Design Features That Will Elevate Your Home Design

When projects similar to this one come across my desk all I can think about is "what can I do to best increase the curb appeal on this home?" This often leads me to considering features and other design elements that will make impactful statements for the overall aesthetic of the home. In this post I will share a bit of my thoughts and insight on this home.

My initial thought on this home is that it has a great presentation; it's up on a hill which gives it a sort of prominence from the street— (fun tid-bit: past civilizations would elevate buildings of importance— Temples, Cathedrals, Civic Buildings, Castles, Palaces, and the like. They would even elevate the first floor from the street and add grand staircases to signify their importance). In addition to being elevated, this home also had a nice material balance and the entry was tucked into an alcove created by the home's architecture which lends the opportunity for a nice patio to add function to the point of entry.

1. Adding Transparency

When a home is lacking windows it closes itself off from the world. It's as if the home is crossing its arms and communicating that it's not approachable. Adding transparency to the front elevation helps create that warm, welcoming feeling and quite literally tears down the walls and communicates that 'doors is always open' feel.

2. Adding a Chimney Anchor

Sometimes when we're faced with large expanse of wall it's nice to break up that expanse with a solid anchor point. Sometimes it's a change of material, a cantilevered multi-story window feature, it can even be a tall landscaping element; but with how much horizontal lines this home has, a strong vertical element in a chimney is a solid knife-in-the-table statement. Bifurcating the main facade and the paired windows on both stories adds a solid visual break in the design.