The Architecture of Curb Appeal

What is the danger of making something pretty? Well, when it comes to homes it can be complicated. Curb appeal seems like an innocent concept, but architects have been quoted calling it “empty signifiers of good design” or even eerie or creepy. Curb appeal privileges superficial visual composition over deeper, more spatial considerations. Further, the overregulation of visual propriety easily strays into practices that are exclusionary and oppressive. This video takes a close look at the history, evolution, and consequences of curb appeal from an architect’s perspective using examples from popular culture, art, film, and architecture. Unexpected origins and peculiar turns through picturesque gardens, mirrors for viewing the landscape, and exhibitions like Venturi Scott Brown’s ‘Signs of Life’ serve as waypoints in our journey for understanding people’s views of what houses should look like.
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DESIGN WITH COMPANY: designwith.co​​​
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture: arch.uic.edu/

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

Curb appeal varies considerably depending on the target audience. Curb appeal designed to be observed from a pedestrian perspective favours smaller-scale and high-resolution details such as a small front setback and intricate garden. But from the perspective of a car, the viewer is moving too fast to appreciate the detail, and it seems underwhelming. Instead appeal often comes from larger shapes, such as a large setback and carefully-manicured lawn.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@Crunch Bar The existence of curb appeal does not prove that all other forms of design do not exist. If you honestly believe that functional design no longer exists, then you must be using other evidence as well.

[@icypeanutpolo]

I would point out that it is entirely possible to do both. If you stroll through the well to do part of your town/city you will notice that the largest homes with the most stately lawns also likely have some sort of perimeter fencing which is often imbued with various details that are not readily visible from afar, but are easily appreciated by those walking past. Of course, to do both means having the means to do both, and that raises an entirely different bag of worms.

[@bengoacher4455]

@@OntarioTrafficMan that is true. Is not the purpose of architecture to design something that looks good. On a personal level my opinion on how a property looks is irrelevant. If the resident thinks it looks good, then good for them.

[@38snipshow]

I think we need to recognize culturally that architecture and urban design which is intended for 50km/h. Usually characterized by forgiving setbacks, front yard parking, and large signage. These environments lack edge friction, which compounds the speeding problem. They're usually unloved harsh environments recognized by dangerous vehicle speeds and loud noise.

[@38snipshow]

I should qualify the latter by specifying its location within an urban environment particularly.

[@merrywalsh2809]

I once lived in an Olmstead Brothers designed lakeside neighborhood in Seattle. It was genius, with curvilinear and terraced forms with public stairs interspersed. The homes that were built there from 1900 to 1920 were Tudor, Colonial Revival, Craftsman, Victorian, Neoclassical, exquisitely maintained by loving owners. The front yards were expertly and individually landscaped where a lawn was just one element and not overpowering the other elements. A few yards were all wildflowers. The neighborhood walking experience was second to none.

[@jeffreymoffitt4070]

But were the people living there happy? Or just masking?

[@merrywalsh2809]

@@jeffreymoffitt4070 I have no idea if they were happy lol. I imagine many were. The ones I knew seemed like they had fulfilling lives.

[@lk-xr3hq]

As a Seattleite myself, which neighborhood is this?

[@sarahhavillamelooliveira5825]

Cute place

[@toomanymarys7355]

It was also old enough that all the saplings grew up. Some people sneer at areas with new landscaping when once most areas had sapling trees...

[@guillaumeschaack2351]

Showing a scene from the beginning of the movie “Stepford wife” was a perfect way to illustrate the issues of curb appeal

[@icee8959]

That's what it was from? I thought it was from The Amityville Horror.

[@kayallen7603]

Precisely why 'planned communities' do not appeal.

[@UsenameTakenWasTaken]

Want to know one of my biggest personal gripes with American obsession with real estate and it's fantasy of infinite growth of wealth? Mandatory curb appeal enforced by the state. It's insane, and it is causing huge issues, social, economic, and environmental. Just look at Phoenix draining multiple massive watersheds to feed the hubris of wealthy land owners...

[@UsenameTakenWasTaken]

That, and my city mowed my lawn because the grass was too high, then charged me 200$ for it. And by grass, I mean nicely my maintained vegetable garden that was perfectly legal and looked great amongst the well groomed mandatory grass I was cutting myself. Just one of many examples of standing out and getting hammered down I've got on this issue...

[@RosesAndIvy]

@@UsenameTakenWasTaken Damn they mowed down your vegetable garden?? That’s just cruel!

