Yes, there is no hiding those garage doors, so get a pair of pretty wood ones that blend with the brick but deserve attention. Then stand back and see what else is needed. Not having that dead white bleah will make a great difference.

I have seen garages that protrude more than this. LOL... They are bright and white and that is making them stand out even more. I would at least paint them darker or get some really pretty carriage style doors. I would remove the landscaping timbers at the corner of the garage and put a plant there in a colorful but simple pot. What kind of siding is on the house? Is it something you could paint?

Yes! It's wood siding. Definitely a paint job in the future... I'm having a hard time color-wise with that dark brown roof. I don't like the dark brown trim or at least I don't like it with the yellow siding....Then I need to make sure it harmonizes with the brick...

Painting may do the job, I am not a big fan of painting a bunch of brick but you could lighten the brick on the garage and add a pop of color or darken the area around the front door to draw your eye toward the front porch.

Also,Have you thought about pulling the front porch forward with a gable roof. It would break up the large wall and draw your eyes away from the garage doors. There are many small details you would have to work out but might be worth exploring.

Would it be possible to use trim to mimic a fascia to create a faux "gable" over the porch? I'm not sure if that makes sense, but basically using Beck Custom Homes' suggestion, but without the huge project of pulling the porch out. When I look at the looooong roof line, it seems like a small gable over the porch would match the gable over the window. Would that be impossible or ugly? (This is just a dumb girl talking...)

Pam,

I don't think adding a false gable flush with the existing fascia will look good. At a minimum I would say it has to come out 12 to 16 inches past the existing fascia. At that point it would make sense to go the extra distance. I hope this helps and doesn't make it any more confusing for you.

Pretending the prior owners stuff is gone from the porch and the wood garden at the garage corner was not there, I would go more contemporary or transitional, not countryish. All it needs is paint. Embrace the roofline, I don't mind it at all. Remove the window grills if they are removable. No porch railing to clutter up the view. Two nice tall planters. Square off the garden edge. Change the porch light.

In the future budget, consider garage doors that are quite plain, wood or painted, see photo 1 and 2. LED soffit lights along the garage front will enhance the brick at night and are clutter free, see the last photo.

I would look at Benjamin Moore Copley Gray or Cromwell Gray for the siding. Paint samples on a poster board to place against the brick for testing. You could choose one color and choose light and dark from the same paint strip for the trim and garage doors. Keep it simple, you just have to pick one main color and use the strip.

For now, the garage doors should be painted a similar depth of color as the darkest color of the brick surrounding it, so the doors recede. The paint color in the 2nd photo is Copley Gray, looks nice against the warm wood tone. The window trim is dark bronze.

Another vote for the roofline as is. It's a bit quirky, but that's not a fault, it's a plus.

What is bothering me is that I'm seeing a two-tone roof, darker in the back portion of the house than the front, where it looks more orange. Is that just the photograph?

You can now buy gel stain to use even on metal garage doors. Have never used it but we are considering it. Then all you would have to do would be get the "fake" hardware to make it look like the carriage house style. You can also have vinyl "hinges" and "windows" made for the appearance. All this is if replacing isn't in the budget.

Agree with darkening the garage doors so they don't stick out and painting the fascia and posts. No shutters on the upstairs window. It isn't the right kind of window for anything but faux stick-on ones and that will just draw attention to the quirky roof lines. The next best thing to do is to perk up the porch to be the eye-catcher that draws all the attention. I think I'd see about moving the left post further to the right to open then entry and so you can add some trim to the posts for more interest. Remove the treated post trim on that garage-side flower bed. If there's no gate through that fence back in the recess by the house, I'd plan to fill it on out as a flower bed. You could frame that bed with dwarf azaleas next to the fencing. Encore bloom spring and fall. Here are some possibilities for trimming up the porch posts. An easy fix for DIY.

If she's really cash strapped, what about just painting the garage doors the same color as the exterior wall so at least it blends?

WOW!!!! Great ideas! Thank you all so much.

I especially appreciate Bette's color suggestions and Jennifer k's Photoshop of the doors made SUCH a difference!

