Fixer Upper | Part 2 | The Exterior

A couple of weeks ago I started a series of blog posts about a small Cape Cod style cottage that is for sale in our neighborhood. You can read the first post HERE. We won’t be putting an offer on the house but we were seriously thinking about it at some point. To make sure we were prepared, I had a virtual makeover planned to see whether this home could fit our needs and style.

Today I’ll share some of my ideas for the exterior.  My starting point was a picture of a beautiful home in Lyme, Connecticut that I saved a long time ago for occasions just like this one. I think it’s made its way onto most of my wish-lists over the years because it scores so high on all aspects – architecture, scale, landscaping. The architecture is rooted in the American vernacular, which I adore, and the landscaping includes that ideal boxwood hedge and pickets the American dream is all about.

Capes appeal to me also because of their  human scale. I love a grand mansion, but I find that living smaller works better for our little family. We tend to spend most of our time together in one or two rooms, we cuddle with our little one and space has never been an issue. I can’t picture us haunting the hallways and rooms of a bigger home. Maybe during the teenage years, but so far this is us.

Anyway, this image has been on my dream boards for so long and I tried to see if I could capture some of its charm and translate it into this little Cape. I can see it, although hubby had a harder time picturing it.

As you can see, the bones are good and there’s a lot of potential for someone who has the time and means to invest in the property. But there’s also a chance this could turn into someone’s money pit. (Have you seen the movie? We watched it a few months ago, it really makes you pause and think before buying a home! lol )

The exterior needs new siding, probably high quality fiber cement shingles. The windows are dated, and don’t match, and trigger my slight OCD tendencies big-time.

Since moving to the US, I’ve come to love multi-pane windows. They are not at all common in Europe, especially the double-hung kind, but the light that filters through the panes has a quality that cannot be matched. It’s softer…

So new, matching windows all around.

The asphalt roof is really old too, and covered in moss, and it needs to be replaced as well. ASAP. The landscaping consists of overgrown yew hedges that I would immediately remove. In place, I would plant boxwood and ilex.  Free-sanding white pickets would beautifully complement the boxwood so I’d add that too, and an old world  lamp post at the front.

{My attempt at a sketch}

Every Cape needs window boxes in my book so up they’d go, classic self-watering boxes overflowing with white petunias.

I’d keep the color scheme black and white with green accents in the vegetation. I found out from our realtor that white houses are not that big in the Midwest but I’d risk it and do it anyway…

What do you think? Any thoughts? Would you buy this place and take on a project (or several)? Feel free to comment!

Have a lovely weekend!

xo,

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