Are you willing to change rooflines to get closer to the style you're after, or just siding materials/decorative elements?

Great question/idea. Unfortunately, that would be beyond our budget. If anything we might be able to add a trellis or small roof extension above the garage door, but we don't plan to touch the existing roof.

Yeah, painting the brick has been a concern and we've had hesitation on whether we wanted to take that leap of faith. Once you paint it, it's very difficult to go back to a natural brick. That is still TBD. The framing of the garage with the metal roof extension in the picture you included could be an option for us, too.

I agree with not painting the brick since it's such a nice feature.

Changing the garage ,siding,and trim colors and adding some peak trim (on a smaller scale than your drawings suggest) is enough...since you are looking for a simpler design ..adding more dominant detail would be counter to your goal..

I think you have a classic looking home and any of your suggestions are not money well spent. Leave the brick alone go with an updated color as PCC suggests and remove the grilles in garage door windows. Then update the landscaping. Balls are out. Fix the driveway. Brighten the front door area. A farmhouse its not

Any advice on colors that would be more updated? Should the main color match the trim? We also are replacing gutters and need to decide on gutter color. The traditional color with the light trim seems outdated and 90's to me. (House was built in '94 with this color scheme). What do you mean that balls are out? The shape of the landscaping bushes?

Yes the bushes should be more natural shaped not trimmed all even. PCC 's suggestion of the sage includes the trim and garage door. suggestion all the same color

I agree with much of what has been said. That green would be beautiful. I would hesitate to “ update” with the current gray trend. Those colors are dismal and foreboding.

After your paint changes have been made I would look into a professional landscape/ hardscape plan. Your house will rock !

The issue I have with your mock ups is that every detail and corner seems to be outlined in a contrasting color that just emphasizes the fact that you're overloaded with boxes already. Consider painting the corners of that center dormer, and the downspout on the other corner to match whatever you select for the siding color. To work as your inspo house does, paint all of it the same white, then add natural wood trim in your gables, at the garage and front doors. I think you need to reduce the busy effect of it now, and a neutralizing white will do that.

Excellent points and this makes sense. I'll see if I can get some new mock-ups done with your ideas. I do have cost concerns with the garage door as I was hoping I wouldn't have to replace it with a wood door. We are leaning towards a neutralized white. Still undecided on painting the brick. I think if we go white, we'd have to paint the brick.

That huge ?abelia? bush in the front is beautiful. If you can have it moved and save it as you add your front porch, please do.

Would NOT paint the brick -- Painting the brick immediately lowers the value of your home and, because anything painted will, inevitably, need to be repainted (and get ugly as it gets that way) doing so will create future maintenance cost, defeating one of the primary purposes of having a brick exterior.

IF curb appeal is the only objective, what you have looks better than what you're considering.

If, however, you need to replace the roof and/or have other objectives such as increasing the upstairs floor/living space and/or adding a front porch, then can be done.

What you want to avoid is creating a center valley where two roof slopes meet directing water into that valley. You could extend the left slope of the garage and the right slope of the forward facing gable on the right side of the house until they meet in the middle at a point which will be slightly higher than the left/right ridge of the house.

You could then extend that new single larger forward facing gable forward at least as far as the front exterior wall of the garage or, better yet, stop at the front exterior wall of the right side of the house so that you do still have a full forard facing gable over the front exterior wall of the garage and it is in front of a single full forward facing gable roof over the entire front half of the house.

You'd be removing that highest (windowless) forward facing gable, the bump out with the small window as well as the forward sloping roof beside and below it the front exterior wall of that upstairs.

You'd be creating a new front upstairs exterior wall from the left/right center ridge of the house beginning at the garage and all the way over to the center ridge of the existing forward facing gable on the right front corner of the house, either extending the existing upstairs rooms and/or building a new room(s) in front of them. There would still be a valley above/behind that right slope of the right forward facing gable ... but it would be one that would still drain off the right side of the house as it now does.

