Paint makes a huge difference! Even if it's shutters and the front entry. Though I have found that repainting brick really brings it to life. Right now the colors are all the same reddish brown even the shingles. Think of adding some contrast to the overall look.

I'm not sure what your functional needs are but this is pretty much a clean slate right now - you could go many different directions. Right now you have a small pathway next to the house, what about breaking up the yard/grass by putting a meandering path through the middle and work landscaping with the path? Some areas of grasses and shrubs?

Have you considered whitewashing the brick? If you use lime whitewash (rather than paint) your bricks will still be able to breathe -- though opaque white paint with navy shutters would be gorgeous as well, and would complement the semi-Tudor style of your ranch.

Be careful and assess your brick before you paint, however:

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/what-you-need-to-know-before-painting-brick-stsetivw-vs~4040365

Attached are some inspiration pics.



https://www.houzz.com/photos/20th-c-georgian-traditional-exterior-nashville-phvw-vp~375200

I would not go painting the brick first thing. It needs regular maintenance while the natural brick can last many years without attention. Try picking two or three colors, a base color for the front entry and the eaves, and a trim color for the shutters and trim along the eaves, and a gorgeous accent color for here and there and the front door. Maybe that little peak above the entry, a line along the bottom of the windows. The golden beige and dark trim looks very 70s. This year it seems to be all about blue.. How about a Base color in a warm gray, Trim color in maybe a dark teal, then the accent color in a dark peachy red-orange?

Are the mullions in your windows a paint color or aluminum? That might direct your choice.

What I would like to see you work on is the entry. Right now it looks a little bit "in the Alps" to me. Love to see the peak built out a little with trim to give it a more important role in the front.

I would re contour the the front yard. Flat is boring Give yourself a reason to extend the front porch and make it a destination. Dry stream with intermittent wet ponds(led solar lighting) flow toward the front door. Up light the plantings between the walk and the homes wall. Some treed berms - drip irrigated. A putting green in the front yard as part of the regraded space?

Another thing I was thinking is Landscaping. You could add a little more weight with some low foundation plantings like fronted by colorful bulbs to pop up in spring. Fall is the time to plant both shrubs and bulbs. In our area, zone 5, we have bulbs in the following order, crocus and snowdrops, then hyacinth and daffodils, then tulips then iris. If you go in spring and add some foliage annuals like impatiens, they will cover up the bulb stems and leaves while the bulb plants absorb their strength. Low growing shrubs include barberry, cotoneaster, euonymus, Texas sage....Lots of choices, different shapes and colors to consider, red, green, silver.

Remove the large house numbers and vertical trim from the entry porch and use James Hardie shake shingles to resurface. I also like the use of a sage green for your doors and shutters.

Congrats on your purchase. First off, the house needs more color. Foundation plantings and colorful border flowers will help. If it were me, I'd replace the walk with a wider brick-edged walkway...maybe even stamped concrete. Then I'd replace the large house numbers with smaller numbers and paint the wood surfaces with a brighter color and matching shutters. New windows would also brighten up the place. The lawn needs some work and you might want to plant a couple of trees that would provide spring blossoms and fall colors. Smaller flowers around the trees would tie into the foundation plantings.Good luck!

There is great opportunity for landscaping and a new concrete walk. Make it wide and curve it's way to the front entry. At the entry, resurface the columns in stucco or wood to match whatever the material is in the triangular portico. That way the portico and columns are all one element. Remove the vertical trim pieces and house numbers and apply a wider trim to the bottom to give it more dimension.

I would curve a wide, meandering walk way around to the entry. It has such potential to be a "great destination" at the end of the path! We are practical and know you have to have time, money and energy all at the same time to do improvements. You could add the foundation plantings (trees, shrubs, grasses or whatever with some "weight") in the bed between the walk and the house, and fill in as you are able (uplightling would be cool). Paint is a great place to start with on the trim, shutters, and the entry, I'm sure you'll get great ideas on palettes and special touches on this site. Have fun!

I'm in the don't paint the brick camp.

How about doing the trim and base a dark two tone blue grey like this house?

When we went looking to add a large specimin tree to ur front yard we were shocked by the cost...until we started thinking of landscaping as being as im portant as furniture inside.

Get a landscape plan made by at least two landscapers. You don't have to do it all at once, but you can pick and choose what you want to do in phases, once you find someone tonworknwith who you like.

Otherwise, I would suggest using a lighter color paint trim, but hold off on painting the brick.

Oh, please don't paint the brick! Ok, maybe just paint the columns.

I'm in that no-paint the brick camp too....unless it is a small house that just has the ugliest brick color or pattern you've ever seen in your life! I think I would just cover the columns with wood and paint them the trim color, whatever you decide on. Take the verticals and numbers above entry as others have already suggested. And go crazy with the landscaping and pathways. It will be beautiful since you have so much yard and land to work with. Maybe some sort of flagstone in the entry floor outside, and continue with that on your walkway and trails away from the house!!!

These are great comments. I had no idea I would get so many great ideas. Thank you all!

I would definitely paint the brick unless you plan in changing the color of the roof. I would ditch the brown wood trim and add green shutters and a green door to match. You might consider facing the two brick columns with wood to create a true colonial feel. The path in front of the house is very linear and boring. Add some evergreen taller shrubs on either sides of the windows and smaller shrubs and grasses in front of the windows, this will soften the whole front of the house and make it less monotone and more interesting. A path should lead directly to the front door street side to make the house feel welcoming.

Here is something close to what I was suggesting about changing the contours. [houzz=]