Front Of House

Morning All!

Today I am launching a new series called Front of House to look at the way people present their homes to the regular passer by…curbside appeal I believe it is called…

For those of you with a serious ‘house-watching’ affliction like myself, you really can’t do better than live in the Bay Area.  There are so many different styles of houses all packed together between the sea and the hills.

Craftsmen, Mediterranean, Ranch, Cape Cod,  Modern, Victorian…the list of house styles goes on and on… and sometimes you can find them all on one street.

So I have been doing what I love best and have scouted the Bay Area to find those houses which make you crane your neck as you drive by….

Where better to begin with but the beautiful home of Katie and Geoff…

I just love this house…

I’ve been admiring it for years, so it was great to finally connect with the very lovely people who live behind the door…

Katie and Geoff showed me a picture of how the front porch looked before…

Before, that is, they collaborated with talented architect Erick Mikiten of Mikiten Architecture who designed their fabulous porch remodel…

Fellow architect and wife to Erick, Elisa Mikiten suggested the stunning Benjamin Moore blue from their Classic Color range #777 Summer Nights which contrasts so fantastically with the white of all the frames, the trellis and trim.

Now if you ever wondered at how a house might be transformed with a lick of paint, take a look at this ‘before’ picture of  the side of the house…

And then this…

Totally stunning in my books…and of course helped along by Katie’s very green fingers…

She (and her mum) have made a relatively small front garden look lush and spacious…

And this David Austin rose – Graham Thomas – is stunning climbing up the railing of the front porch…

So hats off to Katie and Geoff who clearly know a thing or two about making their home look really beautiful.

And now, for something equally stunning but totally different in style…

Here is another house I have been admiring for ages with it’s bold colors and fabulous little touches…

It turns out to belong to the ultra talented architect Debbie Kim who works for Sogno Design Group.  She is clearly blessed with a serious gift for design.

So this is what her house looked like only a few years back in the Spring of 2007…

A now…with some bold Benjamin Moore paint choices, some very clever landscaping and for sure, months of hard work…

She has transformed her house.

Debbie used all Benjamin Moore colors – the green of the window frames and garage is Huntington Green # 406, the yellow of the front door is Sun Yellow #12, the soft grey of the siding is Rushing River # 1574  and the trim is Gray Wisp # 1570.

It is such a stunning makeover, not least for the gorgeous garage doors with their frosted green-grey glass…

And the funky little touches like her “Beware Of The Dog” stencils on the wooden gate to the side of her house…

And the lovely vignette of her cafe chairs and table centred beautifully by the window above…

It is bold and beautiful and yes, I always crane my neck when I drive past…

And I love the way she has taken advantage of that little planting patch that so many houses have around here, beyond the borders of their home…

Debbie has taken advantage of this space and extended the colors and style of her home to the very edge of the sidewalk.

And she has combined softer circular shapes…

With strong geometric lines…

Fabulous look, fabulous design…

Thank you, thank you Katie and Geoff and Debbie for letting me photograph your beautiful homes – they have curbside appeal aplenty.

I hope this has given you all food for thought, I know I am thinking about those David Austin roses and perhaps some interesting stencils somewhere…

So that is it for todays Front of House – I will be back with more and many other things besides.  As ever, I would love to hear your thoughts!

See you,

Ros

ps. And a big welcome to all those lovely people from who hop over from the Beach Cottage

About Ros

My name is Ros Wyatt and I live across the bay from San Francisco. I moved here from England fifteen years ago with my husband, two children and a dog. Since then I have had added one more child to the line up and work as a painting contractor, color consultant, blogger, and screen printer.
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6 Responses to Front Of House

  1. SO much fun to see these, Ros, and so inspiring! Reading your blog is like going on a mini-vacation.

  2. Love house 805! Your pics are lovely, so enjoyable to look at. Thanks so much for linking to Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesdays.

  3. admin says:

    Thanks Zoe, it is fun driving around finding the most gorgeous looking housesxx

  4. admin says:

    Thanks Sarah. Congrats on the roses to you!

  5. Hello
    I would like to clarify that Debbie Kim hired me – Angelisse Karol of Angelisse Karol Color and Design to help her specify the exterior colors of her home on Ashbury which makes the reference to Sogno Design Group a bit odd and gives incorrect information.

  6. BTW our inspiration began with the house numbers and her desire to make the house look more modern.

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