[@LarrySteiner]

Interesting ideas and thought provoking analysis here. One commonplace idea I would disagree with is the discusssions of lawns. Yes, they can be over used and even fetishized. But academic critisism of them often tend to miss the main benefits and the historical reason for development of lawns. In the mid-western USA where they are most common, they weren't necessarily installed from a top down, theoretical recommendation of experts. They developed as was to make homes safe from the vermin that hide in tall weeds near buildings and would threaten occupant's health and safety. In areas with abundant rainfall, they provide an easy way to control erosion and support foot traffic and outdoor exercise with out creating blowing dust or unsafe footing. At my home where I have a mix of lawn, large mature trees and some hard scape as well as a shade garden, the lawn supports a micro environment that is 2-5 degrees cooler than the surrounding paved and non-lawn areas. Lawns are great for reducing the heat island effect of urban areas and probably support a reduction of come carbon dioxide. They also help create a permeable surface and gas exchange layer to support large trees. They don't make sense where large amounts of irrigation are required, but in my town almost none of them are irrigated. They slow down runoff during heavy rains. So, I tend to see some academic analysis to be related to programmatic concerns, but lacking a gardeners understanding and experience of lawns.

[@stewarthicks]

Interesting!

[@xenozeta6229]

Grass is a carbon emitter. The emissions from it's production & maintenance far exceed any CO2 it removes from the air. Grass absorbs "almost 1 gram [of CO2] per square meter per day! An active person exhales about 1 kg of CO2 per day. So, you would need 1000 square meters (1/4 acre) of grass to absorb one person's CO2"

[@d3nza482]

@@xenozeta6229 That's poorly-informed nonsense. Grass is NOT a "carbon emitter". It is a carbon trap. You are conflating grass with lawn maintenance, using fossil fuels to run tools for said maintenance of a lawn. "Production" of grass is nothing but grass growing from a seed or pre-established root - grass uses no fossil fuels in the process. Planting and maintaining grass (as in keeping it growing on a patch of land instead of just leaving that patch of land exposed) is a carbon TRAP - as long as the life cycle of the grass is maintained, the carbon stays trapped in the grass. It's not much, but it's there - and not in the atmosphere. Further, talking about exhaled CO2 as something to "absorb" is more poorly-informed nonsense. Air we breathe is on a cycle - as in CO2 gets RECYCLED back into carbon in plants and breathable oxygen all the time. Some of it is trapped inside our bodies, as long as we live. It is not an issue. CO2 released by burning fossil fuels is the problem. It's carbon that was trapped by plants millions of years ago and buried deep under ground, being released back into our much cooler atmosphere without anything to trap it back. The amount of carbon FROM FOSSIL FUELS released by one's activity is what gets labeled as one's "carbon footprint" - which again has nothing to do with breathing. Also, it is bullshit. Saddling people with a concept of a "carbon footprint" is nothing else but billionaires, corporations and governments shifting the burden of "personal responsibility" for releasing carbon from fossil fuels into the atmosphere - onto individuals. While happily keeping the profits gained from exploitation of said fossil fuels for themselves.

[@haveyouflossedtoday]

Yes!!!!! 👆

[@briggs5534]

these points are interest and may i tenuously add that a decent size lawn is also a place to accomodate a home sewage system in rural areas and locations without municipal systems like older small towns or unincorporated areas...

[@0cer0]

Never heard about “curb appeal”. I’m from Germany - enough said. (You can’t even find a proper translation for the term on Linguee. We just seem not to get the concept.) Thanks for your entertaining and instructive videos!

[@stewarthicks]

Interesting.

[@0cer0]

In the Netherlands, you can find a slightly different form of ”curb appeal“. Living rooms tend to have their windows to the street side, and these are large and without curtains. This way, the living room becomes kind of a showroom, and the window takes the role of a display window. What are the residents exhibiting? Their wealth, their decency, their good taste, and their openness. Fun fact: In case you don’t renovate your living room behind these windows on a regular basis, your neighbors will start to suspect you having economic problems…

[@2adamast]

Neuschwansteinartig

[@questioner1596]

@@0cer0, it's funny you mention the perception of economic problems, because many people I've met finance their new furniture and cars and are the ones with economic problems, while those who are content with the same couch for 10 years have less debt and more savings.

[@0cer0]

@@questioner1596 Fact.

[@mollytherealdeal]

With all due respect, I want to live in a place like Seaside. My suburb is ugly, and the aesthetics of New Urbanism is a breath of fresh air in my opinion. Also, it would be nice to live someplace not so car dependent.

[@stevecarter8810]

Lawns must be 1.5 inches etc. Now people are putting in AstroTurf in domestic lawns. Lawns are deeply depressing.

[@microcolonel]

It has some limited utility, like as a parking surface for cars; but yeah, it is not a lawn.

[@xai1971]

Claude glass = First selfies with filters LOL. Great content as usual Stewart. Thanks

[@stewarthicks]

Haha. Thank you!!

