One of our all time favorite before and after comparisons is the home on Broad Street we finished this Spring. In fact, this comparison was one of our most loved posts on Instagram this year. And we had to ask ourselves, why does everyone love the outside of this home? It’s only painted brick and well-placed details. We realized that people loved the exterior of this home because it told the same story as the interior. It wasn’t a haphazard design, nor was it a cheap one. But it was consistent with the inside of the home, and something about that made people just stop and look at it for awhile.
As everything else in this house, we went for a moody, European feel, one of the newest and trendiest design styles this year. But besides being the newest trend, it has also become one of our favorites.
What we Had to Work With
One of the primary characteristics of the European trend is straight lines and symmetrical angles. So we went with black grid windows against a really deep wall color. The dark exterior color was repeated in the master bedroom and in various details inside the home. The wood on the awning was repeated as beams inside the home. And of course, the plants were repeated in, well… every single room of the house.
Throughout our exterior design decisions we considered how it would tie in to the rest of the house. And apparently it worked.
The Result
While the main changes to the front of this house truly blew us away- it was the details that caught people’s attention. Details like, the gas lantern, the dark molding design on the front door and the funky house number stenciled onto the brick. The big changes became only backdrops for all the lovely little details throughout.
In conclusion, the European cottage was a hit, both inside and outside.
And we learned that consistency throughout a home is super important. Not only does it catch the eye, but it communicates something genuine and real- rather than something fake or superficial.
So for your home renovators and home buyers- look for a home that tells a consistent story.
And for all you followers – may you tell consistent stories, through your work, your family and your life.
Sources:
Paint color- Polo Blue by Benjamin Moore
The gas lamp was again inspired by both a desire to be genuine to the cottage feel and to do something that hasn’t been seen before. One thing we discovered was that these lights are super for aesthetics but do not provide very much actual light. If we ever do this again we will provide complementary electric lighting as well.
Plants– They will do complimentary site visit consultation to help you design your landscaping to fit the theme that you are going after.
We painted the numbers on the side of the house because we always do this, but also because we believe this is a fun way to make a house have personality.
sincerely, Chris & Claudia
