I love the angled slats. I think this home has great potential to look like a modern design. Have you considered grey washing the exterior and staining the brick black? An aluminum tin roof would finish that modern aesthetic. As for the landscape, I would add tall grass plantings and some architectural rock features to tie it all in.

I think you could make some fairly subtle updates and the house would look great. Choose a pale gray/taupe roof color that matches the stonework. Then a darker charcoal garage door paint color. For the diagonal wood sections, I would try to see if keeping it natural and staining it a little darker cedar tone would work. Once you paint it you can't go back, so do the other changes first.

It looks like the front door style is really dated - if you can afford it, buy a new modern, flat door and paint it a bright color - maybe yellow, cactus green or red-orange (sort of depends on the landscaping). Or it could be a steel door left metal tone.

Landscaping - you pretty much have a blank slate here. Clumping grasses like cerex or fountain grass, along with flax always look modern and are easy to grow.

You mention you will be redoing the roofing. If the funds are available, it would be a good time to consider different roof treatments that could "modernize" your exterior. I like studiovinty metal roof suggestion and I'm also thinking about a bank of windows in a shed dormer running across the main roof. These windows would allow light into the house which from the looks of things, is needed due to the large overhangs. A floor plan would be needed to confirm the impact to the interior but it may be worth considering.

A dark putty color with copper and orange accents. Timberline roof color. Or maybe an gold ombre color would look cool. Aged oak shingles.

Thank you so much for all of the suggestions. I have actually been looking into a metal roof so with all of the consensus will continue that path. What a great site! Thanks again

More examples from houzz . 2D DRAWINGS.

Wow! I LOVE! the architecture of your home! If you're not raising the roof, to create more drama on the interior, I'd suggest beginning with the fireplace, and fall in love with one of the many faux stone veneers, and you'll have many colors as a jumping off point from which to choose a new house and roof color! Have Fun!

If your neighborhood allows it you should consider a mid century modern facelift. Stucco the brick, brighten up the colors, add more windows, etc. you have a beautifull house with lots of potential to do a face lift.
Good luck
Jan Jorissen

If you are re-roofing, go with metal roofing for sure to modernize the appearance. Standing seam wide profile would probably work best for scale. Replacing the angled siding with wood slat rain- screen in a few key visible spots would do it as well.

PS: check local utility net metering options, you may be able to squeeze in some BIPV solar roofing for not much more with available rebates.

People are paying big bucks for 80s look now. It actually cost a lot more to get this look.

We made a few changes .

Budget?

Check into stone coated steel roofing...its beautiful.

I think to modernize you will need colors updated. If you can change out the roof from brown to a grey/silver tone. Paint with a grey, more than one tone, in a complementary trim, or white trim. Focus on the "modern" feel and go with a clean fresh look. Update planting beds; add a modern looking porch deck. Where is your front door? It looks like a cave. Get a bright accent color in that area: orange, or lime green, or yellow. Change out garage doors to a modern translucent look. Get rid of all that shrubbery. You want a clean uncluttered look. I think it could be fantastic. Good luck.
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A stone veneer would be a great, lower cost way to update the exterior. Most of the times, you can install it right over the brick to provide a fast, beautiful update. Veneers come in many different colors and styles, so you can match your style preferences.

Here's a house we worked on that has a similar style siding to yours- to show you the siding and stone veneer combination:

The benefit of our 2D or 3D drawings is first the price, second all the upgrades are made on your home . its like having a projector beam options directly on your home , transforming it with each slide projection until you see what you like . its fantastic to have so many option to choose from but ultimately you will want to know the all familiar question . How will it look on my home?

PLEASE DON'T touch the masonary work on this gem. No need to.....it will be beautiful with just starting with the paint change. Going with shades of lighter gray with a pop of color at the front door area will make a huge difference. If you are feeling really bold, the 2D drawing provided by Everything Beautiful Home Designs looks great! Don't forget, the colored landscaping is critical to the entire curb appeal. You can get a big bang for your buck with the color changes and the new roof. Good luck and can't wait to see the results........your home is lovely...... :)

I am offering another option to the design process at a great price to houzzers . I personally use either the 2D or 3D every time as a presentation tool after listening to my clients needs . Not all clients have want a 3D then I use the 2D instead. The drawings above thankfully have awarded us with terrific compliments here on houzz . Mind you they are conceptual drawings that you can afford ,combined with all the supper talented "pro" advice you gain a clearer picture of the upgrades .

