Can We Help

Don't forget, if you have a question about a design challenge you're facing, please email it to us along with some information about the problem. We'll see if we can offer any advice that might help you over the hump.

You know the drill...operators are standing by! Sorta...
Send to: info@intspacesinc.com

Home "Front" Help

A reader has sent us this picture of the front facade of her home, and asked for advice on how to give it more personality. You've got a great start! I like the roof line, and your deep front yard with shade tree offers a lot of possibilities. Too bad we can't move that tree about five feet to the left, but... Here's the home, as-is.

It's often difficult to tell from the angle of a photograph, but I'm trying to figure out why the garage door seems to be a little off-center on the garage. Much of the material that is used to create the trims under a stucco finish are lightweight and easy to work with. You might try duplicating the trims on the right side of the garage door to balance it out.

She also wondered if her garage door should be painted to match the front door for continuity. Well, this is a tricky matter... One issue I have with many newer built homes is the garage. Because we all would like to house our 2+ cars per family, we sometimes (luckily, not in your case!) end up owning a garage with attached home! But I don't like to see all the attention brought to the garage if we can help it. Here's what a dark garage door would look like.

In this case, I would be more inclined to paint the garage door to match the home color, which will really focus more attention to your front door.

Other ideas to increase your "charm factor" would be pavers on the driveway and walk, or a stamped-stained concrete over the existing drive and walk. I would remove the Travelers Palms (or giant Bird-of-Paradise?) from the left side of the house...these will become huge and unruly. At the far left corner of the house and the right corner of the garage, I might use Crape Myrtles in bush form (foliage not trimmed on lower branches) in a dark pink color. Then, try forming a planting bed that will wrap around the Crape Myrtle on the left side, come around to encompass the oak tree, and softly curve down to end about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way down the driveway. This would really lead the eye to your front door, and make your entrance more inviting. You could also do a bed around the Crape Myrtle to the right of the driveway that would tie into the driveway on that side, ending about 1/2 of the distance the other bed encompasses.

These planting beds could be filled with ferns and green plants of multiple textures and heights, leaving room for annuals and perennials in complementary colors to the Crape Myrtles.

If you're interested in a color change for the exterior, I could envision a "Cafe Latte" color for the body of the house, with a warm gray trim, still keeping the garage door the color of the body of the home. Then you might try a complementary color for the front door to add a little spark. Photoshop is a great place to try out new home colors without buying any paint, or try just printing a picture of your home on regular paper, and using colored markers. Hey...why not turn the kids loose on this? You may find an unexpected solution...or not!

Your Questions Answered

This week we're doing our "Can We Help?" section on a Friday.

A reader in New Orleans sent some pictures and asked for advice. He is in the situation of needing to replace the dishwasher and wanting to make some changes to the kitchen, but definitely not ready for a whole kitchen gut and redo.

In trying to make a change with impact, and still leaving most existing components, the first suggestion would be paint. It's cheap and it's easy. (That's if you don't ask the painters who just had to paint our kitchen cabinets....5 times.) I suggest trying a warm brown or tan for the walls that would go with the trim piece around the existing counter tops. Then, probably a lighter shade of the same color for the ceiling.

They have 2 large windows, and I suggested ditching the cold, white mini-blinds, and trying Roman shades in a matchstick or bamboo. These would immediately add a lot of warmth and texture to the room. Also, if there is access for electric in the ceiling, a couple of pendant lights would really give the room some personality.

As we all know (only too well!), one redo project can often lead to another, and another and... After paint and blinds, I would step back in this room and try to evaluate, "Is that enough for now?" If not, there are companies such as Granite Transformations that can put granite right over existing counter tops. I have no experience with them, but am interested in seeing how it works. (Hey New Orleans reader, wanna be a Guinea Pig??) Also, repainting the cabinet doors would be nice, but if they're not wood, getting the paint to stick and not chip under wear might be an issue.

Paint companies such as Benjamin Moore now make sample sizes in many colors so bring a bunch home, try them on the wall, and look at them several times during the day in different light. You can make a personality change, in the blink of an eye. (That's the kitchen...not you! You're perfect just the way you are!)

One thing we thought we would be fun is for you to send us a picture of your own design challenge. We can't "redesign your home" in this blog, but we'd be happy to offer some simple advice.

Maybe you have need of an exterior design element that would help, are wondering where to fit a bookcase for recipe books into your kitchen, where's the most logical placement for my birdbath, or...

Remember what I said earlier....there's rarely an absolutely "right or wrong" answer. But I can almost assure you, we'll have an opinion!

Email your pictures and questions to info@intspacesinc.com. We'll post the pictures, along with our ideas onto this site. And who knows, maybe one of our readers will have another great solution to offer!