Ooh, that's a beauty, michmemo. I'm thrown by the spanish tile roof here. Hmmm...thinking.

I would not change the exterior materials on this classic Revival home.

But I would change the color of the stucco and the trim so that there is not so much of a contrast. Something similar to this:

I like this combo from Benjamin Moore on your house: http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/monroebisque Monroe Bisque HC-26 for the stucco, 2126-20 Raccoon Fur for the window sashes and 986 Smoky Ash for all the trim and the garage door.

The front doors need to be changed. That style is more appropriate to a Queen Ann or Victorian style home. If you want wow for resell, I'd put my money in really high quality wood front doors in a style appropriate to the home. That is something that will resonate in buyer's minds.

Things that need to go are the mail box on a post, the split rail fencing and some of the highly ornate shrubs.

I agree-I would try and avoid completely saying goodbye to the tudor. Tudor style is classic-as all have mentioned above I'd consider painting something along the line of what michagammemom showed, using lighter colors. For a nice more updated look I'd consider changing your front doors and garage doors before anything. Good luck!

The first thing I see when I look at this house is the very large and not very attractive garage door. A beautiful new door perhaps craftsman style with small window panes and in color to compliment the rest of the house would be an excellent investment. I say WOW to an updated tudor. Lovely home.

i really like it!! no wonder you bought it. is that a Harry Lauder's walking stick tree in the front?? soo soo jealous. i have dropped hints for YEARS..to no avail :)
keep your trees, keep the tudor (they did well, didn't they? :))

Keep the tudor styling, so classic! I would do an updated painting of the home to move away from the white and brown combination. Think of it as a man's suit, just needs contemporary updates.

I agree completely with all the excellent advice above. I live in a historic 1920's suburb with a mix of houses that are about 1/3 brick colonial, 1/3 tudor, and 1/3 wood siding, and the tudors are gorgeous and considered highly desirable for resale. But as everyone here has been saying, they are at their most beautiful when the contrast between the stucco and the wood is minimized, making the effect much more nuanced. Lighter brown or tan stucco with darker brown wood; lighter gray or green-gray stucco with darker gray or gray-green wood; or reversing the traditional effect by painting the wood a lighter shade than the stucco, like michiganmemom's beautiful first photo. All these combinations look lovely. I think you'll be much happier with the curb appeal of your new home with a subtle paint job rather than trying to turn it into a different style of house. But definitely go with a new garage door style and color that blends in more. It's a beautiful house--have fun with it!

Note to mousemaker: Keep dropping hints, or just go out and buy one. I have a Harry Lauder's walking stick tree in my back yard and I adore it--especially when it snows!

I think the problem is that it really isn't Tudor or Tudor Revival. The only thing that reads Tudor is the exposed framing. In my mind the material (red tile) and slope (shallow) of the roofs (and there's a lot of them) and the horizontal lines of the whole read Spanish or Spanish Revival. So if you tried thinking of it as Spanish, you might consider playing down the contrast between the framing and the stucco (as everyone else has said) and painting the window frames a dark color. Consider painting the brick to match the stucco. And then replace the garage door and front door with comething style appropriate.

thanks Feeny :) i might just do that :) i am waiting until Mother's Day and then we'll see..our local museum has a lovely one that i have always coveted.

You first instinct is right and so is tzmary, this is not really a tudor house and its okay to say it must go. You could try removing the dark color boards and make it a spanish style house. That might be easy if the boards were added after the original construction. If that doesn't work, take tzmary's advice.

I am wondering if it is really the Tudor elements that you don't care for as IMHO what I am seeing is a lot of competing pattern going on. ie: Tiled roof, Tudor timber, Muntin Bars, Brick, Garagage Door and Laneway pavers (?). Personally if I were considering on changing anything it would be the existing roof to black shingles, then I would be considering a new colour scheme that would include the family of gray tones.

It does have nice curb appeal but it is def. not a true Tudor. Since the tile roof is going to be the most expensive thing too change I would keep that and take the rest of the house in that direction. Remove the exposed timbers, repair the stucco and then paint both the brick and stucco a unifying color. Add shutters in a bold color choice and maybe even some wrought iron window boxes for that Italian Villa feel. The landscaping also needs some editing.

No to taking off the clay tiles, please! There is a lot of character in them there tiles. Remember, you could spend a lot of money and make a real mess of this house possibly.

Please stick to paint changes, new front door and new garage doors. If you didn't like this house, you wouldn't have bought it. Right?

Who says that the tile roof is inappropriate for the Tudor style? And forget replacing that roof with black shingles!

Try a more closely valued color scheme - and spend money on the front doors and on the garage door. I don't care for the white windows, but if you are stuck with them, you will have to work some white into the scheme.

The corrugate frieze over the garage door is bad. Twenty percent of the facade is the garage. Don't overlook it.

i think we should all gather on the front lawn and supervise :)

I'll bring a bottle of wine, you grab some cheese and fruit.

I agree with those in favor of simply updating the color. I suggest a pale grey for the stucco and a medium grey for the timbers and Charleston green for your mullions and muntins. I would consider adding window boxes which are traditional on these homes and add color and charm. Clean up the yard and train or replace shrubbery with more formal and layered plantings and get rid of strange fence and post. The garage would be less obtrusive if it were replaced with 2 doors if it is a double or, if not, have a custom door made which appears as two and trim it as carriage doors or with timbers but with the appearance that it swings open even though it is an overhead. The placement of the timbers can draw you eye in so that it does not appear so large and wide and the focus is more on the home. The window boxes will also draw the eye up to the home itself. Window would improve the garage door also. If your desire is to improve the home and sell it in 5 years, do not spend money unnecessarily on the large things based on your taste. Tudors, even quasi, are in great demand as are tile roofs. I would stick with minor cosmetic improvements on the exterior and look to improve kitchen and baths inside, keeping with the style of the home. It has a lot going for it. Have fun while you are at it!

special note to feeny!!!!! don't faint! guess what i got for Mother's Day??
it's all because of my son's girlfriend, who is a wonderful young woman besides having organized this :) i could not believe it!!!!!!! so today we planted it and of course had to feng shui it :)

special note to mousemaker!--Happy Mother's Day! I'm so glad your son and his girlfriend came through! We had our traditional mother's day breakfast up in my son's little treehouse overlooking the garden with the Harry Lauder Walking Stick in it, and then spent part of the afternoon at a gardening center picking out a new azalea and annuals for the planters. Somehow mother's day and gardening just go together. Best, Feeny.

I was going to comment on Spanish revivial until I saw that someone beat me to it. Good idea. Shallow roof lines and tiles. Even Mediterranean would work. Why did you buy this house if you are so opposed to "Tudor"? It would have been less costly to buy a more appropiriate house to live in for JUST five years. If the house is just for investment==leave it alone. Those in your area seem to be saying Tudor is very desirable.

Thank you for this thread - I absolutely despise the front of my house, and was thinking about tearing the tudor-ish facade off as well. Now I think we'll just switch out the colours. Far cheaper fix, and I think we'll be much happier with it. Loving the home that michigammemom posted first - I think that colour scheme might just be perfect for our house.