Exterior Makeover: Brick Ranch to Modern Farmhouse
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I have something a little different to share with you today that I think you will enjoy.
I usually post about my house, but for a change I want to show you the exterior makeover of the home of Debbie and Martin who are good friends of Ed and mine.
When we lived in PA, they were our neighbors for 22 years. They moved from our previous neighborhood to this house a few years before we moved to live on Lake Murray in South Carolina.
They are the same age as us and when they became empty nesters that no longer needed a big house, they decided to search for a smaller house with land in a more rural part of the local area.
After months of searching, they found a red brick ranch home on 7 acres that was just what they wanted.
Before & After Makeover of a Brick Ranch House
They didn’t stop with just changing the exterior of the house. They also added to the yard that was wide open and empty to create a small farm complete with a barn and additional driveway to…
…a chicken house, a large flower and vegetable garden, along with a few farm animals.
I know you are going to enjoy seeing how they transformed the exterior to fit their dream lifestyle and vision.
BEFORE: Front of House
Here is what the house looked like before getting transformed. Red brick in great condition, but just not the look they wanted.
Their plan was to transform the house so it would have a modern farmhouse appeal.
And that is just what they did.
They painted all the brick white, added metal roof and overhangs, vertical board cladding, new doors and light fixtures.
BEFORE: Side of House
Here you can see the side of the house before the makeover.
AFTER: Side of House
It is amazing what paint and exterior accents, along with a vision for change can do.
The white paint color is: Sherwin Williams – Snowbound.
BEFORE: Back of House
Here is the back view of the brick 1970’s home that they transformed over a few years into their dream home. Red/orange brick, red roof and rust/red shutters.
There was a concrete patio and porch on the back of the house along with overgrown shrubs.
AFTER: Back of House
Debbie and Martin not only had the house painted white and shutters black, but they added a metal roof and pergola. Had the walkway paved with stone and created a white picket fenced-in raised bed garden complete with flowers for cutting, herbs and veggies.
Gardening is one of Debbie’s passions. Her green thumb abilities are on display at every turn as there are colorful flowers everywhere.
One of the best features of the back of the house is the expansive view.
During Updates
After buying the house, they had the interior gutted and redone before move-in. The exterior of the house was transformed over the next few years.
Replacing the shingle roof with a metal roof. The metal roof is from Drexel Metal Roofing Systems in the color Pre-weathered Galvalume.
Here is a chip of the metal roof. The color does look different depending on the amount of light. On bright sunny day it looks more silver and on a grey day – a darker grey.
Debbie wanted all the shrubs around the house removed so she could…
…design the landscaping herself and hired out the muscle to implement her design.
You can see the addition of the metal roof in this photo and the lush landscaping after taking root.
It looks pretty no matter what season it is.
The Addition of a Barn and Chicken House
Soon after moving in, they designed a barn and chicken house and had both built to the side of the backyard so they would not block the view.
Painted “classic barn red” with a vintage truck and tractor out front give the property the feeling that the property was always a farm with a barn, instead of just a brick ranch house sitting alone on 7 acres.
This is the view from the back of the house over looking the garden before the pickets…
…were painted white.
They grow flowers for clipping and veggies for both themselves and their animals.
As I said above, the transformation of the exterior of this house wasn’t done all at once, but over a few years. They knew what they wanted and took their time to implement it to get it just right.
I think they succeeded.
They even gave their small farm a name… Whistle Pig Farm.
I hoped you enjoyed the tour.
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Beautiful transformation. Our home is very similar to this and we are transforming ours as well inside and out! Would love to see interior pics of this home!
Hi Katie – The owners of this house are friends from PA. When I get up to visit them, I will ask to take photos. The house is decorated in traditional style. White kitchen cabinets with upper glass fronts and black countertops. Ceramic tile floor that looks like wood planks. Most of the decor is neutral with accent of burgundy, green and gold. Dark wood in the living and dining room.. They gutted the interior that was all cut up into small rooms. The peaked roof line allowed them to not have to worry about any of the walls being weight bearing. It is now a very different lighter and brighter home inside as well as outside.
Wow what a great before and after! The roof is amazing!
Hello!
What a beautiful renovation. What stones are used for the paver paths?
Thank you.
Hi Heather – The paver stones were made by a company called CST. The color was called: Mountain Stone. It was discontinued 2 years ago when the company was bought out by Paverstone. Perhaps you may still be able to find it at a landscaping supply place or landscaper in your area.
Thank you Diane!
The transformation is beautiful but I wouldn’t call the starting point “dated”. It just wasn’t their taste.
Hi Kathleen – You are right, the brick exterior is classic, so just not their taste. The inside though, that I didn’t show was very dated.
I happen to run across this article and it may have just saved us a lot of time and money. We have gutted the inside of a ranch home in Upstate SC. We already have a metal roof and were looking at perhaps doing a complicated stone and exterior siding remodel. This looks good and is similar enough to our house, we can actually picture it in our minds. Thanks so much!
Hello. We are wanting to update our 1964 brick ranch to a modern farmhouse design. Love what was done to this house. Do you happen to have any interior before and after photos you’d be willing to share.
Thanks so much!
Hi Jimmy – I am sorry, but I don’t have any interior photos of the house. I have been in it and they did quite a lot of updating. Since there were no load bearing walls in the house, they could take down walls and made the rooms bigger. They used white cabinets in the kitchen with glass at the tops and black counters in the kitchen. The flooring is ceramic tile that looks like wood. The rest of the interior colors are neutral with accents of green, rust and deep orange.
