Personally, I like the front better than the back. I would work on the landscaping before doing anything to the house. Remove the hydrangeas and the railing and open up the view to the house. Maybe you can relocate those beautiful hydrangeas? Is that a stone planter below the terrace? I would fill it with low growing seasonal color. Some containers on the terrace, keeping in mind correct scale, could be a good addition.

I would also paint that small tan area the same darker color of the rest of the wood exterior.

The front of your house is STUNNING! I wouldn’t add anything architecturally! I think your planters are too small, the pot with trellis needs to be 3x the size it is and I love the lion heads and they are great up close but don’t do much from the curb shot you posted, I think you could do something bigger!

Is this the same house that would have the 8 by 8 foot room for the au pair or a different house? https://www.houzz.com/discussions/murphy-bed-in-a-very-small-home-office-any-suggestions-dsvw-vd~5445990?n=9

I love your house. Wonder if a Juliette balcony around the window on the right would break up the triangle effect you’re nervous about?

Hi apple_pie_order - yes! It's the same house. All of our pipes burst in January so we've been gifted with an expected gut renovation. I've been posting lots of questions throughout the renovation process. irol96 - I love the idea of a Juliet balcony!

Claire - I agree about the size of the planters and the lion heads. They should all be much bigger as should the overhead light. Great points.

Your house has a storybook charm. A Juliette balcony as irol96 would look nice but it is very nice as is. Love the light fixture over the door. The lion heads would look bigger if you put a plant on them.

Brick + dark paint like you have is nice. Some of the Trim in blue? Neighbour has a Tudor house and the colour scheme looks wonderful!

saratogaswizzlestick - agree about the lion planters looking better with plants. We're in a gut renovation so no plants until we're finished. Last year we had nasturtium in them, and it looked like a lion's mane. It was terrific.

nsc6 I'd love to see your neighbor's exterior. I was considering blue trim to brighten the exterior.

You could add wood shutters to that one window to give a more horizontal line. But what accentuates the peak is the dark color on the trim and wood siding. What about a lighter color scheme? Like this:

Or this:I think the lion heads are the right size, but need pots with flowers over them. I also think the light over the door is fine. I wouldn't replace it if it is original to the house.

I should clarify, it looked wonderful with some blue around windows and some blue with the dark on the slopes trim. They unfortunately decided to update their wood windows so the trims are black or dark gray, now, not as pretty as before. All the blue is gone now, and looks not as uplifting as before. This house is in a nice neighbourhood, value about $4 mil.

By the way, you want to keep an eye (and maybe call in an arborist) on that giant tree so close to the back of the house. That could be a real problem.

I think tampering with the existing front would be a crime. An unattached pergola along the front of your terrace would provide the visual break I think you are trying to achieve. Once your start messing with the original facade, you can't go back when you realize you've made a mistake...

What a beautiful house. It is similar to mine and when I moved in, I painted the trim a deep green to compliment the red brick. If money were no object, consider taking the dark paneled side of the house to half timber. I plan to do that, remove siding and put up half timber to emphasize the Tudor look.
I love love love the brick but adding curves to it may lessen the steep aline look. Maybe a simple curved pergola over your front door as a way to punch up your entry, shutters on the lower window and a curved bay or Juliette window on the top.

Beautiful house. Sorry about the burst pipes and gut remodel. If you need to reconfigure rooms to accommodate more people such as the au pair, this is the time to consult an architect who can find a solution that respects the architecture. There are probably already 1000 code-related upgrades on the remodel list.

I'd go with white hydrangeas when you are ready to landscape.

You have a nice looking house. The fan trellises I find distracting, particularly the one that overlaps the door surround. Larger pots with a topiary or narrow shrub like a sky pencil holly would complement the house style better than the cottage style fan trellis.

As someone else mentioned, please have an arborist look at those two trees that appear to be encroaching on the house. Otherwise, you have a gorgeous home.

We're well aware of the trees. Thank you for the concerns. We're seeking affordable solutions...

I don't think this is terrible, but I don't think it adds anything

This doesn't really add much:

Palimpsest - thank you!! You’re right. Maybe just a balcony under the upper window? What do you think?

And neither does this...I think if I saw any of these, I would think, okay. But I think the powerful exaggerated gable is one of the characteristics of deco period tudors

I honestly don't think it needs anything. A small balcony, a trellis any of those things aren't really appropriate. I think the only thing that would be close to appropriate would be some sort of well-designed half timbered bracketed canopy over the door

but I think that would detract from the door itself. The pitch of the roof isn't right and the canopy would have to be so pitched it would look goofy.

I think the only thing I would do is add a larger lantern.

Haven't read the comments, but I wanted to tell you that I love your home. I actually really like your brick façade as is.

Lovely house. I would just improve the landscaping.

About 5 years ago I had a big tree removed and it cost over $1K, but well worth the peace of mind.

What a gem of a house. It's not a tudor. It's a romantic revival with a minimalism twist.

A considerable talent designed this house. Please leave the design alone.

I would just power wash the brick. New coat of paint the same dark color front and back.

I know this isn’t helpful but I wouldn’t change a thing :) I love your house. The front brick patio is so great.

Your home is gorgeous!

