The right paint tones, a lovely garden, and voilà!

Classic style home will come to life with a few touches

This is a column in which designer Suzanne Rowe selects homes that could benefit from a little bit of inexpensive help in increasing their curb appeal. After examining photographs, she then proceeds to sketch out an artist’s rendering of what they could look like with a few minor changes. We hope you enjoy the results.

Between 1650 and 1830, this salt-box style house was popular throughout the colonial period, mostly in New England. During Queen Anne’s era, the houses were not taxed. This is why the back roof of these two storey buildings descending to a single storey was introduced, so it would be exempt from taxation.

The current owners had this home built several years ago and have added a convenient porch. The roof is brown so I’ve chosen matte finish strong sandy beige with no pink undertones for the wood siding and vertical gutters. Made-to-measure Shaker type shutters will be installed, painted or stained in semi-gloss opaque brown. The colour of these should be much darker than the roof but in the same family of colours. The windows and horizontal gutters will stay white.

The four planks forming a triangular detail on the front of the porch ought to be of equal width. This would turn the structural element into a decorative one. All the wood components of the porch will be stained opaque in the same brown as the shutters. The floor, steps and underside of the small roof will be painted in a darker version of the siding. On the new door, a vibrant reddish orange will instantly spruce up the main entry with a hit of vitamin C. Bolder lantern-style light fixtures ought to be installed on each side of the door and above the garage as well. For visual harmony, a consistent use of the same colour window treatment is recommended. In this case, white curtains and blinds or brown wooden shades would look perfect.

The opening of the fence will be moved about four feet to the right. This will allow more space for plantation in the flower bed. To soften the entry into the backyard and to host a climbing Lonicera, a hefty lattice is built over the fencing.

Considering the architectural feel of the home, the residents felt that the modern commercial paving stones material on the walk looked unfitting. One of my suggestions is light beige flagstones surrounded by same colour small rounded pebbles. Every three to four feet, a few patches of randomly planted Arenia Verna would naturalize the path with its moss-like appearance and tiny white could absolve us from paying taxes nowadays. blooms. A new walkway from the yard will also join the existing ones. To hold their shape, treated wood beams levelled and stained in brown will contour the edges. If the budget allows it, square commercial paving bricks imitating old-fashioned worn cobblestones could be another option. Dividers between the Lamium borders and the voracious lawn are essential.

To echo the door, orange flowers are privileged in this composition. Aside from the permanent performance of the Zinnia annuals in the two perfect square beds, the small Geums and the flashy Hémérocalis will take turns in the season showing their hot coloration. Excluding the graceful Spirea Arguta on the far left, the two different evergreens on each side of the bal- cony and the Hydrangea on the far right, both rectangular beds are almost a mirror image of each other. A layer of four-inch-deep dark brown mulch over the bare soil is a good way to prevent weeds from proliferating.

If only sharp sloping roofs Vegetation (from left to right):

Spirea X Arguta (shrub, white)

Sambucus Nigra Madonna (shrubs, variegated, hedge wall)

Geum X Borisii (perennials, orange, 6 left beds, 3 right beds)

Euonymus Emerald Gaiety (shrubs, variegated, 1 left bed, 1 right bed)

Hemerocalis Primal Scream (per., deep orange, several)

Taxus Hicksii (evergreen, left of balcony)

Sambucus Nigra Madonna (shrub, variegated)

Thuja Occidentalis Smaragd (pyramidal evergreen)

Hydrangea Annabelle (shrub, white clusters)

Lonicera Dropmore Scarlet (climbing, deep orange)

Zinnia Angustifolia (an- nuals, orange, inside two squares)

Lamium Maculata (perennial, edge of walk, white)

Arenia Verna (perennial, moss-like, green or yellow green)

SUZANNE ROWE The home benefits greatly from brightened paint, an attractive garden, flagstone walk, and moving the entrance to the backyard farther from the front door.

Salt box style homes were originally given this unusual roof design so taxes would be lower.