What a lovely looking house ! Same can be said of the front garden and the path leading you to the front door. At first glance there is absolutely nothing that I would change if it were my house.

I love your home!

Thank you, Patricia and bluenan! You're making me feel better. :) I think part of the problem I'm having right now is that all of the landscaping is dead this time of year so it actually looks different than the photo! Ha ha...maybe I need to use more evergreens. The thing about the house that sometimes bothers me is the empty space over the door... I just wonder if adding a copper awning or portico would help balance out the proportions. People always say we should put a porch on, but I don't know what type would look best if any.

Absolutely lovely landscaping! Gorgeous yard!

I think a portico over the front door would be nice, but I'd engage an architect to design it since it has potential to make or break your new look. Functionally, it would be nice for your guests to be out of the rain whilst you race to answer the door. Even a simple awning might be up to the task of highlighting the doorway & shielding visitors

I'm not a fan of white trim, so would suggest high gloss black or a pop of color on the front door (and if that's a screen door, please do remove it if you can at all live without it). Then I'd paint the trim a color that is compatible with the brick (it's a little hard to tell the exact brick color from the picture) - perhaps a sagey green or mushroomy-taupe-brown? I think a darker trim will help disguise the rather odd window layout, which is not to be helped. I think the portico would add a focal point that would also help draw the eye away from the assorted window arrangement.

I would not put aportico/awning above the door. Tell people to bring an umbrella when it rains and that you have an umbrella stand in the entrance hall. ;)
Meh @evergreens. I suppose it depends on the type of evergreen, but I love decidious and herbacious plants. At least with them you know when spring has REALLY sprung.

My community has many homes of your style. I was going to suggest either a dark brown or taupe as I see that combo around here. Sage green sounds nice. I would be concerned about adding a portico. Maybe paint the front door a color that stands out. I just saw a house today similar in your brick color and they had a bright yellow front door. It was a very eye catching yellow, something to be cautious of. Your house is stately and I would keep it as such. You probably have spring fever!!

Georgeous home. I live in an older community with houses like yours. I would like to see window trim in some shade of khaki taupe.. I looks like you could benefit from some shutters and wrought iron details to frame out window or some type of awning above each window to make your home less flat. A new front door, made of stained wood with some wrought iron. perhaps a stone portico with brick to make the entry more stately.

You have a great house! If you make any changes you might want to consider changing the trim color.

I love it too! I agree the white is so stark and adding a beautiful English style front door would really be lovely next to the stone. Some beautiful hydrangea would look wonderful!

Something you might consider is a mahogany Chippendale storm door to replace your existing storm door. They can be stained or painted and really add a sophisticated and elegant touch to a house.
http://www.legacychippendale.com/custom-built-storm-screen-door.html

Thank you so much, everyone! It's great to get your perspectives and so many good ideas. I think changing the trim color is an excellent suggestion and I like the idea of doing a dark taupe or something like that. We weren't sure if we would need to paint all the window grids as well or if we could keep those white?

A new front door is a great suggestion as well. Once I decide for sure on trim color, it will be fun to think about changing the door color or getting a new one.

I'm actually going to meet with a design firm from the area this week to get some ideas for possibly adding something above the door. I agree that it has to be done well since it will kind of make or break the look.

Thanks again so much for all the great advice!

You have to share the finished product, please!

Your home is beautiful. Since it is a historical property, I would hesitate to do a structural change; even one as seemingly small as a portico. Would you consider adding greenery to your facade, such as ivy? I think that would look gorgeous and very much in keeping with the tradition of this style.

I'll definitely add pictures once we finish the trim changes! I'm so excited to get started now.

Butlera, that's so funny you just mentioned ivy because I've just been looking at pictures of just this thing for our house! I think it would be wonderful and could disguise some of the window asymmetry as well, but I've heard it's bad for brick... I don't know if this is always true or if there's a way to do it without harming the masonry. I'd love to try it though--thanks for the beautiful example pictures!

Well you know what they say.....great minds think alike! :-) Yes, I too have heard that it can be bad for brick, but I'm thinking it wouldn't have been popular for so long if people hadn't found a way to do it without harming the home. Here is a link to an article which gives helpful suggestions for doing it properly. Hope this helps....
http://www.todayshomeowner.com/can-ivy-damage-the-brick-or-wood-on-your-home/

English Ivy can be devastating for brick and the wood trim around a house. Virgina creeper, which is not an evergreen, but turns a really glorious red in fall is a safer bet. But all clinging vines trap moisture next to the house and induce rot. The classic Cambridge ivy covered halls of learning look is on buildings made without wood in the walls...solid stone or brick.

To enliven the dead space above your door, a classic canvas awning with slanting spearhead finial supports would be historically accurate for the age of the home and would not qualify as a structural change requiring a design review.

Like this: [houzz=][houzz=]

I wouldn't change anything. It looks great the way it is. The landscaping is perfect for the lot and home. Just enjoy your beautiful home. Most of us only dream of living in a place like yours! :-)

I wouldn't paint the window frames either. White is quintessential for such properties from that era. And white window frames make a house smile.

Lovely home....is that stone around the front door? If so, it's stunning and an architectural detail that stands alone. All you need to do is fatten up you trim. Make it bulky so that it stands out...you could do details in the peaks,
. Look at other homes that have outstanding trim lines and you could do the same here. That's all it needs