i'm sure you will get lots of wonderful ideas. it's great you have woods around you, but that also means ticks and mosquitos probably :) darling little people in your photo :)
which are the only suggestions i have: i agree that the balcony needs major help if you are going to have the little ones on it or even near it or even thinking about being near it :) and also, i just read in Consumer Reports about sunscreens (and perhaps bug repellents too but i'm not sure) that there are dangerous elements in them that damage the reprodutive system.

Hi mandy5008, Marie Here. Please do not take any colour advice over the internet seriously. No professional can properly guide you on colours, unless they are at your home, seeing what direction the house faces, especially on exteriors! You need to go more intense saturation of colour for outside colours because the sun washes colour tremendously. Pick a dark, deep rich red/brown for the top of your home colour, paint out all your trim crisp - fresh white (warm white, not blue white) then tidy up your garden, add some planters - gorgeous!

oh love the balcony in this house . So used to seeing it in the back of houses this truly with the right paint will make a fabulous difference in this house. I like Maries suggestion above. Would go beautiful with your brick and the surrounding area. Love it. If budget allows it I look into something different for you railings on the balcony . This area surrounding your house is beautiful as well. Good luck. You have a lovely home

Hi Mandy, great looking home, congrats on your purchase. I'm leaning towards the colors of nature because of the setting. Muted browns/beiges and greens come to mind. I like the idea of making the railing a real statement using wood as mentioned above. Some updated exterior/porch lights and some planter boxes either side of your front door will add impact, remove the shutters and trim the bushes.

Nice house, and yes a lot of potential. We are just building a new house in with the same mix of brick and wood panel.
I personally would stay with a cooler color or at least a warm grey with a sting of green on the wood panel.
The railing I like, as it is thin and simple. We are planning a similar one.
Your windows are to die for, hope mine will come out as good? We are having them black and the panel in copperas.

Good luck!
Anahi (Sweden)

Have you considered painting the brick as well as the siding? It would look more pulled together if the body of the house was more uniform. ()
I would definitely remove the shutters and trim the bushes under the windows. If you are re-doing the balcony, you might have it screened in and put up an outdoor ceiling fan. ()
As far as colors, a soft grayish-green for the body and crisp white for the trim, a brighter color for the front door and the storm door.

just a suggestion..i think i would decide on yard space and do some tree trimming before anything else. you will space to paint and work.

Beautiful house! Congratulations. I agree with Sharon, go with nature: muted browns/beiges and greens, the trims in white.

Hello,
Congratulations on the purchase of this beautiful house surrounded by nature like that! I have to say I really liked the feedback you received from houssaon - it made a lot of sense for a great visual effect. Yes, get rid of the shutters - they only attract bugs and their nests and spiders, of course. I would invest in a beautiful wood door with or without window in it to make a statement. I never quite understand that people have these beautiful homes and then such a piddly entrance door. Make a statement! And then make the railing the same color as the door. And yes, I agree ... a wood railing would look fabulous! If you are not a fan of blues, you can also venture into taupe or grey or grey-green, anything that marries well with the red brick. Frankly, I would stay away from anything that is too brown (taupe is a grey-brown). And yes, for the trim use an off-white to keep it soft. Please don't paint the brick - the house has a beautiful effect of being both elegant yet rustic - you want to maintain that combination. Finally, trimming of the hedges and other greenery immediately around the house and some extra planting here and there will finish it off beautifully!

Budget? I agree that the whole house should be one color with accents on the trim. But if I were you, and could afford it, I would take the balcony off the front of the house swap out the sliders for large windows and perhaps put a large gable dormer on the non- chimney side of the roof - is that the Master - the natural light in that room from inside would be pretty then and perhaps would make room for a window seat?) - perhaps a covered area over the front door as well. Balconies are just kind of awkward on the front of the house.

Mandy, Before you paint- pressure wash the siding -especially the upper area on the right side of the photo. I'm not sure whether it's just dirty or you have something growing there. You should add something to the paint to keep anything from growing back. (You're local painter or supplier can direct you to what would work best in your area. )I would also trim back everything, away from the house, before you painted so that when you're done it will look fresh and clean and you'll keep insects away from the house.
If you can replace the frilly looking metalwork with something simple it would look a lot better. If you want something that will be pretty much maintenence free- look at powder coated aluminum. If I was choosing the color? I would look at a color that seems natural in the surroundings. Sherwin Williams has an online paint visualizer that you can upload a photo of your home to play with color schemes.
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/try-on-colors/color-visualizer/

Cool house and yard. To me the house seems a bit French Colonial. In a '60s suburban kind of way. I think the black wrought iron balcony is a big part of that so I wouldn't switch to wood.
The suggestions I like are planters, colors from nature, and painting the brick to match your future siding color.
Is your driveway/patio also brick? Hard to tell from the photo. Lovely if it is, but does make it hard to tell where the house ends and the pavement begins. Planters and/or painting the house's brick will help with that problem.
I also think you could play up the "french colonial" with larger lantern lights and perhaps topiaries flanking the entrance.

I think Marie Hebson's advice is right on ! This is a lovely home with a lot of potential and you should consult an Architect and develop a plan and. She is also right about the colors in relationship to light and nature. If you take bits of advise instead of hiring a professional you could spend a lot of money and be dissatisfied in the end results.

I agree with housann on the posts and railings.

