New front door with transom to match your windows.

Thanks! What type/color door would you recommend?

CLF lowers property values. Remove it first. If you must have a fence, try black wrought iron like this.

Paint your window trim either black, or white like the neighbors if you want to fit in the neighborhood better. Replace the door and keep the new one black. See if you and the neighbor can agree on landscaping that will hide the utility boxes. You can hire a landscape architect to draw up planting plans that you can install yourselves over time to save on the budget. Pressure wash the brick and have any needed repairs or re-pointing done.

The fence has to go, some landscape work and cleaning up the brick should do it.

I agree with what others have written: my eye goes right to the chain link fence, and the yard debris, and then to the utility boxes affixed to the front wall, and then stops there. The brick row house is great-looking (agree that power wash will freshen it up), and the slate (?) walkway is too...getting rid of the fence, and adding landscaping - some of which might obscure or at least lead the eye away from the utility boxes - will do the trick!

Brick and Color

I assume you are in DC? I live in a historic brick rowhouse in Philly. I learned from the historic commission that power washing your bricks is one of the worst things you can do to them. If there are areas of discoloration - perhaps the bit of white at the top of yours, have contractor hand scrub with mild detergent.

I would not stain the brick and mortar. The bricks really look lovely as they are. Your house is the nicest in the row because you haven't painted the brick (also a bad decision because of moisture trapping) and you have what looks to be the original unpainted stone ridge above all your windows, or if it is painted it looks really natural unlike the rest of your neighbors. Brick and mortar staining can sometimes look off unless you get it perfectly right. I think yours look perfect already and would not mess with success.

Your window trim color is nice. If you intend to keep it, then have your cornice painted the same color, as well as the pointed work on the top of your house. Sorry don't know what that is called.

Historic Door

Sink your money into a really quality door hardwood door with nice brass hardware. We just got ours refinished and I get compliments from neighbors and strangers alike that it makes our house really stand out. Walk the neighborhood to see if anyone has an original door and what it looks like. Get a good architectural millworker to make you a replica. Your city historic commission might even have on file an example of the original ones. Paint the door and transom trim same as your windows. Get some nice brass colored address numbers in your transom.

Other Details

Ditch the mailbox and get a nicer light.

In addition to obscuring the meter box, also have it painted a close match to the bricks as shrubs alone won't do the trick.

Walk your neighborhood, find a house with attractive landscaping, leave a note for the neighbors and find out who did the work. It doesn't have to be extensive to look nice.

A new fence would help.

Thanks all for the advice. The house was actually repointed this past summer. It looks a little streaky because I had paint removed from the facade and there are faintly noticeable remnants. I am considering staining the brick to bring more uniformity to it. I'm also looking to lighten up the mortar a bit. The mortar ended up drying much darker than I expected and ended up making the house appear much darker.

Re the wood door - I've heard that wood doors are not ideal because they end up warped over time. I've been considering a Provia fiberglass door that mimics the look of a real wood door. Any thoughts on those? I was thinking of getting one with either a cherry or mahogany finish.

Is chain link standard on the block? There are neighborhoods here where it is a standard part of the landscape.

I would not use a fiberglass door on this front entry. The correct style of door for this house would probably have one large or two vertical panes of glass in the top half of the door.

IMO to change the color of the brick will just make the rest look even worse. Check about the fence that would e my first thing. Get rid of all the crap in the yard. IMO the front door suits the house, landscaping will go a long way to make this much nicer. If that fence stays then pland stuff that covers it . To me these brick row houses are always kind of nice and when everyone paints them they tend to look cheap, thats my opinion.A couple of tall black planters by the steps filled with seasonal color.

Your house is surrounded by others with clear crisp paint colors. Yours would look best if you chose similar colors- white, barely off white or yellow cream, not muddy light tan. Or a sharp brownish black for the trim.

We had Provia doors installed on our row home a few years ago and love them. They also did the transom as part of the framing so you can get them to match the windows. Great insulation and no more drafts!

I am not a fan of wood grain doors on brick houses. To me, they just do not stand out enough. I suggest a door of your chosen material that can be painted.

I'm not saying this is an ideal color. Just attempting to show that a colored door is often what keeps one row house from looking just like it's neighbor. I like the uniqueness of your brick and would leave it as it is.