[@urbancolab]

Exactly my thought. Pics or it didn't happen.

[@mdhazeldine]

Yeah it's like the pre-cursor to Instagram

[@hd-xc2lz]

But really not selfies at all. Its purpose for artists is (still used) to darken a scene so as to distinguish light zones/patches that to the naked eye appeared to be about same in value. And so it is quite difficult see oneself, like looking into a mirror in a dark room, and near impossible to see close and distant objects together.

[@lisamedla]

@@hd-xc2lz now that you mention it I think it is used in film training to train the eye on weight of light and darkness. Some directors use it too

[@BigBirdy100]

Note: because Seaside was so popular and successful, other communities like it were built. There are about 5 located very close to Seaside. They each have different architecture. If you're into architecture, you'll enjoy touring these communities. You can ride through most. I'm sure there are some AirB&Bs in some of them.

[@bmla310]

As a Practicing Landscape Architect I found this lecture to be very interesting as well as helpful for a future office wide discussion regarding design purpose. I have shared your video with my staff, Monday's staff zoom call should be interesting. Thanks

[@jaguila35]

I’m also a practicing LA. I thought the information presented was good. He mentioned landscape artists, landscape painters, and he even mentioned Fredrick Law Olmsted! Where I’m disappointed is there is no mention of landscape architects! Olmsted is know as the father of landscape architecture! How can someone teach architecture and not mention the other profession that architects work with in the real world LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS.

[@charleskra]

When I was young there was a house in our neighborhood owned by the head greenskeeper at the local golf course. He planted and maintained the very fine grass they use for putting greens in his lawn and maintained it perfectly. Even as a kid walking by to go to school, I used to think how bizarre and unnatural it looked. I guess it was "extreme" curb appeal and it kind of backfired. Instead of looking better than the rest, it looked odd and unnatural. Too much of a good thing I suppose.

[@intercat4907]

My neighbor of note removes the sod in his entire geometrically perfect yard and replaces it every year, keeping it manicured and cossetted between annihilations. He also blow-dries his car when he washes it. We nod to each other.

[@charleskra]

@@intercat4907 Wow! Just curious: what does he do for a living? Is he an engineer by any chance?

[@intercat4907]

@@charleskra I ... don't know ... in a neighborhood where we pass out a list of everyone else's phone numbers, texts, addresses and names. The car's a yellow Mustang. That's what I got.

[@IOUaUsername]

As an engineer with little care for aethetics, I find your videos really interesting. Not because I care about the aesthetics, but because these explainations of how other people think is really eye opening.

[@TiaKatt]

Aw, but the little brick bungalow at 8:37 was adorable before, awning and all. The "update" just makes it look so...unwelcoming and sterile. It's not ugly really, and yet I very much dislike it, *especially* knowing what it was before. I feel similar about the section of the simple photos. The robin's egg blue house at 6:56, I wouldn't do anything to that one but fix up that blue paint and add a single step at the door. I think it's fine just the way it is. Though to be fair this looks to be the back of the house, still I bet I'd think the original and likely simple front cute, too.

[@tinad8561]

Agreed. There’s a kind of 30s-to-50s architecture style called “minimal traditional” that seems to bring out the mad accessorizer in people, they want to festoon it with details it isn’t meant to have. Can’t leave plain well enough alone, I guess.

[@Rockmaster867]

While building my house my only goal is that you can see as little of the house as possible from the curb. High fence and big bushes/trees

[@marktaro]

The ultimate curb appeal sin, one I've seen numerous times here in the States, is tacking on the stone look veneer to the front of the siding of a house, only to cut it off around the sides. I've even seen this done to houses on corner lots.

[@38snipshow]

Such a false economy. Just screams 'cheap'. Far better off doing some type of pre-finished siding well versus making the front 2d wall plane look expensive.

[@aes53]

Great video Stewart. Seaside is an interesting case. I live in North Florida, have for over 25 years, and when I first got here I went to Seaside quite a few times (it was a favorite of my parents when they came to visit). I’ve continued to visit over the years, though, and it’s gotten short of disheveled with a lot of ad-hoc changes to the houses, mostly aimed at granting a better ocean view. It’s, in my opinion, a pale representation of what it had been when first designed and built. Interestingly, an old classmate of mine from the brief time I was at RISD designed one of the houses there. I have never asked her about it though, maybe I should.

[@benvin10365]

Watching this reminds me how much I loved growing up in the woods and not having a lawn. My favorite is a naturally preserved landscape as possible with a modern minimalist or organic home integrated into nature. I am not a fan of manicured lawns.

[@Ellofez]

Let us not forget the father of this to me, an English garden by the name of Capability Brown. He always searched for the relationship between the home and its grounds for those who live in them.