I would add that the railings should be 42" above finish floor. That should eliminate anyone from comfortably sitting on the top railing. Also, make sure openings in the railings are small enough to not allow anything larger than a 4" diameter object through. That will prevent any tiny ones from slipping through. It's a code requirement also.

I would paint the entire house a shade of green that blends in with the beautiful trees surrounding it. This house is SW messenger bag.

I actually really like the balcony as-is. I would probably replace the sliding glass doors with french doors that open in. That middle window on the second-floor looks a little odd. Is it possible to shift and or re-size? What effect would that have on the interior? In terms of color, you may consider going monotone and let the masonry and balcony do the talking for the facade. I could also see doing a cedar shingles or a standing seam roof.

I would consider where your new home is located, if you are going to keep or remove the iron columns but certainly watch for youngsters climbing through. If you are going to replace with a more colonial look, I think extending them down to first floor would look great.
A pop of color is always welcome on the front door but something neutral for the rest. Nothing too red because you have a pink hue to your brick. Less of a muted yellow, more deep wood tan. Good luck!!

Lovely home with lots of potential. Please don't paint the brick. Brick is wonderfully cheap to maintain and does a great job handling moisture. Paint it and you will lose all those qualities. I would remove the shutters and choose paint to compliment the brick. Also, the porch is lovely. How long will you have toddlers in the house? Before replacing it with wood and all that future maintenance, I would think about if you are really better off just not using it with the kids for a bit. I like the iron -- yeah, it is mid century, but so is the house and there's no new porch that will change that. I would spend the money on getting a hose up there so you can have fantastic window boxes with minimal effort. Again, lovely home. The houses from that era are very comfortable for living in. You will enjoy.

This may be a little late. If the mortar between the brick is a creamy color you may want to come up with a color to match or blend so that the house color doesn't make the brick area look old. If you have a fair amount of trees then, light color so the house stands out. Color of the door a color you really love from other items in your life. I love beachy colors so our front door is a light teal blue. Have fun - looks like a really neat project!

Hi Mandy, I love your new investment!
Although I'm a big fan of the iron & wood railings I suggest clear shatter-proof glass with white rails (so wee one's can't climb them) and paint the shingle siding New London Burgundy HC-61 Benjamin Moore. I like the contrast between the Burgundy and the pink brick. I see a thick natural cedar front door warming up the entrance, or one painted Hasbrouck Brown HC-71 Benjamin Moore, as it has some of the pink tone of the brick in it.
Trim: Ballet White OC-9 (BM).
Metal roofing is a little bit more, but with the amount of trees you have, it would be an investment in the long run.
A couple more suggestions would be Large carriage lights flanking either side of the door. Some lovely sturdy flower pots and a couple of rattan rocking chairs with a table between them in front of the bottom window with the shutters, which I would take off the house maybe some flower pots on either side of the rocking chairs gives it an inviting look. A quick once over the lawn with a weed wacker & lawn mower and ta da!
Have fun!

congratulations! Let the fun begin.
No, depends how much the budget is and what yo are thinking. You could leave the brick to save money and still make it work.However, my preference would be to paint brick a few shades darker than the top portion. I love keeping it earthy as has been suggested,, warm gray/browns and some green/grays would look wonderful.Look at some of BM Historical Collection. I like a number of those, paint samples and see in different light if you like the swatches..sag Harbor Gray bottom , Richmond gray top, Clarksville gray bottom, Abingdon
putty top. Just keep the top a tad lighter I suggest so it doesn't look top heavy. Are those columnns on porch wrought iron with ornate work. If so, change out to solid look. I think rail is OK. Fron door and sidelights need a pop such as Country Red BM.. it is orange based red, very brown..
Of roof needs changing, a dimensional roof with gray/wood times will do wonders
Take your time and enjoy! Best of luck!

I would do white on top, add black shutters (black aluminum or something other than wood for low maintenance) to all windows and a black door. White black and brick are traditional, and would compliment the greenery and snow if you have snow? To me, the brick should stand out, not be hidden or competed with, and you could have a black iron porch on top to pull it all together with some great rocking chairs and fun designer pillows on the chairs. Then I would define the driveway with plants/flowers etc. after cutting down some of the overgrowth around the house. It's a great place loaded with potential... Fun fun!

Several good ideas can be taken from the advice above and combined into a great master plan. Paint the house all one color so it doesn't look like one house sitting on top of another. Trim all in a shade of white including the iron rail. Replace the slider doors with French doors that compliment the look of the windows. Remove shutters and either add wood trim around the upstairs windows or replace them to compliment the more substantial looking ones on the lower level. Lastly draw attention to entrance door...there is nothing leading up to it...landscape or architecture to define it. As far as colors I would keep the house somewhat neutral with a accent for the front door. The rest of your color can come from beautiful landscapes that tie in with your natural setting.

I would go traditional in style and color, embrace this beautiful home and it's bones.
A grand entrance and walkway up to the front door is needed. I suggest all one color
For the body I would love to see all white, black shutters, black iron trim and lighting,
Deep burgandry or red door,window boxes all along the railing to add drama. Landscaping here will make a huge difference choose flowering plants like hydrangea, roses. Love the house,congratulations. Where is it located?

ah yes I love the idea of painting the entire house one color . Looks to be beautiful surroundings. Some will be upset painting the brick but I think it would look great and black on the iron . In my eyes I see a soft vanilla color for the body of the house creamy vanilla but then I love the color of my house and can see it on yours. Would give your place a cottage look in a beautiful woodsie setting Love it

here is the color of our house think it would look great on yours. Our shingles are driftwood