I like the ideas for a new roof, and metal will cheapen the look of the house. Go with a shake-look shingle. Landscaping the front will update and romance your home. Perhaps a modern see-through courtyard using wide metal trellises to contain a simple linear stone patio and raised water feature. Subtle lighting, roses in ground and on trellis with evergreen germander and dwf English Boxwood clipped hedges to contain the plantings. Large, modern concrete containers of various heights, planted with herbs and annual flowers would add color, fragrance and interest. A great way to welcome you and your visitors home.

I have a somewhat similar house and we are gutting it, inside and out. All I can say is - don't go too light on the roof. We made that mistake and now we have to live with it. Leverage the company that can offer you a 2D design. We've put up so many samples without success. Here is where we are currently at. Painters start Monday. We still don't have a color selected!

You know there is going to be such a difference once you clear out the pathway to the doorway. i sugest that on the low end , you reroof with a light gray roof. (cooler) But contrast with real dark gray on the eves boards showing on the roof and under the eve as well to the brick. Now also paint this dark gray around the windows framing. Also consider (option) the garage doors (if you upgrade) This is because it looks like you have gray in most of your brick. Paintings in the darker gray is to define and contrast the modern shape against brick and roofing.

Well for the boarding or siding, paint the wood a medium tone of gray color. It wont fade out like stain, and makes it updated and doesn't compete with the brick texture so much. (be sure to power wash the wood to clean up or sand or nothing will last you put on).So you use it on your garage doors (option2) and above them on all wood left and porch area also.
Trim out the door either in black or pick the modern colors as yellow or lime or orange if that is your style.
Remember the center of the house's siding should be the highlight of the landscape, with centered tall plant to help soften your siding texture. this could be lots of fun with the plant color choosen to matching the awsome colored door or all white plantings or mixture of all colors. the pocketbook is the limit.

Then new shiny stainless steel mail box, numbers and porch lighting door handles, and finally landscape lighting on your plantings.

Remember gray colors are found in many shades of green, purple, blues, even red pigments tones added and that could make your front door color pop but look correctly selected.

With your red roof, I suggest white.

Would add some large windows - patio doors, seems like you have plenty of room for a small terrace

Here is your house with a charcoal roof, and grey siding. This may work with your brick, would need to see it up close.

Here is a closer picture of the brick. I am so appreciative of all of your comments and suggestions.

change the roof to a charcoal grey and paint all the siding and brick white.. add a pop of color with the front door paint.

O man..sadly I have to say I love this how it is. One day people will be looking for these houses with the original unpainted wood paneling. New garage doors would be the only thing I would change..

Thanks for the picture of the brick! I think that grey is too cool in tone, and you would be better off sticking with a warm taupe like this (below). I tried cream, and it was too stark. Another advantage of this color is that it is actually valid for the period of the house.
I lived in a very similar house for five years; mine was a Lindal Cedar house. Lots of cedar-stained wood, and the same red shingles on the roof. I changed my roof to a grey-brown architectural shingle, which looked very good.

Replace the wood siding with new wood siding and and install metal roof in charcoal.

OK I change my mind what ronny360 just posted would be an awesome way to go.

This has features of my own home, and those in our neighborhood. We chose a replacement roof that resembled the color and look of the aged shake we had to take out. Painted a warm tone sort of between tan and putty. Trim and garage doors in one/two shades lighter. It took me 17 samples on the side of the house to make such a dramatic decision in the end (haha). In the end, the lines of the house said more about it than some of the bolder color schemes I tried ever could, if that makes sense. I'd spend some coin on the largest tree you could get and put it away from the house on the right hand side lined up with the "V" on the siding. In a few years it will balance the left hand side. Taking out the hedge is a great idea, and will help a lot. We added a larger hardscape entry platform in colored concrete washed aggregate, and have a standing piece of metal art on it. Pretty happy with how it turned out.

Bow that I see the stone, I like the idea of a softer color- this would brighten your doorway and make your stone pop. Right now it is all a dark flat looking house. Going lighter though does mean a solid color unless you invest in new siding, but if the existing is in good shape that seems silly.

Love the picture from Ronny360- it's beautiful!

I'm in the minority I guess, but I like your house and would not make any structural changes. I think it would be beautiful if your changes were those that brought it back to the vision that the original architect had, and show it off by beautiful landscaping in the front yard.

When I first saw your photo, I thought "what a nice house, too bad the entry way has been cut off by landscaping instead of welcoming us to the house." So I think you are on the right track by removing that landscaping. I would seek the advice of a landscape designer - it will make SUCH a big difference in the way you view your house if the front yard and entry approach is beautiful and people are drawn to your front door.

Your house has two windows in the front that go down really low so that the people inside can actually see the ground. This is a wonderful thing to have! Being able to view the ground from the inside of a room is a very different emotional experience from not being able to see the ground. Giving the people inside something beautiful to view on the outside will greatly enhance that experience.