Rina, the roof color is the photo. The roof is all dark brown.

I wonder if, with the right color scheme, the roofline wouldn't be so jarring to me. I appreciate that some actually LIKE it...

I had originally liked the idea of carriage doors for pizazz, but deep down they didn't seem right with the style of the house...maybe the color change is all that's needed.

Keep the ideas coming, I suddenly don't feel so lost! And if mostly all that's needed for now is new paint and some changes to the posts...well then, that's SO DOABLE!

I can't do mock-ups...but what if the clapboard and garage doors were painted the brown of the trim?

This, only, brown? Wouldn't that minimize all the angles?

Here's another house with a warm brown roof. Paint colors are Benjamin Moore Copley Gray, the trim is BM Elephant Tusk. The peaks and fascia board trim appears to be a darker version of the body colour.

JudyG: I can't visualize the house one color...though I like the idea, I'm not crazy about the dark brown that's on the house. Maybe it's just not the RIGHT dark brown???

This lovely house is painted with one of the suggested colors (but obviously using THREE colors...I wonder if just using two colors, something like the suggested Benjamin Moore Copley or Cromwell gray and Cabin Fever (is it dark enough?) for trim would do the magic house transforming trick?

Cromwell gray

Cabin fever

Personally, I love sherwyn Williams high tea. Sawdust is lighter and best bronze is darker. They are on the green side so I wonder how they would look with the roof?

Sawdust

Best Bronze

These colors look so similar here, though in person and I'm the sunlight the Sherwin Williams has a green look. This is my friend's with the shade darker than Sawdust, High Tea. Can you see the green? There is a lot of shade on the house on this pic.

What do you think about the color combos?

Haha Bette, I must have been looking for images when you posted the SAME house pic!! Talk about being on the same wavelength!

Those colors are very nice for sure.

I think it would help the roof color, too.

No kidding! That looks better than I imagined.

I'd paint the trim deep charcoal, almost black, match the garage doors to the overall color of the brick, replace the front door with something with glass.

Or maybe...

Groveraxle, the second pic looks surprisingly good!! I didn't think I liked the ivory/yellow. I like how the dark garage doors look with it as well.

I'm so grateful for the ideas.

How can I try out a grayish color scheme on the house using the colors others have suggested (like you did?)

All the ideas are so inspiring, thanks for all your help.

Is there an easy way for ME to "try on" colors to fine tune the suggestions?

For example, I'd like to see a different dark color on the garage doors...or try the trim color on the garage with carriage door hardware. I'm just thinking I'd rather make a virtual mistake rather than a real one ;)

Pam just chiming in to say the roof line is a big plus in my view;) I like to see things different and show character.

Maybe sometime down the road they could add cedar shake to that peak. I like this photo on Houzz with the olive drab trim ;0)

Colors in a computer monitor are NOT the same as colors in real life. There's no substitute for seeing colors on the actual surfaces. It doesn't cost much to buy a can of paint, apply it to the material and then stand back and see if you like it. Just make sure it's a big enough area to get a true idea of what it will look like.

Rapp is absolutely right. But what colours on a computer can do is narrow down your options according to your taste. It doesn't hurt at all to find images you like, put them on a memory stick, and take them to your paint dealer so that you can find some choices that approximate those colours. When you test a paint colour for real, put the area you paint -- or the board that you paint -- right next to any unpaintable surface (brick, wood you want to keep, stone, whatever) to see whether they work together. Also look at it on all sides of the house at different times of day, for the different light. So a board is probably a better idea.

Lots of great ideas here, but few of them are DIY or affordable for cash strapped people. For example, painting high places usually means hiring out, and painters aren't cheap.

Also, I'm a little uncomfortable dealing with gung-ho mom when it isn't even her house. Maybe daughter & DSIL like it just fine the way it is? Or have their own ideas about what to do with the house? Like, fixing the interior first?

I advise your daughter to give her bank account a rest & let it fatten up first. Plant lots of flowers in the planter & paint the door in a fun color in the meantime. They'll have a better idea of how to invest in their house, if they wish to, after they're settled in.

