It's on this site..Houzz...search for coral front door and it will come up..Luv it

By all means do indeed consider painting that brick to match the siding. It will tie in, enlargen, and unify the whole front of your home. It is the biggest impact for the least amount of money that you could do! And as you say, it's not that much brick. Exterior paints these days are excellent quality. Pulling out the old shrubs in favor of something bright and cheery and low maintenance would be nice . . . or even a pretty little tree planted in the front yard, to create a focal point. You could plant it with your children to commemorate and celebrate some occasion, and surround the base with colorful flowers!

Your house is a standard, builder's grade 1970's neo-colonial. New siding, new windows, new garage door (carriage style), new shutters, new landscaping, new porch treatment. These houses were typically very two dimensional and chopped up on the exteriors. The fix is usually to give the house some depth and detail that ties the bits together and creates some interest along the facades.

In your case some new colors and details would matter tremendously. New windows, shutters, siding, porch columns, flower boxes, front door, garage door, etc. would help. I'd leave the brick as is and work with some colors that would complement it.

If the budget allows, I'd rebuild the porch. Right now there's too much space between the porch roof and the 2nd floor windows. Would be nice to visually lower the 2nd floor and tie it into the 1st floor. If you don't rebuild the porch you can add a Chinese Chippendale type rail to the porch roof edge that works to conceal the space. And these types of railings were commonplace in Colonial times.

Good Luck!

i am currently researching options to change the brick on my own house....i do not know much about it yet but i am strongly considering staining the brick rather than painting....this option would allow for a color change without compromising the low maintainability of brick, and you apply the product just like paint.

To totally make the transformation worth it, add revamp the house from drab to fab....
1. I would Apply a Bag and Paint finish to the brickwork, in a warm dark grey, or woody olive (Taubmans Zelda, Taubmans Deep Gorge, just 2 examples).
2. Keep the shutters, Posts, windows etc in a crisp white.
3. Get the roof cleaned proffessionally, it will probably come up a treat.
4. Consider a chunky timber balustrade around the porch area, painted in the white.
5. Plant a hedge along the path leading from the driveway to the front porch.
6. Balance this with a hedge in front of the porch.
7. An amazing deciduous tree, in the front yard, slightly off centre towards the driveway, possibly with a large garden bed around the base, with a flowering type shrub that could be trimmed in to a hedge. Something that flowers all year, providing some colour for when the tree is bare.

You will get more bang for your buck with landscaping. The only thing wrong with the house is the front door is less than grand. So - black shutters either side of it, and a larger ( 6 by 8 foot maybe?) concrete pad added in front of the door, so you can have urns or something to frame the entrance.

Dig out the tiny path to the driveway, and put in a new wider curved path. You might have room for a bench in a wide spot along the way, which would look luxurious. Add two or three major trees, to shade the house (save $$), spring blooming dogwood, and some long flowering bushes - roses, encore azaleas, incrediball hydrangeas, crepe myrtles, and some conifers for winter structure.

Then flowers!! some reblooming daylillies, coreopsis and agastache, bleeding heart, coral bells and foxglove - in one third white and one third peach and then a few spots of bright pink and bright yellow. Pay attention to the varieties - cheaper ones won't bloom as long.

Then if there's money left over, I would add the white porch railing and maybe beef up the columns.

Good luck, and don't spend the college fund on the house. Remember to balance vacations and other things you could do with the money. (from a homeowner/parent, not a pro!)

Thanks again for all of your wonderful ideas. what is bag and paint?

Where's HGTV when you need them? I sure could use them.

Bud...

Can you build around the existing beams or would I need to remove and add other ones? Just curious.

Hi trebert - You can keep the existing porch structure, just add around the posts, roof framing, etc. Hope this answers your question. Let me know if you need more info.

For a low cost quick facelift: Definitely whitewash that brick! And get masonry paint. Even if it wears off a bit over time, it's a great look. Replace what appear to be vinyl nailed in shutters with wooden, hinged shutters, complete with classic S hooks. Lastly, replace the front door with a solid wood door. These are 3 inexpensive updates. Plus, maybe an urn or planter on one side of the door. When it's time for a new roof, get an architectural shingle roof. Good luck!

