Best way to visualize a new exterior design on my actual house photo?
We bought a 1978 split level last fall and the exterior is dated, brown brick lower half, beige hardboard on top. I have a folder full of photos of houses I like but I honestly cannot picture any of it on our place. My husband says just pick something, but repainting or residing is not a redo if we hate it kind of purchase.
Is there a decent way to take a photo of our actual house and see a new exterior design on it? I tried tracing over a printout with markers and it looked like a kid drew it. Would rather not pay a designer 500 dollars just to find out an idea is ugly.
Answers
I was in the same spot with our 80s ranch. What finally worked was using an AI exterior house design app, you upload a straight on photo of your house and it renders the same photo with different siding, colors and trim. Same roofline, same windows, same weird chimney, so you are judging your house and not a magazine house.
Take the photo on an overcast day if you can, harsh sun shadows make every option look worse than it is. We went through maybe fifteen versions in an evening and it killed two ideas I was sure about and sold my husband on one I never would have pitched with words alone.
Old school option that still works: print the photo big, 11x17 at a print shop is a couple bucks, then lay tracing paper over it and block in colors with cheap markers. It will not look pretty but it answers the big questions like does dark trim work with that brick.
Also drive your own neighborhood and photograph split levels with exteriors you like. Same era houses share the same proportions, so what works on theirs will usually read the same on yours. That is free and surprisingly effective.
