Reader Mockup: Spanish Style Curb Appeal

Hey friends! Dawn here, and I've got another fun reader curb appeal mockup to share with you today. If you're new here, our reader mockups are one of our favorite features around here. Our readers submit their photos, and I make some Photoshop magic happen to show them what I would do with their design dilemma. If you want to know more, you can visit our services page to read all about how to submit your own photos. Now, on with the show! Today's mockup was submitted by Penny, and here's what she wrote:

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Before we get started, here’s my standard mockup disclaimer: While I can recommend ideas that I think look nice, I have never seen this house in real life and don’t have accurate measurements. I am also not an architect or landscaper and do not know the planting recommendations for your area- I just like to make things look nice. I can’t guarantee that any of the items I put in my ‘virtual’ design will actually work in real life (or that they’ll fit your design style for that matter), and this is not intended to be a professional design consultation. So think of this as a just-for-fun rendering that hopefully gets your wheels turning and provides some inspiration!

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Now that that's out of the way, let's have some fun. Here's the original image that Penny sent over: As you can see, Penny has a lovely home that looks to be a Spanish or Mediterranean style, with stucco siding and a tile roof. This type of home is prominent in certain regions, and I remember seeing so many similar homes in the Southwestern US while visiting family there when I was growing up. So I was excited to take this particular home to the next level for Penny. My first impression of this house was that it was a great structure, but just a little boring. The porch area felt dark and cave-like, and the white garage door was making the off-white house look slightly dirty by comparison. The rectangular detail above the garage seemed out of place and made the window look small. Additionally, the landscaping was pretty heavy on the left side of the house, and the placement of the tree in front was causing some issues. Visually, it looks much too large for the space, overwhelming the home and growing outside of the porch area. While it didn't look the best, probably more worrisome is that a tree that size, that close to the house, could cause structural issues with the foundation, not to mention the roof, plus it blocked a lot of light to the porch area and windows. Here's what I came up with to solve some of these issues:

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Source list for this Spanish style curb appeal makeover:

Garage Door Similar Lighting Similar Ladder Planter House Numbers

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The first thing I switched out on Penny's house was the garage door. Since the garage takes up a large portion of the front of the home, swapping out the bland door for a beautiful, decorative, Spanish style wooden door adds so much visual appeal. Next, I would paint the whole house a creamy white color that looks fresh and clean. Penny asked for stone on the bottom of the house, and I think it adds a nice architectural element to the columns. To update the window area above the garage, I added a wide Juliette balcony. Something just wide enough to hold a little greenery would be lovely, and help bring some interest and color up onto the house. I also added color to the dark porch area by painting the beautiful double doors a bright turquoise color. It goes well with the style of the home, and helps the entrance to stand out and appear more welcoming. Another change I made was updating the aluminum windows. Black framed windows add a sleek, modern look and some contrast to the white paint on the home. They also help tie in the black railing of the balcony. To further bring some contrast and visual interest in, I would add modern exterior lighting to each of the columns on the front of the home. This helps add interest all across the front, and will also create a rich warm glow in the evenings. The address plaque was removed, and instead I added modern house numbers centered over the garage door. You can see how in the before shot, the dark plaque was pretty dominant, being the only black on the house. Unfortunately, even though it stands out, it isn't very legible from a distance, so instead it just creates a dark shape on one column. Adding interest to the rest of the columns with the lighting, and centering the house numbers over the garage door, gives the house a more symmetrical look and makes the numbers less overpowering, but also easier to read from the street. Finally, I tackled the landscaping. Obviously I removed the large tree from the front of the house. This alone would make a huge difference in the openness of the porch area, allowing a lot more light to come in. In it's place, I  would do some smaller plantings, perhaps a tall cactus for height, and some grasses to soften up the architecture a bit. I also included a decorative ladder planter in that area. Form and function! In the yard, I really liked the color and structure of the bushes, but there were just too many! To update the look, I kept the back row of hedge near the house, but removed the front row, replacing it with a more colorful variety of plants. Next to the driveway, I included some color as well, but also brought out the lovely detail in the concrete by echoing it with a row of symmetrical plants right along the drive. This trick also helps visually guide you to the front door, again making the home seem more inviting. So that is my virtual update of Penny's Spanish stunner. What do you think? What would you do to update the curb appeal if this were your home? Thanks again, Penny for reaching out, letting me work up some ideas for your beautiful home, and letting us share it here on the blog! If you have a design dilemma you'd like to see us tackle, be sure to check out our services page for more info, and don't forget to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for all the latest! Have a great week! Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save