[@AnnekeOosterink]

This explains so much about a certain type of houses in the US. The ones that have a ridiculous amount of frills and details and hundreds of dormers on the front facade, and have a shiplap back that is just a straight box as the back. It's a house for other people, not for the ones living in it. A show house, rather than a home.

[@johnjacob688]

That's always how I've seen it.

[@majacovic5141]

Like 90% of interior design - beautiful to look at, a pain to clean, little storage, no flexibility. Ahouse for other people.

[@AnnekeOosterink]

@@majacovic5141 I am reminded of a interior designer that said you shouldn't put personal pictures in your living room because other people might see it. I'm like, who lives here? Me or other people? I'm not decorating my house purely for other people (I do have some consideration for visitors in the form of extra chairs and a big dining room table etc) I do that for me, so my home is comfortable for me to live in. This entire way of life, where you only live to keep up an image for other people seems incredibly hollow to me.

[@BlackCoffeeee]

I wandered onto your channel by accident, not having much interest in the subject of architecture. But this was a very interesting and well presented video. I really enjoyed it. I love the bits of unusual info such as the Claude mirror. I had never heard of that before. Great job. Thanks.

[@SaiSantoshMARU]

Great Content Stewart! Curb Appeal aka Elevation Design in my country. And about the paintings, I guess it's the stillness of the subject, often Nature, that engages the audience. Because in reality it's hard to find a still scenery, water ripple.. Wind.. Light.. Constantly impact the scene.

[@kyleokane887]

Mate your videos are really inspiring to a doubtful 3rd year architecture student, keep it up!

[@glycerinfarmer]

I wish I had your videos back in architecture school

[@pedropenaforte1893]

This was one hell of a great video. Very informative about something, a concept, that almost doesn't exist in my country.

[@themythicalbacongamer2340]

I don't think I've ever heard my hometown of Urbana mentioned in a KZbin video that just popped up in my recommendations. Cool video!

[@lungshenli]

watching this after multiple videos on other channels about how dead and soul-less the American Suburbs are, this kinda hits different ngl.

[@sofiac.1030]

Do you mind sharing the videos or the channel? As an immigrant in the us I have always wondered why American suburbs are so soul-less and in some they don’t even know who their next door neighbors are

[@thekingoffailure9967]

@@sofiac.1030 NotJustBikes is a great source for contrasting North American urban planning with european and nordic styles

[@lagritsalammas]

@@thekingoffailure9967 I can echo that. I think Not Just Bikes is one of the best channels about urban design here on KZbin. City Beautiful is another one I can recommend.

[@anonygent]

@@lagritsalammas Both of them come off as elitist bastards in my opinion. Most people don't actually want to live in apartments, despite their opinions.

[@lagritsalammas]

@@anonygent I would argue. Sure the "American dream" that has penetrated many people's perception of what is desirable all around the globalised world does obviously boast a big house with a happy family, but many people choose apartment living for the benefits a suburban house could never offer. And I'm not only talking about the amenities of big city life, it's also aspects like having someone else take care of the building's roof, facade, renovations and so on. For me personally, but also for all members of my family and many close friends, living in a nice city apartment is what we actually want for the relative freedom, convenience and safety it offers as opposed to a private house.

[@briggs5534]

the iconic Chicago brick bungalow is an interesting example of late blooming "curb appeal", doncha think? when built for working class families their neighborhoods were probably eschewed by the better off, but in recent years, have become quite desired even with their somewhat limited space. realtors fall all over themselves to be able to describe a property as a genuine Chicago Bungalow. not bad for a 100 year old house! their neighborhoods are also generally quite pleasant given the massively leafy streets they appear on.

[@stewarthicks]

That's a great example. Also goes to show how opinions change over time...

[@toomanymarys7355]

Beauty has been important in house design the moment people could afford to consider it. I can think of Tudor commentaries on the aesthetic effects of certain houses, and even Roman discourses on it. Not all are "picturesque" (most aren't), but this is a very old idea.

[@MBlakeH]

Really great content! It makes me wonder how often I am designing an image while trying to realize a space. Probably the former more than I'd like to concede. Keep up the good work!

[@angamiaccent]

I'm an interior design student and I love your videos Its so informative and thought provoking Subbed!

[@michaelhaggard82]

Fantastic presentation, very interesting and easy to watch.

[@xxGytis15xx]

very interesting, really highlights the commodification of the house

[@microcolonel]

Housing has been a commodity as long as buildings have existed.

[@TheCaffeinatedOrganist]

Another good video. Your content is very well written. Like an article for a journal. Good job.

[@daberooski1570]

I love how you don't say like and subscribe before the video starts. Keep up the awesome videos.