Hi Trebert,
DO NOT paint your brick white, it will need maintenance.
I would tear out the bushes in front of the porch and put up a white picket fence with hanging plants and recessed lighting. Replace your front door with a high end door and glass storm door. Under windows that are to the right of front door create a beautiful flower bed. Upgrade and paint shutters. Upgrade lamp fixtures either side of garage door. Hope this helps. Wish you the best!

Please do NOT paint your brick. It is a beautiful and maintenance-free, two qualities all houses could use more of. Paint the white siding if you become convinced that there is too much contrast between it and the brick. Landscape first. Remove the shrubs hiding your porch and blocking your view from it, and move the tree away from the house. Go from there and enjoy.

Loved Bud_dietrich's photos. I like the warmth of the brick and would do:

1.Black archetectural roof
2.Replace front door with black paned french door
3.Lose the hose holder and screw in a black wrought iron one (Ballard Design)
4.Replace garage door with a fabulous carriage style door (white)
5.Round sculpted boxwoods in bed between front door and drive.
6. Two black or white adirondack chairs on the porch with table between.
7. Add additional brick or paver path from front door to street and use same treatment on additional path.
8. Some additional shrub replacement and additions.
9. Love the above suggestions for black pots with orbs
It really is pretty darn good already and you can just make slow improvements to make it shine.

I see the problems as:
lack of organization ( for the eye)
lack of plasticity ( depth)
lack of color content - detail /interest

lack of organization
need to gilde the eye : would reccomend some kind of element to emphasize the front door even on small budget a pergola or small portal/ gable above the front door would add a central balance and complexity for the boring facade. This new element would set the tone with large scale post and lanterns to say" enter here" replicate the large scale post to the other post. ( $ but would have biggest impact and state a personality for the house

lack of plasticty
above plan of action will help but other tech. ( landscape front (biggest bang for the buck) (note the right prof. landscape arch not your local nurseury source / new central entry walk flanked by mature planting would help add interest for the eye - window boxes ( upper windows) - perhaps an ornate masonry panel under double windows to right of entry - nice gable vent on top of highest roof would also be benifical both aestically and energy wise.

lack of interest /detail
would NOT paint brick - seen much worst brick then this - light wash of stain could be worth it but the brick is not the problem - the sterile contrast in colors is the problem go with another house paint in stead of the white more muted to bridge the gap to the warmer brick - trim windows in the white of off white add a thrid color ( shutters) - bring in warm color at front door ( wood stained) darken garage door

sorry can't be more specific on these points but that is why a professional designer is worth hiring ( the best results are the result of carefull formal study of proportion and other elements) - NOT the HG fairy tale mode of non professionals overnight solutions without study or training - " let use this color in your blouse " give me a break -most of their solution are amatuerish at best -you get what you pay for - my clients over 30 years would agree.

lol...so many suggestions. I will send you some pictures when I'm done. It will be a slow process. Right now - I am plugging away, painting bedroom number 4. From a pink and green color (ugh) to a soft grey.

I am almost finished the kitchen. I got new cabinets and quartz. I tour out the bathroom that was build in the middle of the kitchen. The bathroom gold and black velvet wallpaper. It was a classic!

Take lots of before pictures - you can never have too many! And have fun! For a laugh, watch "The Money Pit" and "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" for a little laughter and insight.

Tone down the white paint/siding perhaps a gray or taupe. New shutters without such a colonial style. Definitely a new front door. A fiberglass door than can be stained. The overgrown, wrongly trimmed shrubs have to be replaced with a more updated landscape.

