No shutters! Clear away all those hedges! They take away from your curd appeal, add flowers for color! Line your walk way with flowers! please! You have a great house but curb appeal is everything! good luck and happy landscaping!

your landscaping is beautiful just as it is! Since the window boxes are in wrought iron, paint them black, and paint the house numbers, mailbox and the front door black. Sharp!

No shutters since they were not the right size anyway. Looks nice

no shutters, window boxes paint black and the front door a high gloss black with a lovely door knocker

No shutters and paint the flower boxes dark green. I like the front door in the natural wood.

No Shutters /Paint the area where the shutters were or is that a shadow.Paint the winsow boxes Wrought Iron Black.So they are not so visible and Plant Red Flowers with Greenery.Cascading down. This would draw attention to the Flowers instead of the flower Boses

I'd paint the trim of door white, the door itself a cheery color, and not use shutters. Some awnings would be really nice looking on those windows since they're not evenly spaced to use shutters.

No shutters...

No shutters. The house is too small and the upper floor windows are too close to the gable that shutters would look odd.

no shutters, paint window boxes black (too busy) and let the plants do the talking, paint door surround white and the door will stand out better. You could also consider painting the door black if you want but as it stands it disappears against the brick right now.

No shutters! Pick a great color for the door though! Paint the door High gloss black or dark blue or dark grey.. Depends on what color YOU have most in your CLOSET!!:) It's a Southern thing. Love the house!

no shutters, too much detail on the front already

How about shutters on the center window and did you ever think of painting the brick and then adding shutters to the windows on the first floor? Then you could decide what color to repaint the boxes.

I think no shutters are best, also your window boxes are to small they need to be longer to fit the length of the windows.You might consider painting the front door a high gloss dark grey and place two black urns beside the front door it will bring contrast to your home ...

No Shutters. They wouldn't fit properly with the downspouts. Definitely paint the window boxes grey to bring down the grey from your roof. A couple of chairs in front of the pretty landscaping on the left would be homey:) Or maybe a bird bath?? Your house is so cute. I love it!

Hi jammer24, tipi here. I think your front door is gorgeous the way it is. The brick of your house is perfect for the style of house you have. The landscaping is beautiful. Please don't change them. None of these were in your dilemma. I am confused by the other posts advising you about them.

You did mention the window boxes. As others have noted, the window boxes are short for their windows. The box closest to the door on the right side of the image looks like it is right next to a place where the brick juts out, and so it cannot be any larger than it already is. You have just moved to this house, so I would paint them gray like the siding for now. That way, the boxes will recede and will not seem to scream, "I'm empty!" during late autumn, all winter, and early spring.

You have had 44 comments so far, and have not responded. What are your thoughts?

I would put black shutter on the left bottom window only. Paint the blue siding up top white. Paint door black. Put flowers in window boxes. Paint your mailbox black. Keep flag.

Have to disagree with those suggesting a random shutter here or there where it would fit. I think that looks haphazard and incoherent. I think it is much preferable to have no shutters than either a few scattered ones or shutters everywhere that are the wrong size for your windows.

I agree, feeny.

No shutters - paint the siding and the window boxes (and iron) the same color - something earthy - and leave that beautiful front door alone!

No shutters - no room. I would pick your paint color for the dormer and then paint the recessed panel on the front of the pediment the same color. This will bring your accent down to the first floor level. I think it would then look very nice to paint the window boxes in a shade of the house color or a complimentary color. For instance, I think the blue spruce next to your walk would be a pretty color with the brick (it actually doesn't look like it would be far off the color you have now, but would still pick color out of, and blend, with the shingles). I would then paint the window boxes in either a deeper shade of the green or in a deep reddish-orange (opposite on the color wheel). Just make sure you can still see the pretty iron detailing of the planters. I vote for the reddish-orange: They would stand out in the winter (do you place greens or something in then in the winter?) but would look beautiful with the house in the summer planted with salmon pinks, yellows, whites and silvery greens!

No shutters.....but paint the door

Wow! Thank you so much everybody! I agree about the no shutters....and the trim around the door...great idea! We have already hired a landscaper to clean up all the overgrowth. Just in case, here is a photo of the house with the shutters. Still "no shutters?"

