Before
After
This two-storey home in Orlando, Florida was built in the 1990s with a full yellow buff brick exterior, arched Palladian-style windows, brick entry stairs with matching brick retaining walls, and traditional black lamp post fixtures. The architecture had good proportions — a prominent central gable, symmetrical wings, arched window details, and a generous entry approach — but the yellow brick, white-framed windows, and overgrown foundation planting made the home read as dated and visually heavy from the street. The homeowners wanted a full exterior renovation that would modernize the facade without altering the home’s structure or roofline.
Marilou Stones approached this as a surface-and-landscape transformation that would change the home’s character completely while preserving every structural and architectural element. The entire brick facade was painted in a clean, bright white — a single decision that immediately shifted the home from a heavy, warm-toned 1990s look to a fresh, modern European aesthetic. The white paint unifies the brick texture across both storeys and the wing extensions, letting the arched windows and gable lines read as architectural details rather than period features.
Every window was upgraded from white-framed to black aluminum — a change that sharpens the facade and adds contrast against the white walls. The original arched window shapes were retained, but the black frames give them a contemporary, almost steel-window look that suits the new direction. The front door was replaced with a black entry door that matches the window tone.
The brick entry staircase and retaining walls received the most dramatic structural update. The old brick steps were retiled with dark grey porcelain or stone treads, creating a clean, modern step profile. The brick retaining walls and planter walls flanking the stairs were rendered in smooth white stucco with rounded coping — a softer, more sculpted form that replaces the angular brick originals. The traditional lamp posts were replaced with updated lantern-style fixtures in a brushed metal finish, mounted on the new curved planter walls.
The landscaping was completely redesigned. The overgrown shrubs and foundation plantings were removed and replaced with a layered planting scheme featuring lavender and purple flowering groundcover, low ornamental grasses, white flowering border plants, clipped boxwood hedging, and gravel-mulched beds. The effect is a European garden approach — controlled, colorful, and structured — that complements the white facade without crowding it.
The home now reads as a modern European-style residence rather than a 1990s brick executive house. The white-painted brick and black window frames created the transformation foundation, and every other change — the rendered staircase walls, the grey step treads, the redesigned landscaping — builds on that two-tone palette. The arched windows that once looked like a period detail now feel like a deliberate European reference. From the street, the home has a completely different presence: light, clean, and confident. This is the kind of exterior design project in Orlando, Florida where the architecture was always strong — it just needed a designer willing to strip the surface back and rebuild the palette from scratch. To see how Marilou and the Stones Design team approach exterior renovations, explore the portfolio or get in touch.
Yes, and it is one of the most transformative exterior changes available. The key is proper surface preparation — the brick must be cleaned, primed, and painted with a masonry-rated exterior paint designed for Florida’s heat, humidity, and UV exposure. In this Orlando project, the white-painted brick has completely changed the home’s street presence. We recommend a breathable masonry paint that allows moisture to escape from the brick rather than trapping it behind the coating.
A project of this scope — full exterior painting, window frame replacement, staircase retiling, retaining wall rendering, fixture upgrades, and landscape redesign — typically takes twelve to sixteen weeks from design approval. The painting and window work can run in parallel, but landscaping installation usually happens last to protect the new plantings from construction traffic. We coordinate all trades and phasing throughout.
Painted bricks require periodic maintenance. In Central Florida’s climate, we recommend inspecting the surface annually and planning for a repaint or touch-up every seven to ten years depending on sun exposure and weather. Unpainted brick is lower maintenance in that respect, but the aesthetic transformation painted brick delivers is significant. Marilou discusses the maintenance commitment with every homeowner before specifying exterior paint on masonry.
The renovated home is transitional European. The original 1990s architecture — arched Palladian windows, a symmetrical two-storey facade, and a prominent gable entry — provides a classical structure. The white-painted exterior, black window frames, smooth rendered walls, and structured European-style landscaping bring it into a contemporary context. The result sits between traditional and modern, which is why we describe it as transitional European rather than any single period style.
Landscaping is often the element that makes or breaks an exterior transformation. In this project, the original overgrown shrubs and foundation plantings reinforced the dated look even after the house was painted. The new planting scheme — lavender, ornamental grasses, clipped hedging, and gravel beds — introduces color and texture in a controlled, structured way that matches the clean lines of the renovated facade. Marilou designs landscaping as part of the exterior palette, not as an afterthought.
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Marilou Stones is an award-winning, licensed interior designer and ASID member serving Winter Garden and Central Florida for over 40 years.
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