition the window pattern follows suite with the front door.
Shutters were re-mounted the correct way overlapping the window frame.
Other changes recommended- Removal of hanging plants that will hit your guests in the head. Mailbox should be painted black or choose a brass or copper style. Move the satellite dish to the rear of the house where it can't be seen. When looking at the house, it distracts your eyes to it. The downspout on the right should be moved to the side of the column, not in front.
The color in the brick steps work well, but the material is incompatible with a wood porch and will separate. Wood steps would be an improvement.
Landscaping - plant an evergreen on the left corner, no higher than 3/4 the door height to help frame the house. Smaller shrubbery at corners of the steps.
So as you can see, a very simple house can have great curb appeal with the right color combinations and just a few simple changes.
Click here for more information on the Color Consulting Services.