[@austint19]

Fantastic breakdown. I love your videos, man!

[@m.j.golden4522]

Extremely well done. Very informative. Learned a lot. Thank you.

[@raywatters9113]

I always find your videos entertaining. Thank you for your work.

[@sew_gal7340]

Oh my goodness what a fantastic video with only 86 k views?! So much history, art, math and philosophy packed in a small amount of time and narrated with grace and intelligence! Bravo!

[@picksey4736]

oh hey! that's cal anderson park in seattle at 9:58! 🥰 specifically the playfield half of it.

[@brendandegal9980]

I'm a ux designer with a background in illustration and graphic design. I stumbled upon your KZbin channel last week and I've watched about 12 videos. I love your content keep it up. (Maybe I will retire one day and go back to school to be an architect, thanks to you.)

[@EudaemoniusMarkII]

I found this SUPER interesting, and how me shaping our lot and Curb Appeal a little at a time, makes me less anxious, house proud, and getting lots of attention from neighbors. Today, I no less that 8 people stop and talk, wondering what was happening and complimenting. I have been working to have a, as I am calling it Manicured Natural Forest" look. I am letting about 80% be wild, trimming the paths and lines. I am manicuring the fruit trees and planted flowers for better health and productivity, but striving for a natural look that allows your eye to travel from the street to the tops of the trees in an easy manor. I have been forming this since we have been here, and finally feel like it is getting easier. Today was about pulling out the crap that I hate, like the blackberries and ivy which invade like hell, topping the new baby redwoods and weeding just the edges to keep is sharp looking for guests. Check out this video. I stumbled on it today, and found the idea of curb appeal so interesting. I look at lots of houses in our area and really look to see which ones draw you in, and which make you wanna hit the gas pedal. Thanks for making a great thought provoking video! Loved it!

[@susannekalejaiye4351]

Quite interesting. I now live in Finland, which has it's own laws about how neighbourhoods should look. I've been intrigued by the concept of curb appeal but now, thank you, have a much better understanding of the breadth of it.

[@ladydara7446]

This video made me think about how homes are flipped, with blemishes being covered up, everything being painted gray. Right or wrong, when I bought a home the fact it wasn't a flip was a selling point, and I felt good that all it's minor blemishes were up front and visible. It flabbergasts me how people are so willing to pay through the nose for "curb appeal", though much blame must be assigned to the way banks finance this expense. I can pay tens of thousands in profit to a flipper, but I can't be given a fraction of that to enhance my home myself without paying significantly more through alternative financing. The contrast in value is interesting, when I sell I have no doubt I'll spend thousands to increase its curb appeal, but none of those things I deal of value to me worth doing now.

[@treelife365]

I totally agree! A flipped house is so boring and uninteresting... they always give them the same old lame type of curb appeal 🤣

[@sew_gal7340]

Curb appeal was the #1 priority when i bought my house (and still is though other things are important too). There is an element of beauty when you drive up to a house that looks like a product of a painting or a dream...it captures your imagination and lingers in your mind, it sets the tone for the experience a guest would have once they step into your home. If you dont care for art or if you are not interested in being a great host it doesnt really matter, if you are a person who spends an entire week planning your party down to the details on the napkin, it does matter.

[@Simphome]

wow, before you explained all of those details, I didn't notice it.

[@maxphannn]

great mention of the 'picturesque', such high quality content!

[@stewarthicks]

So glad you enjoyed it!

[@andyiswonderful]

Interesting video. I've always wondered about certain types of ornamentation in front yard spaces. One example is a sitting bench with flowers and other add-ons. No one EVER sits on them. In fact, the point is not for anyone to sit on them, but to provide a pleasant visual focal point. Who wants to sit out in their front yard, anyway? The previous owner of my house erected an authentic Native American totem pole in the front yard. He used actual art, not faked art, as an element of curb appeal. The neighborhood loves it. Little kids come to our house to dance around the totem pole.

[@calllen]

that is cute

[@seihyunpyo5383]

Your question got me thinking... The quintessentially American porch has in our consumeristic time and age been stripped of its function and been reduced to just the idea of itself. Porches especially in the American South have a long history - as a place of gathering with family, welcoming your guests as they arrive and looking out into the landscape. They provide shading and help naturally ventilate homes. It´s sad and funny, because if we actually designed better neighborhoods and better homes, such bastardization of an actually useful architectural feature would not be happening. Who wants to sit out in their front yard when it´s not connected to any other part of your house, when all you see are your unnecessarily large lawns, driveways, garages and their also equally useless "porches" of your neighbors.

[@babymoon5282]

I sit in my garden almost everyday in the growing season. I also read out there and eat lunch outside. You're trippin' . You must not be a gardener. Skewed points of view here on this channel.

