Lisa, I appreciate your dilemma. I once lived in the suburbs of Northern Virginia (Springfield, Woodbridge, Dale City) which was a 1960s-1970s explosion of large split-levels. Many of the homeowners were wanting an exterior remodel, but with the housing boom of the 1980's material and labor were beyond most people's financial reach.

Here are a few pictures from the Internet that feature large split-levels with red brick, brown shingles and white framed windows. If you're open to either painting the red brick or covering it with the same new siding, you'll expand your color and style options. Hope these help with your planning process.

On a separate note, I'd encourage you to remove some of the overly mature trees. We had professionals excavate large trees from our yard. It gave us sunlight, eliminated the above ground roots, and excised the pressure that was being exerted on our foundation and beginning to create issues with unwanted water.

There's nothing wrong with old houses!