October 2008 Idea Home and Curb Appeal

[rubyslippers]

I am in love with the stairwell black and white stairwell in the cottage idea home. I also love the bold splashes of color combined with funky mirrors. These ideas feel "implementable" at a grass-roots level. Even if a family has a small rancher, some of these color combinations are timeless and fun. Plus, tile is SO easy to clean. Anyway, I really loved the kitchen backsplash as well. I love black and white with ops of color. So, the idea home made me quite happy. (Many times the "idea homes" feel like "dream homes" to me. While this specific house is not something within grasp of my purse strings, I appreciated the down to earth touches paired with the whimsical. Good job Cottage Living.)

I rarely ever mention it, but one of my VERY favorite cottage living features is the "Dear Cottage Living" section when Architect Hoyte Johnson gives little houses a "face lift" - - I thought the "eyebrow" porch covering and the copper gables on the little starter house last month were fabulous. I also love, the salvaging of the existing stone combined with shutter/garage-door upgrades on this month's Hoyte Johnson face-lift.

I do have one wish though ... despite the fact that ALL of the resource listings are provided, I can never wrap my brain around what the cost of this sort of facelift for a home would run dollar-wise. I live in an area with a lot of "starter homes" - - 50's cottages - - 70's brick ranchers - - and suburban vinyl sided "box-houses" with brick fronts. The fabulous cottage I would love to buy from a historic perspective doesn't exist in the geographical area I am searching. (Sure, there are plenty of smaller homes and even a handful of modern Cape-Cod's; however, everything else is wanna-be-charleston-style-new-expensive-construction.)

When I look at starter houses, it is very easy for me to dream of black and white tile in the kitchen and adding window-boxes and shutters. I have an "eye" for it - - which is part of why I love this column. I like to try to peek at the before picture and imagine what I would do to that house, and then I like to see how in-line my dreams were with the Cottage Living solutions. With that said, the actually price tag is never included.

So, is there an average for these things on a 1000-ish square foot house. Do those garage doors run $5000 - - what about the shutters? How much time and rennovation/contracting money are we talking to change a roof line? I do not believe Cottage Living readers would be discouraged if they new the price tag was $1000 or $50,000 + ; however, not knowing can be a little frustrating because it feels out of reach. Certainly, the garage door one summer, the sidewalk the next, etc. is a nice way to make small changes over time.

The home market is kind of scary right now (as is the entire economy) - - offering various levels of upgrades would be nice as well. For example, a series on garage doors would be nice. A series on shutters would be nice. How much does it really cost to add a brick porch? Certainly, this all depends on local resources, contractors, and the level of architectural accuracy (historical items, salvaged antiques, etc.) the home owner wants to embrace. However, this is the best little feature in the back of the magazine we just do not celebrate enough - - I love it. Please, by all means, keep it around. However, helping readers see the financial feasibility is incredibly important. Also, if it is pricey, there is nothing wrong with saving and entering the market well informed so you can do and get what you want.

Thanks for the effort - - this is a lovely issue on many levels.

[Evelyn]

Agreed. Actual costs or projected costs would be good. I am sure that the price of labor varies from state to state, and problaby even the price of goods.....but a ballpark starter price would be helpful.

Interestingly, I do not get CL but, after reading your post I started thinking about it!!

Everlyn

[administrator]

I write and help produce the Dear Cottage column. Your posts have rekindled a quandary concerning including rough renovation costs. Labor and material costs vary so wildly geographically, and even contractor to contractor, I m always afraid to include numbers. It may happen yet, but we'll have to word it delicately.

I love your idea for a product series.

Based on reader surveys, the Dear Cottage Living typically ranks as the second or third most popular section of our magazine. It's here to stay.

Rex Perry

[rubyslippers]

I am glad to know the feature is "here to stay" so-to-speak ... it makes me happy. I do understand the difficulties of including specific costs so-to-speak. However, you might be able to take one house and change three or four items (i.e. the garage door, the front door, the windows, and the shutters). Then, you could just "price" the merchandise scaling it from lowest to highest. You all have done that before with home decor items. You also do something similar in the magazine when you put together the various cottage "nooks" - - I believe this month was a conversation area with a couple of chairs, a throw blanket, etc. and you provide the price/cost of four different "looks". Just an idea. I guess from a reader's perspective, it is always helpful to have the dollar amounts (along with advice regarding quality and durability). For example, what are the advantages/disadvantages of actual "functioning" shutters. What areas of the country do they perform best in? What are the maintenance concerns when going with different types of shutters and/or siding for example?

Also, you might be able to get around the "quandry" (what a great word) of the money issue if you just priced one element. For example, I personally believe a ton of smaller houses, middle sized houses, and larger houses could all stand to have a new front door. Front doors can be so incredibly charming. I think the old-storm door look was actually discussed in one of your blogs. Anyway, I would love to know what a lovely wooden arched door painted or stained would cost. Then, what if my home has a square door frame? What is the "approximate" cost of fixing this issue assuming the contractors didn't find a problem. What about just changing out a garage door?

These features add SO much charm and character to homes. Even on the interior - - changing closet doors can make a huge difference in a room's personality, but even the do-it-yourselfers out there may not have the strength to tackle some of these things alone. If you are a reader in the dreaming and planning stages, it is nice to be able to clip out pages and slowly piece together price tags to gain a realistic perspective.

If I had to guess, one of those doors is going to run a couple of thousand dollars. With glass insets or stained-glass, then it may get exponentially higher. The real trick is getting a couple of contractors to talk. If you pick up the phone and "call around", contractor's tend to try to get your business very quickly. So, you don't call and just end-up clicking around on the Home Depot website wondering.

I bet contractors have all sorts of things they would like to tell readers. What about a contractor's corner. Then, a contractor could give readers a little insight about the information they really need from us in order to do the best job possible in the most timely fashion.

(I'm just full of ideas aren't I?)

Thanks again!

[zuzus_garden]

It is a little scary for me to pick up the phone and start talking with a contractor. I am currently looking for someone to do our drywall for us, and although I thought I was prepared for the first call (our location, square footage, ceiling pitch, schedule) I was stumped over what finish I wanted or how to handle the windows (drywall on three sides w/ wood sill, all wood). The contractor seemed a little impatient with me when I was making decisions on the fly.

I think if the CL articles included the costs for the specific project featured, noting that costs vary across the country, and include the kinds of questions a contractor might ask, then it would provide a great starting point.

Zu