Btw what prompt me to take my big tree down was the last windy storm we had, my next door neighbours big tree on the other side of her front lawn, topple over and fell cross her front lawn and my front lawn, which means 120’ tall as our lots are 60’ wide each, just missing both our houses! This is on the west coast and our storms are not big or frequent either.

Ok. Well, I’ve once again been schooled by the Houzz hive. Thanks all for contributing. I value your expertise and experience. We will reconsider removing the trees. Breaks my heart but they could break the house. Last question - the lantern above the door is way too small. Any suggestions on replacing it? Is there a correction proportion? Please send suggestions!

Thank you!

Consider photoshopping out the bushes in front and the wood trellises. The bushes make your home sink into the landscape. Show off your beautiful brick front. The trellises are distracting. Others have made great suggestions. Try photoshopping FIRST, before you make any final decisions. I own a 1937 red brick and new landscaping was all it needed to show off its architectural beauty. When I bought it, the entire front was overwhelmed and hidden by massive shrubbery.

How big is that one? You could probably double it in size.

https://www.tudorfurnishings.com/Tudor_Style_Lighting/2nd_Ave_Tudor_Style_Lighting/2nd_Ave_Exterior_Wall_Mount_Lanterns/4242

https://www.tudorfurnishings.com/Tudor_Style_Lighting/Tudor_and_Cottage_Style_Lighting_by_Americas_Finest_Lighting_Company/Brinley_Series/5816

Your House is beautiful. I think landscaping will change it a lot. I agree the light needs to be more substantial. There are tons of great iron outdoor lights that would enhance the front area.

Removing those trees will be quite expensive, in the thousands, not hundreds of dollars. I would have a certified arborist, not just a tree cutter, come look at your trees and see what he recommends. In fact, I would probably suggest talking with a couple different guys and see if you get similar advice from both. You might be advised that lightening the load and balancing the tree would significantly lower the risk of a damage from a windstorm. In the long run, it might be just as expensive to have the trees trimmed every 7 to 10 years as to have them removed but you would keep the shade.

Lyndee Lee - the estimates to remove the trees range from $12K to $20K. We've explored this option with several certified arborists. The hefty fee is why they are still there. It's a challenge as not only are they HUGE but they are elevated so it involves renting hydrolics just to get the equipment to the tree.

Perhaps get estimates from just tree cutters as well. Should be cheaper then an arborist.

The danger from wind storms are if the roots are weak or the soil is unstable. Only solution is to cut down the tree then.

The third danger is if wind can not pass freely when the wind blows.....remedy for that is to make sure the branches are not so dense, ie there must be plenty of hole spaces in between throughout the tree for the wind to go through. Solution....trim the tree strategically for that, should be much cheaper. A tree trimmer climbs, so no need to get equipment up the slope.

i have seen a tree where all the branches were trimmed off, then there would be no swaying from the wind. The large main trunk is left standing but do not know if this tree is still alive, but think so bc can see small growth here and there on the trunk.

Marybeth, the facade of your home is lovely . It has so much charm and character . I don’t think it needs any large changes for ornamentation purposes alone. HOWEVER, if your goal is to lesson the visual impact of the A frame portion, I think what is needed is more DIMENSION. Consider adding a portico type awning with chunky brackets over and around the lower- level front WINDOW to the right of the front door. I would leave the front door with it’s interesting shape as is, except to add a much larger lantern . The window is more central to that part of the structure . The balance of having something dimensional there will have more impact. The larger entrance lantern, the more dimensional window and possibly, ( not essential, imo,- but nice ) a Juliette balcony ( which would tie in with your iron railing at the patio ) above would all break up the flat a frame portion and de- emphasize that. — pics. below are for inspiration only - not color or material.

Marybeth, your homes facade is lovely - so much charm and character. Not for ornamentation , but in the interest of lessening the A- frame effect , I think what is called for there is DIMENSION. I would leave the interesting shape of the front door as is - with the exception of adding a much larger lantern. However the window to the right of the door is more central to that part of the structure. Consider building a portico type awning with big, chunky brackets , over and around that window . Changing that flat portion to include more dimension would have more impact there. Not essential, but as was mentioned , a Juliette balcony above would further develop the dimensional aspect, tie in with your iron patio railing and look beautiful, too.—- The pics. below are just for inspiration - not as an example of color or materials.

So sorry - that did not show as having posted the first time , so I started over.

I understand the challenges of big trees as my house has two huge trees, both over 100 ft tall, and the sycamore tree towers over the house. The tree is so large that the tree climbers had to use an extension ladder to get high enough to start climbing. They were able to remove some load from the tree but to remove the large branch over the house would require a crane. As long as the tree is healthy, just being close to the house is not sufficient reason for me to want to remove the tree.

I was not concern either with my neighbour‘s tree before it fell. If it had fallen about 3 feet closer to the houses, the people in the bedroom there at that time would have been crushed to death.

my neighbour did not know their tree was a problem, it appeared healthy so we don’t know what the problem was. But that experience was very scary for both our houses here. Maybe my neighbours house insurance had paid for the cut up and hauling away of the fallen tree.

I was wondering if the OP ever decided to take out the two giant trees. In addition to safety, it occurs to me that taking out the trees could do a lot to alter the appearance of the facade. Of course, as others have said, the house is quite beautiful as it is.