White House with Black Windows in California

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If you’ve ever found yourself intrigued by our exterior design services and wanting a better idea of what it’s like to work with us before placing an order, our client stories are an excellent resource. For these blog posts, we interview previous clients who’ve completed their exterior updates and summarize what they had to say about their brick&batten experience. Plus, we share plenty of pictures of their homes before, during, and after the renovation process. In this post, we showcase Sandra R.’s stucco home transformation. Keep reading to learn how we helped Sandra bring her dream white house with black windows to life and hear what she thought about her experience working with us.

As the leaders in virtual exterior design, we’re here to help make your home renovation process as simple as possible. When you partner with brick&batten on your exterior project, we’ll create a realistic rendering of your home and provide links to the resources needed to bring our design to life. Learn more about our exterior design services.

A before photo of a stucco home in California

The before

Like many of our clients, Sandra was confident her house could become her dream home but wasn’t quite sure what steps to take to get the look she desired. 

I knew this house had good potential, but I had a hard time envisioning what this house could look like.

Sandra knew she wanted a modern Mediterranean look for her California dwelling and was “open to most anything” we might recommend in order to achieve it. 

I would like to elevate the entire look to be more sophisticated but in line with the architecture.

 

Spanish-style stucco home

When clients place an order with us, we encourage them to share any information they think might be helpful as we’re designing a new look for their home. This can include things they don’t want to change about their home, structures they want to add, such as a sunroom or rooftop deck, as well as inspiration photos. The above home rendering (from this blog post) was one of the inspiration images Sandra provided us with.

A virtual rendering of a white stucco home

The design

White and black is a classic color combination we love using in our designs, and that’s exactly what we recommended for Sandra’s home. Our rendering features Benjamin Moore’s Seapearl on the stucco and trim and Black Beauty, also by Benjamin Moore, on the eaves. 

We suggested a black entry door, windows, and garage door to tie into the eaves and a modern cable railing for the porch. Our design also includes faux copper gutters, a Corten steel driveway gate, wood lintels over the windows, and a concrete fence with a horizontal wood detail.

A stone paver walkway, new light fixtures, and some outdoor furniture complete the look.

Your design was spot on and made it easy to follow. Your service is a cut above anyone else!

An actual after photo of a stucco home

The process

Sandra enlisted professional help to complete her home renovation and referenced our design deliverable throughout. 

I had several different trades involved in the process, using the brick&batten design as my guide. We had to change some things due to budget and city regulations but tried to stick to it as closely as we could. It came out beautifully!

White house with black windows in California completed front façade

The actual after

Sandra followed our color palette suggestions and implemented many of our other design recommendations. 

A close up of a white stucco home with black windows

For this white house, black windows were a great choice because they really pop against the lighter siding. They also match the front and garage door, creating a cohesive look. While Sandra selected a different porch railing, we love what she chose and think it fits well with the rest of the design elements. She also added some fun details, such as a rain chain, and altered the location of the walkway. 

We are the best-looking house on the block now. It was such an ugly duckling before as it was owned by a 90-year-old who hadn’t done any upgrades in decades. All my neighbors comment on the great curb appeal now.

White house with black windows in California completed front façade, from an angle

White house with black windows: small changes, big impact

Thanks to some minor improvements, such as new black windows, this white house is now a showstopper. A fresh color palette helped modernize this dated property and turn it into something the owner is proud to call home. 

Don’t delay your dream home any longer. We make it easy to visualize your desired look and bring it to life. Get started on your exterior design project today.

Author

Britteny has worked as a professional writer and editor for more than a decade. She launched her career as a features writer in New York City, covering fashion, food & beverage, and hospitality. She has contributed to a wide range of publications, including International Business Times, Glam, Thirsty Mag, and Cardinal & Pine and has worked with famous faces such as Kate Upton and Nigel Barker throughout her career. Britteny has been covering the exterior home design industry as a writer for brick&batten for almost two years. Britteny splits her time between New York City, her home state of Michigan, and Caye Caulker, a small island off the coast of Belize in Central America. When she’s not writing or editing, Britteny can be found at the beach or in the kitchen testing out vegan recipes.