I also like the combination of the brick and the wood siding. It is hard to know what the original architect envisioned as the color for the siding, but it was probably a natural tone wood stain. Is the siding in good shape, and is it painted or stained? And if stained, is it semi-transparent or opaque stain? (What is on it now will make a difference in how much it will cost to prep it for whatever color you envision when redone.) To go lighter in stain, it may need to be sandblasted. Stain lets the grain of the wood show, but it is high maintenance, even more so since the environmental laws removed certain elements from stain that previously helped it last longer. You have a lot of color choices in stain or paint, but I think you change the integrity of the house too much if you go for anything other than a "natural" wood tone, which you can achieve in the grays as mentioned above.

I think you should go in the "rustic" direction for the roofing materials, rather than the contemporary. For this reason, I think metal roofing would be a mistake. Take a look at the top of the line composition shingles that have texture and shading that elicits the feel of wood shake. It is more expensive, but if you like it your house will look beautiful with it. You have a very nice house. I'd love to see photos in the future after you've made changes, whatever you decide to do.

dxander, regarding the closeup image of the front walk you uploaded, a landscape renovation - including the hardscapes, will make an enormous difference to the appearance of your house no matter which of the great roof or cladding suggestions you decide to go with. (Scott Design Inc. really nailed it).

First and most important, the concrete walk is too close to the house and too narrow. With the amount of front yard space you have and the size of that driveway, your front entry should scale-up in size. Get the proportions of the front walk and landscaping corrected and the whole house will look larger and more inviting.

The home's late Mid-century architecture has merit, but the 1960's Yew edge the runs along the walk is confining stiff and dreary. You would do better to open things up and include more variety. I don't see anything in the image that adds to the beauty and value of your home, so would recommend to start with a clean slate -new walk, plantings, etc. Also, the view of the front landscape from inside the house looking out (for the people who live there) should be just as nice as the view from the curb.

Pull the front walk out so that it starts further down your driveway. That will make it more visible and more pedestrian-friendly should there be cars parked in the driveway. In fact from the straight-on photos of the house I can't even tell where the front door is. Thoughtfully-designed landscaping can correct that lack of focus.

Create a courtyard-type entry that reaches out and welcomes visitors. The walk and the landscaping should provide for an effortless and enjoyable arrival at your front door. Of course there's much more to the landscape design than that, but just wanted to help you see the big picture. Also, I don't know if you put those concrete blocks along the driveway and walk, but they serve no purpose and are not attractive in and of themselves. Just because the big box stores stock those things doesn't mean you have to use them. Your lot looks flat, so the only thing they are retaining is water - impeding drainage away from the building. Trapping water against your foundation is not a good thing.

Attached are some Houzz photo links of front entry landscapes that demonstrate what I mean as far as a courtyard type entry and proper proportion of the front entry. Some landscapes in these images are more modern than others, but it's the size and positioning of elements that you should take note of.

Thank you... the landscaping, etc. was done by the previous owners. I will send updates once we come up with a firm plan.

wish I had found this discussion earlier. it's great the house has those nice low overhangs because you can have windows open during a rainstorm and they provide some shade too. i'm just posting so I can see how it turns out :)

Hey dxander you need any drawings? How's it going?

Wanted to show you the progress on our little house on the Bay. The metal roof was much more than we anticipated, the lowest quote was $24,000. So we went the traditional route so we could do more upgrades on the inside. Once again, thank you everyone for all your suggestions and comments.

Looking much better. How much more do you plan to do? Everything Beautiful had some nice ideas for you on their illustration. One step at a time!

Kitchen before and after

Our next step is to get some landscaping in.

The picture makes the garage doors look bright orange, they are really more of a terracotta. Sherwin Williams Earthen Jug. No 7703

Earthen Jug is a nice color. Our dining room ceiling is painted that color. Your house looks 100x better now.

Given the simple lines of the roof raised batten metal is the best, but here how you make it affordable. Leave the existing roof in place. have the withe of the metal roof match the spacing of the rafters. This allows a metal clip on each rafter or truss to support the new roof. Note you can get the roof panels pre cut to your exact measurements. Something I wouldn't do if the roof was cut up and complex. These panels can be stacked in order of install from the end and delivered to the roof. You can then self install, you and two helpers, by dragging the panels off the top of the stacks screwing down the 1st and dropping the next over the screwed down edge. You should buy the crimping tool for the final closure of the seam, selling it after the job is done. Their are a couple of tips to add if you decide to do it yourself.

I just bought a home that is so similar to yours I would love to see your After Pictures.