Making new build classic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP- thank you all! We are thinking about making sure that floor color is darker than the current look, may still do a putty kitchen but will do it in a simple way. Probably skip the smaller tonal tiles. The exterior of the home is a warm grey/taupe brick with black accents. It's not traditional or modern- somewhere in between. Windows are black paned.

Do you have to do black windows? That is the biggest thing I’ve see listed in this thread that will surely make you house look like 2024 (or really 2020 or earlier)

[Anonymous]

Room size/ scale is the biggest indicator of a house looking classic vs McMansion/dated.

If you look at some of the other threads, people had the oversized bedrooms.

Look at classic houses and bump up room sizes proportionally in your new house 20-30% (Or whatever makes sense for you) but don't make JUST the bedrooms huge.

[Anonymous]

I saw this house a few months ago and thought it had some really nice classical features (darker wood floors and cabinets and moulding) but was also modern to living standards.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8120-Kerry-Ln-Chevy-Chase-MD-20815/37183907_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No nickel fixtures, that's a modern look.

Polished nickel is as classic as it gets. No brushed finishes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- thank you all! We are thinking about making sure that floor color is darker than the current look, may still do a putty kitchen but will do it in a simple way. Probably skip the smaller tonal tiles. The exterior of the home is a warm grey/taupe brick with black accents. It's not traditional or modern- somewhere in between. Windows are black paned.

Do you have to do black windows? That is the biggest thing I’ve see listed in this thread that will surely make you house look like 2024 (or really 2020 or earlier)

Agreed. Nothing will date your home as of 2024 more than black windows. It’s such a trending look. Unless your home is Tudor, those can work well with dark brown windows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No cavernous first floor. Rooms need walls.

This. For a classic house design, at least the formal areas of the house (e.g., entry, LR, DR) desperately need some walls.

The “open plan” approach is very trendy, originally driven by HGTV renovations of much smaller houses (which remove all the walls to try to make the tiny house look and feel bigger than it really is).

[Anonymous]

+10000 about the black windows! If it’s not a Tudor, rethink it. They’re so dated already and it looks like jail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I saw this house a few months ago and thought it had some really nice classical features (darker wood floors and cabinets and moulding) but was also modern to living standards.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8120-Kerry-Ln-Chevy-Chase-MD-20815/37183907_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare

Wow, really? I think the addition looks really choppy and confusing. The cabinets in particular look out of place to me and likely to get super “dated” pretty quickly.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, if you want classic, I would look at lots of English home periodicals/online.

[Anonymous]

Unless you have a crystal ball there is no way to know what will be in style at some undefined point in the future. Nor does it matter, really. There are always buyers for any style of house from any era if the property is structurally sound, well-located, and well-maintained. Things like cabinetry, flooring, paint, hardware, appliances, and light fixtures can all be changed in the future if desired.

What cannot be easily changed are characteristics like the inclusion of an elevator, upstairs laundry, additional garage spaces, high ceilings, a walk-out design instead of a less-desirable walk-up - structural items which would be difficult or very expensive to add/change later, if even permitted by zoning and permitting regulations then.

Build what appeals to you presently. You're the one who will be living there. Worrying about some hypothetical future buyer's tatstes is a fool's errand.

[Anonymous]

Almost impossible. This was completed in 2020 and is a favorite: http://www.charlesmyer.com/urban#/cambridge-massachusetts-4/

[Anonymous]

Excellent resource.

https://www.classicist.org/books/get-your-house-right/