Wash the siding( if aluminum) - with TSP or vinegar and water and rinse well.
Paint the siding,front pillars, garage door and window frames a colour that best matches mortar between bricks.
Pick a warm tan colour and paint shutters.
Paint front door a warm rich red.
Landscape:

Don't paint the brick, it will become a maintenance item. I agree with stage2, paint the siding a color that matches the mortar, which I presume is a taupe or gray tone. Keep in mind that sun washes out the color so a couple of shades darker may be required. Pratt and Lambert's Petaluma color family is a good range.

you can paint your roof black instead of replacing it if it still has several years of life left...check the web for the way to do it...you could probably do it yourself....I like many of the ideas already submitted but you do need new landscaping and at first I would say paint the whole house one color but someone suggested simply painting the second floor a taupe to match the mortar....or you could also think about Liming the brick which is not paint but would give the gold tone of the brick a classier color.

Since you stated that you are a single parent on a very limited budget, many of the above suggestions just aren't possible for you. I would not paint the siding. Unless done professionally, aluminum or vinyl siding can look awful if painted, and is again, a maintenance issue. I would also not paint the brick. It is another maintenance headache. However, this can look updated and lovely, if you really
hate the brick color.
Adding shutters in black to all windows would look nice. I would leave the trim including the garage door in white. Paint the front door black or red. If budget
permits, adding spindles to the porch columns would add interest.
A landscape freshening is a good idea. Plant a small ornamental tree in the front
lawn. If you can change some of the shrubs, that would improve the look. A taller, small ornamental tree, such as a Japanese maple, on the left corner, with small, low shrubs across the porch area. I would curve the bed and add another one on the corner of the driveway. This small bed can have a lampost with a climbing plant (clematis), and other small flowers. Small changes can give big impact. Look at other homes in neighborhoods you admire for ideas.
Good lick to you!

Sorry...of course I meant to type Good Luck!

Thank you again everyone. I will choose the least expensive path - at least for now. I did put in a new front door and will paint it black. I will also add a bit larger shutters and they too will be black. I will go with larger more moderen light fixtures for the garage and entry. I will check out the cost of having the post larger to make a better statement. I'm still on the fence with that bc I really need a new porch it is cracked and not in the best of shape. so I don't know if spending money for the post is a wise move - only to have to redo the porch in the next one to two years. And I will landscape, landscape, landscape! Oops..also add some flower box.

To me the brick is sorta pinkish looking and the mortar is yellowish cream...ugly.

I did photo the home and used SW virtue paint - that was fun.

Thank you

I never heard of painting the roof - neat idea. I will have to check that out. I know mine as a few years...not much. So at least maybe that can hold me over.

I understand the whole budget thing. When the time is right change your roof desert sand color 30 year architectural roof shingles, beef up those columns to double size, which the new wood can just be built around the old columns to create the larger look. Stain the columns a cedar color to enhance the brick color. Keep the existing windows. Take the shutters off and add hinges so they hang verses being plastered on the side of the house. Paint shutters and garage a dark tan again to tie in with the brick Update front door with an arts and craft style door from Home Depot.

The house has too many horizontals going on and not enough verticality to give it lift. The overhang running across the front of the house dwarfs the front door. To make the front door more stellar, do go ahead and paint it a contrasting shade - I would not do the door and shutters all in black; choose something to make the door pop, and add shutters to either side of it to pull the windows and door together visually, but expand the look of the door itself, since it's a single door. Next, plant some vertical evergreens to the right (on the picture) where the sidewalk meets the driveway, so that they form a vertical "barrier" between the house and the garage. They could be Hicksii yews or conical spruce and I would plant three of them. Then, I would add another vertical to the left side of the house to balance the ones near the driveway. I would remove the small tree from in front of the window that's between the driveway and the house and plant it about ten feet in front of the house on the left side. Trim the bushes that run horizontally in front of what is probably the living room window, but keep them as a backdrop to a new perennial garden placed just in front of them. Roses would be beautiful with a border of boxwood; add boxwood as trim in front of the window between the door and garage.

Also, forgot to mention the porch columns; you can add curved struts to either side of the existing columns to give them more heft but with little monetary outlay.

