Like the pergola idea. Looks like you like MCM which your house is not. Hard to tell from pic, what is the brick currently? Shutters appear crowded, odd spacing. I'd consider removing , frame out windows somehow. No opinion on the gray since I think it's been way overdone ... but if you like it do it.

Btw, nice house, love ranch style houses.

Thanks Jacknewportbeach for your input! Oh re: MCM- I thought since my house is from the middle of the century and I want it to be modern that it would qualify as MCM. I'm brand new to this I hear you about the gray. I supposed more examples I see online that I like are gray so I have grown accustomed to liking that look.

I'm concerned about the window spacing The brick is in excellent shape. It was painted to look like that - and I hate it. Here's a closer view of the brick from the side of the house.

Today I'm meeting with a fencer to install a fence to the front of this side area for my dog. There's a retaining wall enclosing the rest of the property from the back. I plan to request a style similar to this:

Have you thought about painting only the accents gray? I would remove the shutters, leave the brick alone install the side fence and the pergola and paint the columns, window sills, the porch and that white cornice together with the garage doors (so they don't jump at you so much) in gray and get a mid century modern front door.

Something like more contemporary and if

Thanks thanks so much for taking the time to respond, Cynthia!

I hadn't thought of painting the accents gray. I'm going to look into that some more. I really hate the speckled brick. It must be painted. Thanks for reinforcing the idea to remove the shutters! 100% agree re: toning down now-white areas. Thank you!

I feel like a big part of the lack of curb appeal is the way the retaining wall slopes so much. You have that slope and then you have the left side of the house's windows higher than the right side. It makes it look like two houses stuck together. It would be a lot of money to regrade and fix the slope, plus you might create drainage problems and other issues on the lot. What about some other landscaping to camouflage some of that area? Maybe break up the long strip of retaining wall?

As another poster suggested, framing out the windows rather than having all the shutters might help, and perhaps if done well that could also draw the eye away from the fact that the left side windows are just in a weird position compared to the right side. Maybe windowboxes below those might be a budget solution. The pergola is a good idea to begin with, but I'm not sure how you'll get it to look right with the position of all the windows.

Draw more focus to the door of your house. The entrance of your house is so overshadowed by everything else. The sides of the house are not bad. I don't know what someone was thinking with the middle. Remove the tree trunk that's blocking the view of the door. Change the pillars to something else. If you've got the cash and don't mind losing half the front lawn, I'd shorten the lawn and hardscape/landscape a beautiful stepped entrance up to your front door.

Overall the house is definitely not ugly, it's just an average older house. I am pointing out all the flaws but really, these flaws are in a ton of houses and most people don't really think about it or notice it, it's just where people live. I don't want to make you feel bad about your house, because you shouldn't, I'm just pointing out what I think are ways to improve it.

I appreciate the input! We purchased the house knowing there was considerable work to be done. The good news is this house is 500k to 1M less in price than most in the neighborhood (Washington, DC) so there is room for investing in the home. Ultimately and over time, I have all sorts of grand plans. Just kinda want to get it looking not so old until I have the money to make more substantial improvements. The house is definitely quirky but in a strange way that was a selling point for me.

I hadn't noticed that the sloping retaining wall is an issue. The street is on a hill. landscaping in definitely on the menu and I will keep your comment in mind when planning that.

The house has had two additions on either side of the home, hence the strange windows. It's huge (4000 sq ft) and looks spectacular from the side, but not the front!

agree re: removing that tree. Hate the pillars but for now I'll have to try to play them down - can't do a big reno just yet.

your input is appreciated!

Lindsey, your house is Mid Century, but not "modern".... think Palm Springs when visualizing MCM. Agree with you re brick , that speckled look would drive me nuts too.

The only thing you should do promptly is remove the tree growing in front of the door.

I would remove the shutters since you like a more modern look. I say no to the pergola. I was trying to show that a mid century door would look out of place but really, it is not as bad as I thought.

Some years in the future when you need to re roof you could change that awkward gable.

Landscaping will help tremendously. Get a professional design.

Oh my gosh that looks amazing! Thank you so much!!

10-4 re: the trees. I will have them removed next weekend and will hire a professional landscaper, as well.

Wow - the speckled paint isn't half bad with those shutters gone! And I love the front door. This has really made me excited - Thank you!

I mean, I am not able to see the actual brick color but maybe you could sand blast it and get rid of the white wash over the brick and leave the natural texture of the brick.

I mean if you can definitely hate the texture of the brick as it is now.

Brick gets soda blasted.