[@sarahhavillamelooliveira5825]

Every old person wherw I live gather in their front porches by evening

[@tinad8561]

@@seihyunpyo5383 Automobiles, probably. The attached carport or garage (arising at roughly the same time as the simplified mass-produced “tract” house) would have superseded the front porch as the desirable unheated square footage. Yeah, you can design a house with both porch and garage, but that complicates framing and roof lines at a time when economy drove architecture.

[@RizTheUrbanExplorer]

Just saw your video and I am subscribed it... good content on architecture. Maybe you can talk about urban design and urbanism ? The death of american cities due to the automobile industry?

[@tonyallen1019]

Extremely interesting! Being a baby boomer during the developments of suburban living, I found your information matched up in context & was enjoyable in your examples.

[@ATLIEN333]

I'm glad you used the house at 8:32 to 8:42 I've seen that renovation and it's a beautiful refresh with lots of character and of course curb appeal.🙂😅

[@airingcupboard]

Excellent video. When thinking about what the lawn hides, I was thinking more about David Lynch's Blue Velvet.

[@stewarthicks]

Thank you! Didn't I include a scene from that movie in the video? If not, I meant to. Great reference.

[@verjiggawich]

"Thanks for sticking it out this long"-> I could listen for a lot longer! Really interesting. Greetings from Rotterdam.

[@spddiesel]

I've worked construction for nearly 30 years, and when people start talking curb appeal I immediately wonder what they're trying to hide. I liken it to cake; a lot of people care more about what the icing looks like than how it tastes.

[@rendomstranger8698]

Let me return the question. What are zoning planners trying to hide by barring the construction of anything other than single family homes inside a suburb? Your comment makes it clear that you're only experienced with construction in the US. Go take a look outside the US and you'll quickly figure out why curb appeal is so important. It is a tiny marketable part of the solution to a giant childhood and mental health destroying problem in the US. Your cake tastes like shit. But instead of listening to the people who are trying to spare your feelings by only talking about the icing, you pretend that there is nothing wrong.

[@BigBirdy100]

Ever tried to sell an ugly house?

[@grod805]

Ever heard of icing on the cake? It's an extra thing that makes a cake better. Doesn't mean the cake doesn't taste good

[@spddiesel]

@@grod805 yes I have, and I've found that the more time someone spends on making the icing look like an Instagram photo, more often than not the cake tastes like shit in comparison. I'm not saying you can't have something that's both beautiful and well built, what I'm saying is concentrating on looks over structure ALWAYS leads to a shitty build.

[@joiathegreat]

I don't necessarily see adding "curb appeal" as trying to hide something, but rather as a quick, lazy way to increase buying price. The elements that make for a better curb appeal from a moving car are not the same elements that would be enjoyed by residents living there or traveling by foot. So it speaks to economy often at the expense of a sense of hominess. In other words, curb appeal is a conversation between sellers and buyers more than it is between architects and residents.

[@franklesser5655]

A beautiful front door with staged porch, whether it is ever used or not, is a must.

[@horaciomillan4181]

Fascinating, very clear and interesting. Lost of things ti discuss with my art history class companions.

[@pyhead9916]

In New Mexico, most houses are surrounded by rocks and no grass at all. Some have Curb Appeal, others don't. So, curb appeal is not about grass!

[@hemalpatel5828]

As a developer, I was just talking to my GC about why curb appeal is so important to a home owner. My first thought was that it appeals to the same part of us that might desire a luxury car, which you mentioned about a person's judgement of your home (and in turn you) while driving 35 mph past your home. You mentioned it affects price by 7%, which sounds right. However, if the curb appeal is BAD, then someone might not even consider the home to begin with, despite how good the form or function is on the inside. SUCH great content, I can't believe the algorithm never fed your content sooner!

[@toomanymarys7355]

No. People want to feel happy when they drive up to their homes. They want to feel at home and welcome.

[@wellingtonchew3173]

whoah, I did not know that Stephen Shore worked for Scott Brown and Venturi! It totally makes sense given his obsession with the everyday. Thanks for the video!

[@HattieMcDanielonaMoon]

I learn so much from your channel Thank you

[@christistratton]

Stewart, I am enjoying watching your videos. What I am wondering is what the current styles of house design imply to home buyers? To me they have little curb appeal. I am speaking of the houses seemingly designed with a mishmash of architectural elements like the houses were built without a planned design, like a handful of architectural wooden blocks thrown down without thought. There also seems to be a great number of triangles in the roofline, and the garages thrust forward, more important than the house in the background. Also none of them appear to use symmetry as a design element. Why are these the current trend?