NO SHUTTERS!

Just paint on the top, and better placed window boxes on bottom. Lose the X's on them and make them match the window length as they are not symmetrical. Also, I would paint thedoor. And put two urns on the porch. Fabulous and cozy home!

Thank you so much again everybody! The whole house is gray so I can't paint just the dormer a different color....I want it to be green....for now I'll repaint to match the rest of the house, paint trim around the front door and either get properly fitted window boxes or paint the current ones to disguise their wrong size. Thank you! ;)

Show me when it is finished . Marie

I love your house....but, with awkward spacing of the windows, shutters would just look a mess. However, you are really missing highlighting some wonderful architectural accents! The main level windows do look a bit small for the space, and then with the window boxes not even as wide as the windows, it looks all out of proportion. I would put window boxes the full width of the windows. Then paint either a bright color or an indigo blue on the front door, the arched trim on the porch roof and the window boxes. Then choose part of the railings to paint the accent color. You could draw the eye to the dormer by painting the soffit in that same accent color.

Looks beautiful!

What a difference this is.....looks so charming and inviting!

No shutters! It looks great now. It has a more modern/ clean look and would be too cluttered with shutters

Looks much better with the shrubbery cleared out a bit. Would still love to see the door painted and a more architecturally appropriate light fixture above it. No shutters was the right call!

Love it. Good job!

Love it, you did great, but I would paint the door black like the window boxes . But it looks great either way.

Looks great!

Fabulous!

Love it!

I also vote for painting the door (glossy black). And something of interest to the left of door. A small bench perhaps.

It looks great without the shutters! I agree with everyone else. The discoloration in the siding would bother me. I would see if I can powerwash it to get it more even, and if that didn't work then reside it. I love your front door, but it does kind of blend in with the brick. But It would be a shame to paint that lovely wood.

I'd transform your home by painting the bricks a pale yellow, omitting the shutters and keeping that lovely wood door. The window boxes should be a solid gray to compliment the roof and upper siding. Your cottage has the potential to become a real gem!

Hadn't seen your changes when I replied. It's quite a nice transformation but I'd go for color to really amp up the look of your home- I still vote pale yellow brickwork since there's not much to maintain anyway.

Shutters rarely add anything to the character of a home. If you had a colonial farmhouse with appropriate double-hung windows that would have had shutters traditionally, I might say yes;-)

House does look great now; please don't paint the brick, the rust brick and grey blue colour go beautifully together! Consider a strong black hanging light fixture for a bit of punch. Good job. Maybe add a Japanese Maple tree or two to soften everything.

Lookiing good! The window boxes painted black have so much more presence. The only thing I would say is that you need to bring the gray down to the first level in some way - maybe the soffit and underside of the porch roof or the front (curved portion) of the overhang. The gray seems just a bit disjointed on the dormer only. Very pretty though!

My husband would never paint our wooden front door, so another way to add some more punch: a glossy black bench next to door with gray cushions. And for the season: sit a few large pumpkins around.

I didn't see your updated picture either before posting. It looks great!

Thanks so much everyone! This is not my favorite kind of house (I want a four-square) so I am trying to work with it. I really don't like having that brick face and am thinking about taking it off and making it siding like the rest of the house. Also, I want to change the shape or style of the portico....it just doesn't seem properly balanced to me...columns too small and arch to thick.

Absolutely love the changes you made. You could paint the portico a very deep dark grey to blend in with the brick more and de-emphasize the structure and also the columns. You can leave the railings white to balance out the window trim. I think that could look very very sharp.

Unless you are planning on staying in this house forever, I would not cover the brick. I think it looks nice, but more importantly, it would be a selling point for most people since it is low-maintenance. I think the portico is fine - you could beef up the columns if you wanted to, though. I still think you need to bring the gray down onto the portico to balance the gable color.

The transformation is beautiful!! I can't give further advice about the brick, 'cus I like it, I'd love to see what people suggest about the portico. The trim around the door really made it pop, it looks fantastic!