Non-dimensional home needs landscaping
Removing ‘bump’ would make home seem taller
Facing a park and the St. Lawrence River, this long and boxy home must have one of the most inspiring views. Facing the house is another story. The facade is flat and bland. Because of the huge unattractive hill, a visitor would almost need to bring his climbing gear to get to the door. There’s no overhang or porch nor any architectural elements to suggest a threedimensional feel. The landscaping would be non-existent if it wasn’t for the sad and butchered apple tree.
The siding is made out of white vinyl. Although this material can be painted, I decided to leave it as it is. The current metal roof is turquoise and needs to be repainted. A versatile very dark grey with no pink, green or blue tint is a good choice. If, in the future, the owners decided to warm up the siding, they could choose from many colours like taupe, kaki, beige, sand and more. All these tones would blend well with charcoal shutters.
Now, let’s tackle ‘the bump’. We could add soil on each side to raise the level around it. This would only contribute to emphasize the length of the facade. After removing the embankment and painting the concrete roughcast in matte white, an illusion of a taller house will appear.
All the windows should stay white, as well as the vertical gutters. With the current siding, wider and more on-trend dark grey shutters will enrich the look. A warm burgundy painted door in a semi-gloss finish would effortlessly spruce up the entry.
To break up the exaggerated long-wideness of the home, a large, raised, covered porch with stairs will be built to give depth and a threedimensional quality to the residence. In the triangle on the front of the overhang, a simple smooth medium grey moulding will give definition around the white interior shape. All the wood trims, beams, hand rails and stairs ought to be stained opaque grey. The metal cornices and the dark horizontal gutters should be sanded and refinished with an exterior acrylic grey paint in a matte finish.
There is an existing paving stone pathway leading to the driveway. Another walkway will be added going towards the doorway. Two new bigger light fixtures in silver or black would be the finishing touch to the entrance.
We’ll keep the honeysuckle hedge on the right, but the pruning is all wrong. Narrow on top and wide on the bottom is the required form. This inhibits shadows from being cast on the base. A pyramidal angle will encourage even foliage density.
On a trellis, the clematis The President with its abundant blooms throughout sum- mer doesn’t require pruning in the spring. A hedge of Shirobana spireas will tantalize the observer with its individual pink and white flowers sharing the same plant. Two pyramidal evergreens Taxus Capitata will hug each side of the porch near the wall. They will be standing behind the small rhododendrons decorated with pink blooms in May. A mix of purple, pink and white colours of some plants complemented by the beautiful leaves of the tall deep burgundy Cimifuga and the variegated silver euonymus are a happy marriage with the evergreens. Both the stream lines of soft green and white perennials that will be bordering the walkway, along with the bark of the birch, will echo the snowy tint of the house. All the flower beds and natural borders will need some type of divider between the lawn and the planted vegetation.
If the apple tree, not seen here on the photo, needs to be salvaged, try to saw the severed trunks in an angle for a more aesthetic look. For better proportions, let the branches grow larger.
Vegetation (from left to right):
Spirea Japonica Shirobana (shrubs, hedge, pink and white)
Clematis The President (on trellis)
Rhododendron Canadense (1+1 persistent shrubs, pink)
Taxus Capitata (1+1 pyramidal evergreens, sides of porch)
Hemerocallis Stella de Oro (5to7 perennials, pink, middle)
Salvia Superba (perennial, reddish purple)
Cimicifuga Ramosa Atropurpurea (perennials, burgundy, white)
Astilba Taquerii Superba (3 to 5 perennials, pink feather-like)
Euonymus Emerald Gaiety (persistent shrub, variegated)
Taxus Hicksii (evergreen, corner)
Geranium Sanguineum (perennials, pink)
Honeysuckle (owner’s hedge, right) Betula (tree, three stumps) Lamium Maculata White Nancy (perennials, white, walkway)