Wow, white windows seem really wrong here -- I'd go dark, like charcoal, and around the door too (although the bright door itself is great). Someday you'd match that with a charcoal roof as well.

Main thing you need to do is get away from all the uptight geometrical plantings into something more natural and variegated. I might take down or radically cut back that tall bush too. Then a brightly colored pot (red?) by the front door to help draw the eye.

Otherwise, this is a nice house and you need to make your peace with what it is, rather than wishing it were a Cape Cod or something else with lots of bright siding. The brick will hold up great and it has a bit of vintage flair that's very hot right now. Congrats on the new place!

It is what it is, but a more casual landscape plan will do wonders. I'd have a pro look at the trees. The one on the right looks a bit iffy to me. The big, but necessary job here, is digging out the white rock that is serving as mulch. I know, because I spent 2 years doing it by hand myself, but well worth it. No white windows here, please. Pressure washing the brick might be helpful. When is the roof due for a change?

Yikes! We just removed TONS of unsightly red brick chips from the landscaping and replaced with this creek rock.

What can I do to lighten the mood of the exterior? It just seems so, brown and depressing. The sierra white windows are a very creamy off white. What color would you suggest?

The browns are all faded and some of them appear purplish now, especially the downspouts. The garage doors almost look like a chocolate brown. I'm really not in love with brown.

gunmetal

don't mind the river rocks at all

Need to see something painted brown to give an opinion on brown-painted things -- the only brown in the photo you showed us was brick, which seems just fine. (Maybe a reddish downspout too?) Show us a photo with the garage door or where the capping along the roof line is visible. That could probably go cooler, although again I think hoping to go very light is just to fight the nature of the house. Nothing about brown or dark tones is inherently depressing!

It's just not what you were hoping for. give yourself time to adjust before you do something irreversible to your house in an effort to inject artificial sunniness.

If you still hate it after a couple of years (and still intend to stay there), you can look into staining or painting the brick lighter. But this is a very decent brick, so I wouldn't rush that way! Plus, with lighter paint, you'll be glad you did the dark windows. :)

Thanks so much for the photos. The third is my fave! I love the light and charming feel of it.

We have been here for almost three years and are slowly trying to make it our own. We bought it mainly for the land (roughly 12 acres), I was not overly fond of the house but I knew it had potential to be great.

That tree really does have to go! We made a crude attemp at severely pruning because it was taking over. I love the look of dark windows on other homes but I think because they are mostly white farmhouses and it doesn't feel so heavy. I just bought and painted this new front door in the hopes of lightening the mood and freshening up. I know the cream door trim is currently not jiving with all of the dark but i was hoping to replace windows with the same lighter tone to unify. Hit me with your thoughts on changing trim color or door color. For the record, I'm not afraid to paint anything! Paint is cheap and I got nothing but time

I think the cashmere could be a good choice. It's lighter but has a bit more depth to it than the white would. Let the mortar be your guide for soffit, fascia, and window trim. Pick one of the more mid tone colors of your brick for your garage door. I also agree that the roof looks as though it could use a power wash. You might take a look at Sherwin Williams Rice Grain for the trim and fascia and Barro Verde for the garage door.

What about using the black window frames and then window shutters in a bright color same as the front door? Maybe get some flower boxes under the windows for more color ;)
If you decide to use white windows then same thing, window shutters could add a lot of color to the house. It depends on your personal style. Good luck!

I would do Gunmetal windows however I don't think white windows will be a disaster at all. Here is your garage in a lighter color.

I really dislike the rocks.

Is there any way you can get a professional landscape design? You can pay for design and do the planting on your own.

Thanks for all of the feedback. I appreciate it very much! If I did go with darker windows, what color for the gutters, soffit and fascia? I don't like all of the dark currently.

Don't paint the brick unless you like repainting the house every 10 years. I cringe when people paint brick. It never was made to be painted. It is like you'r trying to turn the house into something it isn't. I think the problem is that the house is too monochromatic. Who ever built it chose the same color brown for everything. You need some contrast. You want lighter, go with a creamy beige window with dark brown or dark gray shutters. The dark shutters will lighten up the brick. I would make the soffit, fascia and gutters the same color as the windows. When a new roof is called for go for the same dark color as the shutters. Please don't go for a light roof. Been there done it. In a short amount of time it looked dirty (rain is not clean). Leave the rock in front it will tie in with the windows.

Thank you. I rather like the brick color, just not the brown soffit, gutters and windows. Shutters really don't make sense for these particular windows in my opinion. Generally if they wouldn't close and cover the window, then they aren't big enough. They'd have to be some really huge shutters to work in this instance. So, you think that the creamy off white window would not be a mistake?

Good suggestions so far. I'd just like to add that, if you want to clean up your roof, try a product called Spray & Forget. We used it, thinking that the ads were an exaggeration, but we didn't like the black streaking on our gray roof and thought it was worth a try. We did three applications over a year, but the stuff really works. You may not like the color of your roof, but a consistent color is better than a lot of streaks from soot, mold, and mildew.

Shutters are decorative in this age. Shutters that are functional went out when central heating came in. As far as the white roof (which is history), the front was 2 stories and the back was 3 stories. No way was we going to risk our life's to clean a roof.

What's everyone's thoughts on the Marvin Cashmere color for the windows??

That was my suggestion. I think it's a nice compromise between too light and too dark.

Thanks so much katinparadise! I found these photos on Houzz of a brick home done with the Marvin Cashmere and they look beautiful. These pics sealed the deal for me. Now, I need to pick a paint for my garage doors!

Glad you were able to find a picture that gave you an idea of whether or not it would work for you! I'd keep the garage door in a color close to one of the mid tones in your brick.

The house you show with the windows you like has very little in common with your brick or mortar. The windows blend in with their cooler brick and very white mortar. I don' think they'll work that way with your darker brick and mortar.

Here is a pic of the Marvincashmere color. I feel like it compliments the mortar color in my brick. You don't think so?

Here's a better photo of the brick in good lighting. This is now in my sunroom so you can see how it translates next to the lighter colors.

Here's a thought Lesley. If you're going to replace your windows anyway, why not take a sample of each window color your're thinking of and go to Home Depot. Pick up 2 or 3 of the $3.00 samples for the colors you're considering. Paint your current trim those colors in an area where it won't be so conspicuous. Hopefully that will help you decide what YOU like best. It's a very expensive commitment and $10.00 is a more than worthwhile investment to see what works.

Stark white paint and a slate roof

I spent so much time pondering color and style for windows. Finally made a decision and went with Marvin casements in pebble gray. I love the Marvin's. Who knew windows were so darn expensive? Now, I gotta start saving up to finish the rest of the house.

Nice choice in the windows. The green of the door, seems a little cool to me. A warm red, or burnt orange? Congrats!

I like the color of the windows-they look great. The door color is very pretty as well!