Wow, these suggestions are amazing. I wish I had Houzz when my husband & I had our first house, which was truly ugly. Yours is gorgeous. The one thing I remember 'people' telling me is that decorative shutters should replicate true shutters. In other words, the skinny shutters gotta go. Also I think you need a real walkway, not just a walk from the driveway & garage. I can see someone from Sunset Magazine doing a fantastic job with this. Good luck, you have a great start. Regards, Sandy p.s. Just read sethson above, agreed more substantial columns are a plus. I am doing the same thing.

I studied architecture at Washington University in St. Louis before making a move into garden design, but one thing I clearly recall is that smittycdm says regarding shutters. They should look as if they can actually be closed and "shutter the windows" they surround. You would be amazed how much difference this makes. The problem with most modern homes, however, is that the windows are so wide that shutters can't possibly enclose them properly, so it's all out of alignment. With this house, however, you could easily widen the shutters and the windows will seem larger, too.

Hi sethson, I was so impressed w/what you wrote I was reading the rest of ur stuff. My 1st home was built in 1950, SoCal Ranch, so the shutter idea worked. Very smart of you re: the rest of your comments.

I would remove the bushes along the front of house, make that porch go all the way to the end and make is living space. Add some pavers to make the porch even wider into the yard some, perhaps with a partial wall on one end. Then add some landscaping in the yard to accent the new front entrance. Color on the house would help as well. Garage doors can be updated to compliment the design as well. Not TOO much money, but a huge difference! Have a blast!

Thank you, smittycdm, for your comments. I think all of the comments are creative and would add aesthetic value to the home. I've always found that it's good to have an ultimate goal in mind and to make a "5-year" plan, for instance, so that you can budget and also know ahead of time what comes next and what you are aiming for. Without a final plan in place, you may find yourself making improvements that later do not fit and you have to start over and spend more money. If you're budgeting, prioritize the items that give the greatest impact for the least amount of money. In this instance, landscaping, shutters, paint, will return instant rewards. A new garage door, partial walls, etc. could come into the picture in the next phase.

So many great suggestions, however, with professional painting experience, would take the suggestion of others and NOT paint the brick. It is not that bad as is plus it is expensive to have done. Painting siding is far less expensive and would suggest a colour close to the mortar ie. BM CC470. Rocky Road. The garage door could be painted the same visually bringing the colur to ground level. I would not paint the shutters but would remove them, put some beautiful window boxes instead painting them in accent trim colour BM CC542 Willow (not as harsh as black) Take the bushes out for sure...others made good suggestions there. I would have the pillers replaced with something more square and larger and paint them also in the Willow. Nice dark stained wicker chairs with colourful cushions (to match front door...HC50 Georgian Brick) and table would be perfect for the front porch. Eventually the roof should be replaced to a brown/black mix. All these colours are much warmer with less contrast such as the black/white. This is a start but setting a plan in place is most important...will save you money in the long run. good luck.
p.s. If you need professional advice on painting siding, contact me or go to your local paint store ie. Benjamin Moore, Glidden, Sherwin Williams (not a big box store) and buy the best exterior paint you can afford. Better still, hire a professional and get it done right. It is a lot of work.

I would go for a quick easy, cheap fix. Paint the walls with a French Grey colour, the door a deeper grey. Around the shrubbery base use white shingles and invest in a few solar lights. Under the windows three large stainless steel or dark grey containers with similar size bushes in each sitting on more white shingle. Will not cost a fortune back make an instant impact.

Here's a little food for thought, courtesy of www.tphblog.com.

Hi, just wondering what you decided to do to your house. My house is similar looking and we have had many mixed opinions about painting the brick. I would love to see some photos. Thanks

My ideas for you are: a new front door, new garage door, some wider posts on the front porch, also a pretty flowering tree out front and an interesting bit of flowers or low maintenance greenery for curb appeal and your place would look very nice, inviting and updated : )

Here is what I did so far. I installed a new front door. Added dk brown shutters on the lower level and painted the upper shutters to match. I removed all of the old shrub and added new. This monday, I will be getting a new roof - (timberline mission brown), I am adding a reverse gable over the center of the house...and am thinking about doing the same over the garage. Now I am debating on what color to paint the front door and garage. A new garage door and new siding..is a project down the road.

