simple sophistication

"simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" 

- Leonardo Da Vinci

I've begun to embrace this notion and believe that even the most average ingredients can become extraordinary if you keep them functional and simple. It is with this sentiment exactly that I tackle the exterior of our new home. 

As you can see there is nothing fancy here. We are building a fairly standard, traditional two story house. There are, however, some key details of this plan that I am incredibly thankful for: 

• all four sides of the home are brick (I'm not a fan of siding) 
• we have a two car garage (believe me, this is a luxury) 
• our walkout backyard include a patio off of the great room (hello dinner parties!) 
• the lot comes completely fenced in (you know, for our future french bulldog) 

Now that you get the general gist let me show you some ways I plan to spruce the place up... let's just hope I have a green thumb!

I've chosen a very neutral, almost weathered multi-colored brick and plan to pair it with off-white trim. We upgraded our windows to divided light and I feel it will have a significant impact on both the exterior and interior of our home. The key to our exterior will be the landscaping. We already have mature trees in our backyard so the only addition I am planning there is an herb garden. To make our fence more visually appealing I plan to grow ivy on it and for pops of color I will use sun-loving plants like lavender and bougainvillea. 

There were endless exterior options and combinations to choose from but in the end I took Da Vinci's advice and erred on the side of simplicity.