We bought a dated 90’s bungalow and turned it into a modern farmhouse. It’s quite the before and after if I do say so myself. Read on to see the full modern farmhouse-style exterior makeover.
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
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Table of Contents
Tiny Bungalow Exterior “Before”
We bought our house in 2008 at the end of the housing boom here in Alberta, Canada. It was a cute little bungalow on 4 acres only a 5-minute drive to the nearest town. And it was also only about 15 minutes from the city of Edmonton. It was nicely treed and even had a little pond that was fenced off at the side of the property.
However, the house needed some serious TLC. It was dated and small with an awkward layout. It had a detached garage and the windows, hot water tank, furnace, siding etc.. were all original (not to mention the carpet eek). We figured with a little elbow grease and DIY magic we could make it into something that would work for us and our growing family! As we lived in the house we realized that it badly needed a dedicated mudroom/entry space. We decided to take the plunge and put an addition on the house in 2017.
Modern Farmhouse Exterior “After”
We started with a very simple plan to add a small entrance space to the side of the house. However, as the project progressed we realized that we were going to have to tear off a lot of siding as well as part of the roof to allow for the addition. So we decided to redo both the roof and the siding. Then, because we were redoing the siding, we decided to replace the 30-year-old windows as well!
One thing led to another and somehow we ended up
The moral of the story would be beware of project scope creep!! Once you start on one project, it invariably leads to others. I would highly recommend having a very specific plan and well-thought-out budget before you start the demo!
Exterior Materials
When we chose materials for the exterior makeover, we tried to make everything as weatherproof and low maintenance as possible. Our climate is fairly extreme here and the winters are long, so wood and other materials warp, fade, or generally wear out quickly.
We chose a mix of vinyl shingles and cement board siding on the house and garage. We chose vinyl casement windows, composite decking and
- Vinyl Shingle Siding: Kaycan Perfection Shingles in Heritage Grey
- Board & Batten Siding: Allura Fiber Cement Siding in Sterling Grey
- Trim: Allura Fiber Cement trim in Snow White
- Windows & Doors:
All Weather vinyl casement windows andfiberglass doors with 3/4 glass inserts - Railings : Regal Aluminum Railing System in white from Rona
Decking : Fiberon Paramount PVC decking in mineral- Post
Wraps : Versawrap PVC Column Wrap Kits - Screen room windows : Suncoast Enclosures
Front of the House
Front Porch
Even the hanging swing bench on the front porch is weatherproof. It’s made of recycled plastic instead of wood and is impervious to rain or cold.
The decking is composite for ultimate durability. It cost way more than wood decking, but it’s so worth it in my opinion. All you have to do is pressure wash it and it’s good as new.
After much deliberation, we chose to paint the doors black. Mark tried several different paints and we ended up painting both the main entrance and the mudroom doors with BEHR Premium Plus Ultra “Limousine Leather” semi-gloss paint. The semi-gloss had a much more durable finish than any of the matte paints we tried.
Side Porch
We decided to add a second porch to the mudroom addition that mirrored the main porch. The house felt properly proportioned that way. And the mudroom entrance is the most heavily used so we wanted to be sheltered from the rain/snow as we came in/out. I’ve always wanted a front porch and on this
The little porthole window to the side of the mudroom entrance is one of my favourite exterior
Back of the House
Screen Room
On the back of the
The house looks remarkably different with the large addition!
X Deck Skirting
The X detailing on the deck skirting turned out really well! I researched deck skirting online for months and didn’t come up with anything similar to what I was imagining. So we created the X-detailing out of cement board and cement board trim and I love how it gives the house a modern farmhouse vibe!
Cedar Pergola
My Dad built the beautiful cedar pergola and we hung swinging chairs and added a fire table to make a
We sunk the hot tub into the deck off to the side of the new master bedroom doors. There was a bay window in the master bedroom before that we replaced with patio doors. The railings are Regal
THE GARAGE
The garage was also in need of a makeover when we moved in. There was a large dog kennel blocking one of the doors. The siding was broken in several places. There were no vents in the roof. And drywall, window, door etc.. repair was needed inside! We used the same cement board siding that we used on the house to make the two separate structures feel connected.
We were running low on funds by the end of this modern farmhouse style exterior makeover as you could imagine! New garage doors were just not in the budget. So we made over the existing garage doors for about $100!! Check out Garage Door Makeover For Less Than $100 to see how!
MORE ABOUT THE HOUSE:
WOW!
Wow! I love how the 90s bungalow in Alberta Canada was transformed!
I will need a little help/advice with a design for a small house to be build in West Africa. Is this a service which you provide? Thanks! Dora
Hi, Thanks so much! At this time we do not provide e-design, but thanks for your interest!
Do you have the cost published anywhere?
Beautiful job! It’s something I am wanting to do. I am currently house hunting for a fixer upper but I am afraid I might bite off too much, do you have a cost breakdown?
What colors did you use on the house?
All the info is in the exterior makeover post! Just search exterior makeover.
What was your budget for your remodel? We are about to tackle our home as well.
I was wondering if the black window boxes under the windows were homemade or bought. I love how by adding those, it makes the black doors cohesive.
They were bought. We found them at Costco!
What color is your home?
I am painting my house and love this exterior paint color.
hi, they are prefinished colors sources are listed in the post!