Exterior Design

Attention hivemind of reddit, we need your help!

We just closed on this lake house in the midwest

Siding color? Brown. Trim? Brown. Gutters? Brown!

“Just paint it all brown!” – The previous owners, probably.

Seriously though, this is our first home and we couldn’t be more excited! The home needs a lot of work on the exterior, but we feel like we got a fair deal on it and have the budget to fix it up.

The good and the bad news is that most of the exterior features will need replaced within the next few years. The deck and deck railing are due to be replaced now. The siding is mostly in good condition, but needs some panels replaced and painted. The gutters have seen better days. The roof is 25 years old. Basically, we have the opportunity to make the exterior exactly how we want it without doing updates “just because.”

The home sits right on a lake, and we already have some ideas for landscaping to take advantage of the location. However, we are looking for ways to make the outside of the home itself have more curb appeal.

If you ever wanted to change an entire home on this subreddit, now is your chance! Metal roof? Let’s see what it’d look like! Stainless steal door fixtures? I think I’d like this. Hot pink vinyl siding? No. But feel free to suggest it!

I really would like to hear the serious ideas though. We plan to replace or at least repaint the exterior within the next few years. All of the exterior door fixtures will also be replaced. And the front door will be replaced as well. I am looking for any ideas/suggestions on how to increase curb appeal for the home itself.

TL;DR: I bought a big brown blob. Please make it beautiful! Anything goes, but ignore the landscaping and focus on the home please!