ChatGPT Prompt for House Exterior Design: 12 Ideas to Try

A ChatGPT prompt for house exterior design works best when you upload a straight-on photo of your home and say what must stay, what bothers you, and what you can spend. The 12 prompts below cover reading your facade, paint palettes, entries and porches, lighting and plants, and full style makeovers you can preview with ChatGPT Images. Use them to plan ideas, then price them with local contractors.

Take the right photo first

Stand across the street and shoot the house straight on, in daylight, with the whole roofline in frame. A clear photo keeps the edits honest: windows stay where they are and the roof keeps its shape. In ChatGPT, upload with the + button and start every edit with what must stay the same. Structural, roofing, and electrical changes need licensed pros and may need permits, which vary by city and HOA.

Read your facade

1. What is wrong with my house front

Here is my house: [describe or upload photo]. List the three biggest things making the front look flat or dated, and name the one focal point a redesign should create. Be specific to what is in the photo.

2. Fixed versus changeable

From this photo, sort the exterior into: easy changes (paint, door, lights, plants), medium changes (trim, shutters, garage door), and big changes (siding, roof, windows). I must keep [fixed items]. Suggest where my [budget] goes furthest.

Color and materials

3. Palette from fixed colors

My roof is [color] and I am keeping the [siding or brick] in [color]. Suggest three trim and door palettes that work with both, described by color family and finish, and say which reads warm, modern, or classic.

4. Garage door that recedes

My garage door takes [share] of the front and pulls attention from the entry. Give three ways to make it recede or look intentional (color, panel style, windows), and an edit prompt to preview each on my photo.

5. Climate-smart materials

I live in [region and climate]. For [planned changes], list materials and finishes that hold up to [freeze-thaw, salt air, hot sun], and what to ask a contractor about each.

Entry, lighting, and plants

6. Make the front door the focal point

The entry is hard to find in this photo: [describe]. Suggest door color, hardware finish, lighting, house numbers, and a planter setup that make it the focal point, with an edit prompt that keeps everything else the same.

7. Porch cover options

I have an uncovered [stoop size] stoop on a [roof type] house. Sketch three cover options in words (shed roof, gable, flat canopy), what each needs structurally, and the permit questions to ask [my city].

8. Exterior lighting plan

Plan exterior lighting for this house: [describe front]. Cover entry, garage, path, and one accent. Give fixture style, finish, and placement, and note anything that needs an electrician.

9. Foundation planting refresh

My front beds have [current plants] hiding the windows. Suggest a low planting plan for [zone or region] that stays under the sill, looks good in winter, and an edit prompt to preview it on my photo.

Full makeovers and planning

10. Style makeover preview

Keep my house shape, roofline, windows, and camera angle exactly the same. Restyle the exterior as [modern farmhouse, mid-century, coastal, craftsman] using only paint, trim, door, lighting, and plants. Photorealistic, [time of day].

11. Three budgets, one house

For this house and these goals, [goals], give three concepts at [small], [medium], and [full] budgets, what each includes, and which items would use most of each budget. Do not guess prices; list what to get quotes for.

12. Contractor quote prep

Turn this chosen concept into a scope list for quotes: [concept]. Group by trade (painter, electrician, carpenter, landscaper), list what each should price, and the questions to ask about permits, prep, and timing.

Worked example

A homeowner in Columbus, Ohio shared a 1978 ranch: beige vinyl siding, brown trim, an uncovered concrete stoop, a plain brown door, brass carriage lights, overgrown boxwoods, and a white garage door taking about a third of the front. They had $15,000, had to keep the siding, roofline, and windows, and wanted the house warmer and the entry easier to see.

The flagship prompt named the problem (the garage door was the brightest thing, so it beat the entry) and built three concepts. The refresh painted the trim warm white, the garage door to match the siding, and the door deep green, with black lanterns and low grasses. It also gave an edit prompt per concept, ranked a porch cover as the biggest cost, and flagged permit and freeze-thaw footing questions. See the full house exterior design prompt.

Related home design prompts

Take the same approach inside with the ChatGPT prompt for interior design ideas, plan the yard with the ChatGPT prompts for landscape design, and price a bigger project with the kitchen remodel prompt.

Find more in the Design prompts hub, browse all prompts, or share your own prompt.