Once you end up with a single forward facing gable with a narrower forward facing gable over the garage in front of it, you could add a shed roof across the front of the larger forward facing gable from the garage roof to the right front corner of the house.

You could extend that shed roofed porch either only out to be even with the front exterior wall of the garage or you could extend it three or four more feet so you could enter the porch on the side from the driveway.

If you choose to extend the home's front porch forward beyond the front exterior wall of garage, you could add an overhang or arbor across the garage above the door as well.

You would want to add a small forward facing gable in that shed roof of the porch but only over the front entry of the home.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=jB3YViXp&id=C94177B749FBA121C5DBE62372A060FEDD9C9CD5&thid=OIP.jB3YViXpIHaOMBL55RXRJAHaFj&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fst.hzcdn.com%2fsimgs%2f16b117e3046a0386_4-3868%2ftraditional-porch.jpg&exph=480&expw=640&q=shed+roofed+front+porch+with+gable+over+entry&simid=608050782339141525&ck=73AF036C74A4A81E7B93882E059493CE&selectedIndex=97&FORM=IRPRST&ajaxhist=0

Don't be discouraged about painting. Romabio is a source for long lasting paints designed for masonry. Check them out. Painting with house paint would not be good, but specialty paints can cover all kinds of surfaces they're designed for.

I think your house is very nice looking as it is. I don’t care for the baby blue siding and would consider changing the color of the front door, but your brick looks nice and I would not start adding details that don’t belong on this house. The things that struck me are the driveway and walkway, both of which I would redo, and I would get rid of the bushes flanking the garage and that huge bush blocking the entire window on the right. I think landscaping would go a long way.

Have you considered just creating a shed roof front porch with its front being even with the front exterior wall of the garage and then wrapping the roof around the right corner of your home?

For paint color, consider choosing the gray (or another color) from within the brick.

Keep red brick and go with light gray or sage green on siding. This will respect the spirit of the house IMO.

Thank you to everyone for the feedback! Lots of great ideas about adding to the roofline and having a front porch, too. We've also considered that, but it is cost-prohibitive at this time. We're just looking to update the front and move from the 90's paint scheme/architecture into something more modern and/or classic craftsman, which is timeless, IMO. Great comments on the landscaping and yes, we are planning to remove the huge Japanese Maple blocking our front window. It's a beautiful tree but has grown too large for the space it occupies. The large wisteria vine above the garage will be removed. And, great feedback on the oval holly bushes flanking the sides of the garage. I concur those either need to be re-shaped or removed and replaced with something else.

I'm actually surprised by the feedback saying to not paint the brick. I understand it will lead to more maintenance down the road, but the current brick limits the design ideas we have. Many new homes in the north Atlanta suburbs have that modern craftsman/farmhouse look with painted brick, and that is why we're leaning that way. At this point, we like white, or light gray with darker trim/gutters/window frames. I'm hoping to get another mock-up done soon. Keep the ideas coming!

Your home should reflect your personal taste -- even if that is painted brick.

Even if you cannot otherwise change the roof line, you could still create a more country look with a shed or flat roof country style porch that wraps around the right corner of the house (with a hip corner on the right side of the porch roof ) and use posts and other features for the porch -- including white paint -- that creates the look you want on a porch. Have the porch on the right side end just before or just after a side window or door and add steps/sidewalk so the porch leads you to your side/back yard patio.

A lot of older homes were white with white window and door trim but with black shutters and an occasional black door with metal kick plate and black metal house numbers and a black metal "mail box" beside the door beneath a black metal porch light. If the roof were black, sometimes the fascia and shutters were, too, but if the roof were gray, often the fascia and shutters were gray as well.

Another alternative to painting the brick might also be covering it on the front of the house (perhaps only on the front of the house or even only the front of the garage) with white vertical board & batten siding which would make your white wood door stand out a lot less.