I like it without shutters. And save the rest of your money toward getting rid of the red brick. You’re right - it is hideous, especially now.

Really nice home. Your landscaping is the "finish" you need.

It appears you outlined your driveway with a brick walk but dirt has washed over it; if so, you may need to add a curb to prevent that from being a regular occurrence but first try outlining the sidewalk with liriope or some other low growing plant

Thanks Dig Doug, wow. Looks great! Wish we could have grass but just too dry here and water too expensive. I think I would do exactly what you’ve shown! We’ve got landscaping all planned out so am really looking for advice for the front of the house. any ideas? Thanks again!!

Suezbell, thank you! Yes, I’m so excited and ready for landscaping. Sick of the dirt! And yes, lots of dirt at the moment. That’s all in preparation for landscaping. We will lower it next to the driveway and also add rocks, boulders and plants, including liriope. Any thoughts re: anything we can do to the house to spruce it up? Trim colors? Thanks again!!

I'd probably want to add to the garage roof and house roof to extend the covered area in front of the door -- but I'm a big fan of porches large enough for a pair of chairs.

It appears you have a green space behind your home. If there are drought resistant plants native to your area that would create a natural privacy screen, you might consider placing them in strategic locations.

Thanks suezbell. Would love a bigger porch but that’s not in the budget for now..but maybe someday! Thx!

Any other suggestions for trim colors, shutters, etc? Would really appreciate any ideas as I’m a bit stuck and my husband is not helpful with this kind of thing! Thanks!!

No shutter, I'd recommend a warm, soft moss green for the trim and painting the garage door to match the stucco. As for the brick driveway, if you have some plants that echo the colors, it will fit in better. What your house really needs is the landscaping.

It looks so much better already, great choices! I think I would leave the garage doors as is, and don't add shutters. Paint the house and garage trim all the same color- I can't do a mockup unfortunately but maybe a greige or warm gray, to complement the browns without making it too brown.

Before you do anything else I would wait until your landscape is in. I don't think your home needs much and it has come so far! However, I definitely would not add shutters. I would darken the trim more so there is less of a red tone. If you paint the house I would darken the garage. If you don't paint the home I would leave it as is.

Your home looks really nice!

I would do a darker brown for trim, less red, as Glo suggested. Then just landscape.

I hope you post your finished landscape. I’m in SoCal and would like to do something similar to what you are describing. I would love to see it!

Thanks all!
Ok, so no shutters. Got it! 1 less project ;)

And we are actually fog coating with that beige color stucco. No paint. I do love the mock up of the darker color! But I wanted a lighter color for hopefully keeping the house cooler. I would have loved off-white but afraid of looking dirty. I’m happy with the color. Need to get the other 3 sides fog coated now.

And I think I like the darker brown trim along the roofline too. Our windows are brown/bronze so I think that’s a nice compliment. But I’m still unsure about the trim around the garage and front doors. I like the idea of a lighter color (grey/green or a greige) there. Something that will compliment the house & the landscaping which will have all shades of green. And also my teal/turquoise pots (that I don’t have yet). I’m trying to get it to have a Mediterranean feel even though I know it’s not a Mediterranean style. ;)

But I’m having a hard time envisioning the grey/green or greige trim. Can anyone mock that up? Any other thoughts on the trim?

Here’s a pic of our front entry. It’s a work in progress! But you can see the trim. And clearly I need to tile the floor but we might extend it a bit. I’m thinking travertine. It was a very 70s dark brown time with flowers (?!?). We’re getting there!

Thanks all! Keep the ideas coming please :) Love them!

This is the before...

I would go for a dark gray trim color to go with your black windows. That way the new landscaping will stand out instead of the trim. Garage door I would leave as is and update to a new look when you have the money to spend.