Additional: The siding is actually in good shape. I have no idea how I can update this home without spending a lot of money to improve its curb appeal/front . Thanks for any help.

Another alternative: paint. Doesn't fix the horrible architecture but may help take attention off it....the house had the right place and location, and prices were high when we bought it. It was a good price. Always thought we would re do the outside but it would take too much price wise.

It's a classic style and looks like a great family house with good sized trees, too. I like the current siding. A new paint job in your choice of colors would be an option for an entirely new look. In the spring, I'd put a lot of lush plants in the windowboxes and the big pots.

Yup. No shutters, bigger or no window boxes, everything else on landscaping. Looks like a nice spot!

House looks nicely proportioned. I can't tell the brick color because it is so shaded. Brown? Suggest you take a few more pictures, getting the light on the front of the house, and with the garage door closed so we can see it. Paint will make a big difference. Search on Houzz for similar color brick homes and see which colors you like. Go to Exterior on the search bar above and type in red brick or brown brick or whatever you have.

Agree that the shutters are too narrow. Either remove or replace with ones that are much larger. I would remove the window boxes. They must be a pain to water and are too small to really add curb appeal. If you think the window need more emphasis, frame them with a wider frame in your accent color.

Your front entry is hard to see but it looks like the lights beside your front door should be larger. The porch posts look very narrow. No need to replace them, you can just box around them to give them a more substantial look. If you like the look, you could put a railing across your porch.

Is there a small fence by the driveway, and perhaps steps and a walkway? Evergreen shrubs would give it more curb appeal all year. The space between your door and window looks like the perfect spot for a welcoming bench or pair of chairs, nothing too dainty.

I found a few interesting combinations by searching Houzz Exterior for "brick and siding". I like this color combination. This is what I mean by trimming the windows. They've trimmed some of the edges of the house too.

In the one below they painted the brick to match the siding. Quite a few houses seem to have done this. I'd generally not recommend painting brick because of the ongoing maintenance, but if you only have a little it's not such an issue. I like this neutral look with the white trim and a bit of black. I also like that only the smaller windows have shutters, and they're the correct size, that is that they are half the width of the windows so they look as if they would really close.

Most current--we did paint the shutters and window boxes, and steps this summer. We also put larger lights by garage. The garage is the color of the window trim, a lighter color.

Your brick is brown with no yellow/orange in it, and your siding color has too much yellow. I would choose a darker siding color, and one that is a more neutral brown. Here is one thought. It's a blend of Benjamin Moore Whitall Brown and Benjamin Moore - Hasbrouck Brown. On my screen, Hasbrouck Brown looks very close to your brick color. If you look at it on the Benjamin Moore site you will see other colors that are suggested to look good with it - Texas Sage and Polar Frost.

A couple of thoughts on how to choose a color. Search in Houzz in Exteriors for "brown brick" and see if you find one that you like. Or, you can also see if you can find a match to your actual brick color on a paint chip, then use a lighter version of it. Either way, choose a few colors that are close and paint a poster board with samples. It will help you see what it really looks like in the daylight. Your front porch should be repainted your brick color, it's too red. Or get an expert. My house has an unusual pink-organge stone front, and I had a decorator come and choose the browns. She charged me $100 and it ws well worth it for me.

Not sure what your budget or plans are, but your landscaping is also very narrow and small for the size of your house. I would re-do the path to the front door by going straight towards the street from your front porch for at least 6 feet, then swing towards the driveway. That will give you a good size planting bed for a small tree/large shrub, no more than 15 feet at maturity. Add evergreens at least 3-4 feet tall and the same width at maturity. It will look more in proportion to the house. If you don't want to re-do the path, plant a wide bed in front of it.

Personally I'm not a fan of window boxes unless your house has a very cottage look, which yours doesn't. And then they need to be large (larger than yours), lush and overflowing with plants. I'm an enthusiastic gardener but I gave up on window boxes. Too expensive to re-fill with annuals each year, and time consuming to maintain with constant watering and bloom fertilizer. I'd remove them.

Very helpful! Thanks