Lol awm03! At first I was taken aback at your comment about your discomfort "dealing with a gung-ho mom"...but then wondered what compelled you to chime in? I suppose just to make the comment

Luckily I am blessed with a wonderful relationship with my daughter, she asked for help as she is overwhelmed with the choices and struggling with a starting point. I help her with home design, she helps me with fashion advice...we recognize and honor each other's strengths.

Perhaps I can alleviate your discomfort by changing the pronouns I use...SHE loves the lighter color schemes and the suggestions for how to both minimize flaws and feature strengths JUST USING COLOR! We are both thrilled with the ideas and the inspiration as that was not the direction we were headed before.

My husband is an electrical contractor so we have a sweet selection of ladders and know how to use them so a few gallons of paint is going to make an amazing difference in the curb appeal of an otherwise perfect first home.

Thank you for your concern and advice!

That's a relief to hear, Pam, thanks for posting back. I remember my mother-in-law was chomping at the bit to get her design hands on our first house, which she hated. She wanted to change all kinds of things, which would totally destroy the character of the home (it was contemporary, she wanted to turn it into a Cotswold cottage). We just wanted to paint the interior walls, find appropriate second-hand furniture, & get it baby proof first! It was a source of friction between us, obviously, with her frequently expressing dislike for our beloved first home. (Did I tell you she HATED it? lol!)

I guess after 33 years, I'm still sensitive about it. My DIL & DS bought a home recently, and I pretty much keep shut about design decisions unless asked. I don't want to put a damper on their first house joy, or take away the satisfaction of fixing up their own home in the way they like.

I'm glad to read this is not the case in your situation.

Landscaping can also draw the eye where you want it to go. Remove that tiny flower bed against the house to the right of the garage doors. It is too small to be attractive, and creates an ill-placed focal point that stops the eye from traveling further along to the front door and porch.

The existing flower bed is not a great shape - not square but not an eye-pleasing curve. Use circles that touch to create a strong line that will draw the eye away from the garage to the front of the house.

Partim, the graceful line of the flowerbed suggestion is really lovely! You are not the first to suggest doing away with that little bed to the right of the garage? Do you have an idea as to WHAT to do with that space? More paving doesn't actually widen the entrance as the house kicks out there...grass seems odd there...????

If you can't find the same paving stones, I would fill it in with something in a similar color, perhaps loose stones. Or even bark mulch.

I just looked at your picture again. Although you're correct that the paving doesn't completely widen the entrance because the house bumps out near the porch, it does widen the walkway near the garage, and lets you "cut the corner" more widely where you turn towards the house. I'd try to replace it with a solid paving material even it doesn't match exactly. It would give you the feeling of a wider, more welcoming walkway towards the house.

A larger project would be to widen the pathway to the house. The single paving stone limits the approach to "single file". A wider approach is more welcoming, and I've sketched out what I mean in black. But that would mean adding a new porch post to the right of where the current one is, and removing the current one which, to my eye, pinches the entrance to the home. You'd have to re-shape the bed too.

Yes! I really think that's a terrific idea. We discussed modding the posts anyway, from the first time seeing the house something about them didn't seem "right". We've thought maybe making them more substantial or adding brackets (or whatever they're called

Colour the big sloping facade and the smaller one to the right the colour of the bricks. Put generous shutters on the big window. Pick a colour for the garage doors and the front door so they feel somewhat tied together. Put generous lighting on the porch.

Have fun with the color visualizers most paint companies offer. I did this with Sherwin Williams and then added wall art and flowers from the Houzz add to my room.

Hi All! Six months later and we are about to start painting! We put test colors on the porch, columns and garage doors and settled on Sherwin Williams Amazing Gray for garage doors, trim and columns and Dover White for the siding.

We think it's crazy how much difference those colors make, the dark brown roof matches the brick better now, in a strange way...

Basically we took groveraxle's suggestion except for the garage doors. Here is a little before and after for you to enjoy. Assuming the weather cooperates this weekend, I'll post a pic of the finished paint job. Thanks for all the terrific suggestions, having the input was a lifesaver!