[@stewarthicks]

You might enjoy the blog and writings of McMansion Hell. They really break down these kinds of buildings in a super interesting way.

[@christistratton]

@@stewarthicks Thank you so much!! headed there--:)

[@robertrusso877]

These are usually builder spec houses. Only built with profit in mind.

[@anonygent]

I had a real estate agent explain it much better than the architects could... modern home purchasers don't look at a house with an eye on living in it permanently, but of selling it again in five years. Hence, no house that varies from the standard style popular today will sell because it will be a hard sell in five years. So every home builder copies all the other home builders to ensure that the homes will sell readily. And what is popular today are large garages, multiple roof lines (asinine design, ask anyone in the biz), non-symmetrical layouts, and at least the appearance, if not the actual use, of more than one kind of building material. Open plan interiors are all the rage, too, but I suspect no one actually likes them, they just don't want to look like rubes for wanting walls.

[@jameswagandt8718]

I think they’re trying to break up the scale. Because of lot size and setbacks and people wanting larger homes you’re stuck building a large 2 story box. If you just slapped siding on it you’d see large planes of vinyl siding that don’t look human scale. They try and break up large gable ends with different planes and weird roof lines. Older homes tend to telescope or have wings or two stories here one there. Modern design is trying to mimick the scale accomplished by this while maximizing building envelopes

[@bibliophilelady6106]

I bought a 1960s brick ranch from it's original owners who had last updated it in the late 80s early 90s "country" fad period. (I am four miles from Detroit, so huh?) They had spaced board and batten shutters, a homemade mailbox with a horse and carriage painted on it, wild metal frills on the storm door and post light and porch light, and a pot of fake flowers on the porch. Getting rid of those elements, putting some fresh paint on the door and some real flowers honestly made the home feel like our own. It looks cuter and more up to date. I think that is what curb appeal means to most people. Architects are probably just mad that it gets in the way of putting that dumb rainscreen cladding on everything. (What do you mean you want it cute? This is cheap!)

[@jbedoyah96]

These are amazing ideas! A lot to think about...

[@sciencerscientifico310]

What curb appeal is, outside of general cleanliness, is relative. For some people, curb appeal means a yard with a lot of high-maintenance plants such as flowers, to alot of people, it's their favorite architectural style. Developers and municipal building and zoning boards tend to view uniformity as curb appeal.

[@vladeckk21]

Interesting video. As someone who moved from the midwest to the southwest long ago, I'm surprised a bit by how little any of this (housing style/lawns/sidewalks) applies to the environment I now live in....

[@richardteychenne3950]

Thought provoking, thank you!

[@Bustermachine]

The Claud Mirror reminds me of all the jokes today about people looking at something beautiful on their phone while standing right in front of the real thing.

[@svsarma1]

Great video, most Architects love Seaside as I too do. It has an almost Disney land kind of appeal. Your video is very thought provoking, are we such mindless drones of curb appeal that we are willing to forgo individualism and diversity. I think economics has something to do with to a large extent.

[@destmichael]

Very informative. I enjoyed it. Thanks and Hello from Mattoon.

[@cragnog]

What was that clip which was directed by Bryan Forbes from? Very interested to know.

[@KirkBGirouard]

I was not expecting this curb appeal video to note the Romantic Era fad of carrying Claude glasses around picturesque vistas to help inspire brushstrokes or lines of poetry. As literature teacher, I have to say, worlds are colliding.

[@microcolonel]

The great thing about conformity like Seaside, is that you can choose for yourself whether to participate. It costs money to live there, so you're there because you wanted it. It's conformity like marital vows, or a neatly composed contract; the freedom to conform.

[@BigBirdy100]

Doesn't hurt property values either. ✔

[@MiguelHernandez-tz4ml]

These communities and their HOAs are the conservative utopia, where life never changes and where cookie-cutter conformity is akin to a slice of Americana that everyone aspires to live in. It is the antithesis of progress or liberalism in that change is forcibly drawn out over the course of generations. Yes, it is a lifestyle choice to live in such a community that may even mirror political views.

[@microcolonel]

​@@MiguelHernandez-tz4ml Dunno about “conservative utopia”, it seems like the values of a place like this are at least partly orthogonal to that. Progressivism isn't about openness, it's about "progress", which is why progressives invented negative eugenics and suburbia.

[@bbgun061]

@@MiguelHernandez-tz4ml Good things are worth preserving. Change for its own sake is not automatically good.

[@atimko123]

Very well done & informative vid. // I have a suggestion for a future vid. How tax laws & tax avoidance/reduction have caused past design elements to be invented. ie: mansard roofs in France, small panes of glass in English windows. mezzanine/ loft levels, etc. Hope you make it...THANKS & keep up the fine work

[@Sara87521]

Are Stephen Shore’s photos from the Signs of Life show available to view online?