I would wait to see what the effect of the new dark roof is before choosing a color for the front door and garage door. I wouldn't add more brown to the exterior until living with the new roof for a while. Maybe you can find a lighter shade for the garage doors and a totally different but coordinating color for the front door. The front door, while having changed the type of decor still does not have enough presence. The reverse gable is a great idea, particularly for the house. I would be careful before adding one to the garage considering the fact that the garage is one story and the house is two-stories - you may end up with too much going on up there and not enough on the ground floor.

Sethson, I appreciate your input. I wanted a larger front entrance w side windows, but that would require knocking down an interior wall on the L and moving the vents, and on the right is a closet, so I would loose that. I'll post some more pictures, after the roof and gable are up. Again, thank you.

To the homeowner, I like your ideas and look forward to your updates.

You got a lot of ideas. But bottom line you have to like the changes. I would drive through different neighborhoods and see what features and colors really wow you. I think if I lived in a house where the garage door was very visible I would upgrade it to one that really looks nice. Sometimes larger posts on porches really improve the look and can be created around the current ones.

Finishing up with the roof

Unless someone has different kinds of brick they want to be the same, I would NOT paint brick .. not ever ... and glad to read you didn't. What you've done looks really good. Beautiful home.

I was a little surprised you didn't enlarge the front porch. If you ever do want a larger front porch, you might consider adding a gazebo beside or in front of it.

Please read the dates on these old threads!! This is the oldest I've seen from 2011!! If you click on a thread on the right hand side of the page, keep in mind that it's been pulled up by the key word generator so check the date as it's probably as old as the hills like this one.

I would recommend painting the brick white. Consider doing shake shingle siding on second floor, and remove all shutters. I would not replace the windows for cosmetic reasons, as double hung sash windows are timeless and classic and seem to go well with overall architecture. Consider a medium to dark gray roof to update. If budget permits, extending/deepening front porch to align vertically with second floor would lend major curb appeal. See photo below. Roof here could be raised 1-2 ft. or so to update architecture. This would also create more functional living space by giving a usable front porch area that could be furnished for relaxing. House below was very similar to yours before modifications were made. Lovely!

My house looks the same any recommendations would be appreciated. New siding, new roof, no shutters?

Hello Santiago,

Congratulations on a beautiful home.

First, I would probably say to keep the brick as is as well as the trim, eaves etc...looks newer. So, I would update using color with paint. Use high quality exterior paint specifically for siding. It will last longer for color without fading, loosing its sheen to name a few.

The front porch....the posts are not significant enough so I will recommend two things to consider....replace or reframe posts so they are more Craftsman in style and resign the spindles so they are chunkier. or...remove all the posts and replace with a wood beam from your left downspout to the brick wall on the right with two square posts. Stain in a warm color to complement your brick. The railing would be wood and iron metal rods. Front door - replace with wood door with and 3/4 window. Joanna Gaines uses these a lot on Fixer Upper if you want to check them out.

Paint the siding. I would choose a classic Hale Navy HC154. Looks beautiful with warm wood tones/brick color and white/cream. Shutters- they need to be wider and look like they are actually functional. I would also do them in wood/black wrought iron to complement the front door.

The roof may need replacing and keep in mid-tone grey/browns.

Garage door- replace with a wood/wood-look door but if not in budget, paint a midtown brown

Landscaping. remove the shrubs. use elevated planter boxes simple in design to frame the steps, plant some boxwood or hydrangea below the bay window

Tell me what you think. Your home would be a standout!

Chris, thank you so much for the suggestions! I think you and I are on the same page--we already removed the bushes, and are working on the porch next! Here is a more updated picture.

thank you Santiago, Your Updated picture shows it up closer as well but what an improvement with the bushes gone. If you are handy doing simple carpentry, you could even tackle that project yourself. The brown on the bricks and roof will actually lighten up when paired with a darker color. If the navy doesn't suit you, look at a warm grey with brown undertones. The garage door looks new but you can see by your picture how it stands out. (maybe a little too much!)

keep in touch!