I’m back with another design mockup, and again for something at our rental renovation! This time, we’re moving outside with this bungalow makeover mockup. I’m picturing new paint, new stain on the porch and even an updated walkway! Let me give you a glimpse of what I’m thinking.
Right now, we have a basic bungalow with yellow siding, green shutters and white trim (and door).
The front is pretty plain, with a flat-ish yard and grass. At one point in the last few years, the city had to dig something – so there’s a large patch of weeds.
Last fall, we had the roof re-shingled (and I think these photos are from before). It used to be a green roof, to match the green eaves and shutters. I went with a mid-grey colour for our new roof, so it would hopefully match any new paint we added. (Although, green would have probably worked too).
Bungalow Makeover Ideas
I plan to paint the siding a nice neutral grey colour. I think the green shutters would pop nicely, and there’s no reason to replace anything if you don’t have to.
If I could, I would go a bit darker; however, I know that you can’t paint siding too dark from the original colour because the extra heat could cause warping.
I’d also replace the house number plaque with something a lot larger and more modern. I love extra huge numbers because they’re much easier to see when you’re driving by! Our front porch is also in need of some staining, and I think going dark would help hide the colour variation.
As an ode to the yellow siding, I’d paint the front door a nice bright yellow! (PS: the inside of the door is painted orange). I’m not sure if I would also paint the concrete foundation part. When I did these mockup photos, I felt that it was a little too blue/cool, but it’s something I’d have to see in real life before committing.
Landscaping/Yard Updates
While the yellow siding is cute, I think the house is ready for a change! I pulled the image above from Google Street View, and you can see that there were already some updates done in the last couple of years.
The biggest changes were the addition of the wood porch (right on top of the concrete one) and the removal of the tree. The flowers/bush at the corner of the driveway and walkway is kind of donut-shaped now, and it needs pruning/removing. I think I’d try and piece it out and transplant it elsewhere (whatever it is, it attracts a lot of bees).
I did add another plant in the stone area (and planted a couple of lilac tree sticks in the middle of the yard). But the photos above show that the walkway needs a bit of work! The concrete pads are much too narrow for the steps, and that bush/flower donut encroaches the space.
Ideally, I’d like to take out the steps and pour a new, wider concrete walkway (we have some experience with that!). It would also really help in winter because the walkway is barely wide enough for a shovel as-is (#canadianproblems).
I’m not sure when we’ll get to all of these updates (especially since most are more “nice-to-have” than “need-to-have”). But, you can be sure that I’ll be sharing them here!
In the meantime, please let me know what you think of these bungalow makeover mockups and plans!
I have some other/bigger updates for the backyard… and I need to share all the work that we’ve done back there already. (Can you tell that the snow is starting to melt and I’m excited about summer!?).
ANYWAYS! If you’re interested in getting some mockups like this created for your house, you can reach out for design help!
2 Comments
Shelley Smith
April 23, 2022 at 9:44 pmI know this is old, but… why the shutters? They are the wrong size and wouldn’t function properly if they were real shutters anyway… especially on the bay window. Looks ridiculous, no??
Nicole
April 24, 2022 at 12:37 pmHello Shelley, shutters are so controversial, especially if they don’t serve any function (like these)! Honestly, we haven’t done the project yet, and I’d most likely decide after it’s painted, whether we’d put them back up or not. (We have the same dilemma with our house with the non-functioning shutters). I’d mostly put them back because I like the look of the bold green against the grey, but again, we’d wait and see. Thanks!