[@pradap2298]

straight 8 hrs precious! wow

[@Casokat]

why is this video about external architecture that I will never purse ever so appealing?

[@ChaseWulff]

The Claude Glass feels a lot like how we use the cameras on our cell phones nowadays.

[@bjrockensock]

The irony of the host's name is particularly illustrative in this video

[@tsbrownie]

Our house had no curb; so much for curb appeal.

[@kentonyc]

6:30 Apparently, people have always wanted Instagram filters!

[@therupoe]

I use a Claude glass when trying to get the values right when doing plein air

[@mdhazeldine]

Interesting topic. Another landscape designer worth mentioning is Capability Brown from England. He artificially made lots of big gardens to look natural and picturesque. While I like this video, I wonder what your own views are on the topic. Are you hinting that curb appeal is a bad/vain thing to attempt to create and we should somehow move beyond that and not care?

[@jannetteberends8730]

Never heard of curb appeal. But I like the term. A new way to look to around in my neighborhood.

[@mudmarble2746]

This presentation was absolutely incredible and I loved every minute of it. Definitely helped us as we continue flipping and renovating our rental properties. Thanks, Stewart!

[@harrisonharuna2224]

very insightful video.

[@gogobrasil7185]

What's the problem with manufactered designs made to look natural? The ones mentioned in the video look great, frankly. Yes it isn't the natural layout, but why should it be? Should we leave urban parks, for example, at their hard to navigate, dangerous form? A form that might not be safe or confortable or pleasing to the visitors, for the sake of authenticity? Why is authenticity more important than these other aspects? About curb appeal, again, why can't we have human-designed spaces and the human ideal? Why can't we focus on pleasantness and have an idealized image? Should everything, by rule, be rough and realistic? I'm on the side of not curbing other forms of expression. Let all options exist. Realistic, idealized, manufactered, naturalistic, they all have their value. They can all be reflections of people, with their problems, their positives. The best option is the one that best reflects the subject: the client, the user, the artist, whoever.

[@octooopus]

the selfie is the modern day painting lens. people turn their backs to the vista to look in a reflection

[@StereoSpace]

10:02 I always suspect that people who take simple things like a lawn and 'deconstruct' it, only to find a dark interior and motive, and really projecting their own internal turmoil and darkness onto the world around them.

[@dreamoftheendless7159]

Curb appeal appeals to me if its interesting yet elegant and fashionable But not those "every house is the same neighborhoods" cause all I see is a utopia esque sorta control and it makes me feel creeped out. People should yes have a box and guidelines but they should have wiggle room to add their own personal touch

[@bjbrown]

Fun to see Kirsten and Joerg!

[@jwestney2859]

Thanks for an interesting vid.

[@Aries-ne9uq]

NO WAY I applied to UIC?? I’ve watch your videos for like a year now how did I not know you taught at my top school 😭

[@DepressionKnowsBest]

Apprentice Carpenter here... You earned my sub ❤️

[@stewarthicks]

Awesome, thank you!

[@zeldaharris6876]

Thanks you. Very interesting but over analysing/intellectualising it a bit. At a more simplistic level, a) people like to live in houses that appeal to them, b) people want to maximise the value of their investment c) people's tastes and sense of aesthetics' varies greatly based on many factors including socioeconomic status and region and d) any combination of a, b and c.

[@AshtonZee]

Your mustache is amazing!

[@TheWesman45]

Getting ready to buy my second home and I've always noticed that good curb appeal often isn't indicative of a solid interior. If anything , a good exterior makes me nervous about the inside.

[@aidenb1304]

I thought it was interesting that you used Seaside as an example, since the town has no private lawns (as far as I'm aware), instead using native plants for its front yards. I've also been told that houses there are required to be different from one another, encouraging variety instead of uniformity. That said, from what I've seen the colours used there are particularly samey, almost exclusively whites and pastels. Also, I wasn't aware of the codes buildings had to follow, so maybe there is a level of conformity hidden under the variety.

[@ImminghamIronhead]

6.33 This seems familiar; it reminds me of concert goers viewing the entire show through a smartphone camera.

[@Istandby666]

Curb appeal is why HOA (Home Owners Association) was made.

[@vixxa]

god i love this channel

[@judelarkin2883]

I live in an early 90s suburb without a home owner’s association. While I wish the houses had been built with a little more character, I find a neighborhood where people can do what they want to be comfortable. You can see each resident’s personality in their home. Some are perfectly maintained with perfectly manicured lawns. Some could use a coat of paint. It’s a neighborhood of people rather than conformity.

[@mentality-monster]

Very interesting video.