Thank you for sharing. I love how they did it bit by bit. That seems so smart. They had the vision to do that. I lack vision. LOL
This looks incredible! Do you know what color the metal roof is? We are in the planning process of a similar project and we cannot decide on a color for ours. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Claire – I asked my friend whose house is featured in my post. She found the info. Here it is: Drexel Metals Roofing Systems in the color – Pre-weathered Galvalume. She also thought you would like to know that the color does change depending on the light. She took a photo of same chip in different light. I added these photos to the post so you and other can see.
This is just beautiful all round!!!
Hi Mary – Thank you. We have one last project to do that I am resourcing now to find the right parts and supplies. Once we get this done, the exterior will be pretty much done.
Much useful blog.Innovative ideas was shared.Thank You.
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Wow, what an amazing transformation! It looks completely different but in such a good way!
Loved the ranch house transformation with addition of the barn and many gardens. Though it does make me tired! I love to see the inside!
OMG, this is gorgeous. Now, all they need is a swimming pool. I love the transformation.
What an amazing transformation! It looks incredible, and it is so inspiring. Thank you for sharing!
Ahhhhhmazing. WOW, just WOW! Thanks for sharing. Missing you guys.
Wow!! That is incredible.
Amazing…I could move in tomorrow. Maybe someday she will let us peak inside. Love her beautiful landscaping.
Wow! That transformation is amazing! That is some serious curb appeal! Thanks for sharing.
If the inside renovation is even half as awesome as the outside, it will be exciting to see!
wow! This is stellar! I always love how ranch houses can be transformed, I think this one is absolutely fantastic!
This is absolutely beautiful! They did a great job! I wish I had that kind of designing ability. You would never know what it looked like before the redo. Thanks for sharing this with us.
I had no idea you lived in South Carolina. We’re getting ready to move back to lake Hartwell.
? wow really beautiful farm, what a transformation Thanks for sharing.
Diane,
Great story through photos! Do you know what the lavender/pink flowers are, that are blooming in the half circle bed? Are they alliums? They fill that space beautifully! I have always loved a white picket fenced square garden! Theirs is so perfect! The farm look is authentic looking. Sooo enjoyed this post!
Hi Karen – Yes – the flowers you are asking about are alliums, sometimes called ornamental onions. They do look amazing in mass.
I’m so glad you asked this! I was wanting to know.
I love your site every time I see it I get a new idea for something, the pictures of this house are lovely wish I could live there lol, keep up your great work and thank you?
This was delightful!
Wow! What vision! Thank you for sharing. I hope we can see the interior too!
I love when people can live their dream!
Bernadette
Absolutely gorgeous! The house looks so very different but when you look at each individual change it wasn’t that big but the sum of the parts = gorgeous. I love the metal roof. Her landscaping is to die for.
So inspiring! A sincere thank you from all us red brick ranch owners!
Carol
This is my little dream farm. Your friends truly had a wonderful vision. Thank you for sharing.
Wow! Just wow! What a fabulous transformation! Thank you for sharing and add me to the list of people who would love to see the inside updates! I’m in awe of creative people like you and your friend who can envision such transformations.
Wow! That’s amazing! I love every bit of it! Fantastic job. Thank you for sharing!
Stunning…would love to see the inside.
Thank you Diane, for adding sunshine to our day!
Just beautiful! Every little detail! ?
Your friends sure had heaps of vision, energy time ,not mention financial resources.
They were one hundred percent successful and the result is truly fabulous. Thank you for
sharing.
Sue Verbaan
Wow. What a transformation!
Incredible transformation! In awe of the landscaping and flowers!! Please pass along a “WOW” to your talented friends!!
Hi Carol – I will! :-)
Wow, I’ve seen many brick homes like that out in the country and this transformation is simply amazing. I’m going to have to reread your post a few times to take it all in! Beautiful landscaping. Thanks for sharing some progress pics too while the changes were taking place. I hope we can see inside one day!!
Hi Holly – It is a lot to take in. I am glad you enjoyed the post. I will see if Debbie is up for a before and after post of the interior. What they did inside is truly amazing!
Absolutely beautiful. Such a vision. Hope we get to see the inside also.
Hi Patty – I will see about getting a post up about the inside soon. :-)
That is an amazing makeover. Love how it turned out and I’m obsessed with the roof.
Hi Julia – My friends have great taste and vision. When we were neighbors before they moved -their home was the highlight of the neighborhood as they transformed the exterior of the home even though it was a new home. It was remarkable what they did with that house that I contacted my connections at BHG who then came out and took photos to use in their magazines.
absolutely lovely home
What an incredible before and after! The landscaping is amazing, too.
Hi Vikki – When I was getting this post together, I thought of you. I knew you would enjoy seeing the gardens. Yours are just as pretty.
Wow, that is quite a transformation. Everything looks like it’s always been that way. I love how Debbie has landscaped the property. Something beautiful to see no matter which way you look. Thanks so much for this interesting and inspiring tour.
This is very inspiring. I love the before and after pictures, especially because I live in a ranch house. I thank you for sharing.
Hi Lynn – I see that you read the post early this morning. Since I posted the post, I found a before shot of the front of the house that lets you see just how much they changed.
Thanks for sharing. You are right, that is a gorgeous renovation and beautiful property! I love that flowers grow so beautifully up North. Florida is great but from June-September, it is too hot to keep many/most colorful flowers alive.
Hi Paige – Up north flowers do grow better than in Florida, but a green thumb and passion are needed. I never had the success with creating and sustaining lush flower gardens as Debbie does. It is a talent for sure.
I have really enjoyed looking at this stunning home, its like a slice of heaven. Thankyou for sharing with us.x