Paint the brick white. Remove the shutters and paint the window trim black. You could even change the round columns to a square style to make it more contemporary.

Okay, you asked for it. What i would do is leave the house alone and consider redoing the walkway [https://www.houzz.com/photos/landscapes-traditional-landscape-boston-phvw-vp~744062[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/landscapes-traditional-landscape-boston-phvw-vp~744062)

I love the idea of painting the brick white but do you think white brick is starting to date? Also, these shutters are amazing. Mahogany, operable, gorgeous hardware etc. It goes against ever fiber in my body to remove these shutters but yes, they are traditional ;( I think the roof line bothers me & the columns the most. Have you seen any comparable before & after pictures for me to get some ideas?

@curt Walkway too cottage in that picture. Got anything else?

Stop. This house is amazing. Decorate the inside modern for a nice juxtaposition and plan and save for your dream modern house somewhere else.

@greenfish1234 due to the cost of this house, I will probably be waiting anyway, ha! The inside is already a dream. I just wanted to make the outside "newer" in style.

@beachbrights -A more toned down walkway i liked also (here i'm focusing on the plants, not the walkway [https://www.houzz.com/photos/klemann-tropical-exterior-tampa-phvw-vp~1443057[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/klemann-tropical-exterior-tampa-phvw-vp~1443057)

@curt Much better. I still have to do something with those columns. The roof is going to need to be replaced so might can take this opportunity to change it up a little??!

for you @greenfish1234 http://search.har.com/engine/12427-Carriage-Hill-Houston-TX-77077_HAR40011684.htm

Ack! Hate curt's second photo! Lol. Different strokes... Still, get to know and love your home for a few years, then hire an architect. Do not change the roofline without expert advice. Too many beautiful homes look like frankenstein's monster because of people trying to make it something it's not, including lovely modern homes forced to look "traditional!"

What about painting the shutters a modern color? I like the idea of painting the brick but not white more a medium grey-the shutter maybe an eggplant.tone or a blue (not dull) a vibrant deep blue .

On plants & landscape: looks like a traditional rectangular bed on both sides.. Modern u might want to change bed shape, widen walkway-leave current one & add dimension on both sides w maybe grey pavers to tie in grey brick paint..add some plant s of interest maybe grasses.. 2 modern square planters w tropical plants & unique flowers inside...

Well, if you MUST do something, I'd paint the wood panels around the front door there the same exact color as the shutters to add depth and weight. Then I'd paint the two planters out in front the same color. I'd leave the rest of the facade, especially the columns, alone because it's awesome. Then I would maybe take the sidewalk out and do horizontal style big big pavers spaced like this except without the small stone surround... This was the closest picture I could find of what I was imagining.

What if you painted the posts and under roof dark gray and perhaps path needs to be wider

Liking your house from curbside appeal, but if i lived there i would add skylights to get "free" solar heat. True, these skylights will NOT add curbside appeal....but the solar heat gain is what i'm thinking about

This house is charming just as it is. The whitewashed brick has a nice warmth to it as is; I think it would be a mistake to paint it. The shutters & columns go well with the style of the house. I would focus on updating the landscaping. A low cost way of improving the walkway would be to edge both sides with brick. I agree with greenfish, live in the house for a while before you decide on any changes.

If you paint the posts dark grey, you will have 13 (!!) ,counting the door, dark vertical lines on the front of your house. Not sure that's the clean modern look you're going for...

spatialthinking - At your pev photo...That's a beauty for sure

Now there's a pathway for you, wow, like the gray paint on the posts etc

I think that look would kill it. :) plus it would echo the interior ceiling beams, cause I looked at the interior house listing photos.

I really like the house, but painting it taupe (not white...I agree, that is an older color) would go with your wonderful shutters and modernize the look. If you painted the columns the same color, they would "disappear." You could also get rid of the bushes and put in grasses...I would take the beds out further and "layer" the plantings and "widen" the walkway by planting liriope or something similar on each side and/or stain the concrete. (you could use some annuals, too, for color, but unless you want to deal with them all summer, you might want to make your "base" something maintenence-free)