Hi Wich, couple thoughts. Install shutters on upper windows, change the large window unit on the 1st floor with more traditional double hungs, and definitely build a portico to define your entryway. Color wise, I would suggest working with the orange-brown tones of the brick and perhaps paint the siding a mocha color. The shutters here are blue which contrast well with the overall scheme. Good Luck.

I am a single mom of three awesome kids and I always dreamed of moving my kids to a small town, owning a charming old fixer-upper, doing most the repairs myself or with my kids and growing old in it, so we moved to the mid-West and purchased a home built in the late 1800’s... I now wish we had stayed in our new home in California! There are so so so-so many issues which continue to rear their ugly faces in my old home, most of which I never imagined... for one, not one door in my home will stay open without being propped open because my house leans but luckily, theres no easy fix because one room leans to the east while another leans to the south and another to the west.... you get the picture! Also, somewhere along the life of this cute little home, a previous homeowner decided putting siding containing asbestos over the original beautiful wood planks was a good idea. So now it’s going to take a whole $$ hazmat crew $$ to remove it and bring it back to its original beauty (thank you previous homeowner!). There are other issues like the entire subfloor needs to be replaced, the material used for the walls and ceiling is this horrible fiber stuff, so that has to be replaced with drywall. Spiders, bugs and even snakes (I like snakes, hate the spiders & bugs) keep finding their way into my kitchen cupboards and although I’ve searched and searched, I haven’t been able to find anywhere they could be coming in. The opening to the attic is about 15” square, so getting up there is fun especially if you’re claustrophobic and arachnophobic, but the squirrels have had no problem finding their way in and out of the attic and crawl space above the room addition and just when you think you’ve managed to get rid of them, the winter comes and they chew their way into the attic again.... Long story longer, it would benefit you to be rich and a great DIY’r if you plan on purchasing an old house because otherwise you’ll be living in a depressed, leaning, cancer causing, spider infested, did i say depressed house until you come into enough money to repair it or have it repaired... Basically, I wish I had watch “Money Pit” prior to purchasing this house. P.S. We’ve lived here 12 years and I do love my little old house, just not all her issues.

A mix of entertaining & clearing the clutter. A hard combination!

If the sheer panels are decent and you don't need to block out light just remove the valances for awhile and see if you like that. Because of the light sconces between the windows solid panels would have to be mounted just outside or on the trim. I would also find a fixture to replace the ceiling fan, they really aren't great in a dining room.