Your brick seems to have a bit of a peachy/pink tone, which is making it a little challenging to work with. The gold/yellow paint is doing nothing for it. The facia nd overhangs definately need a darker color, gutters too (its okay to paint gutters). Now this is an I think?? get a test pot for sure, but look at SW 6048 Terra Brun. It is a dark brown color with a pinky undertone. Use that color on the trim and vent louvers too. The garage door I'd paint the color of the body of the house, get some swatches and match it as closely as you can. The front door is lost within the arch, and I cant tell if you have a storm door or not. You may look for a nice burgundy, not too dark a little on the brighter side. For the siding on the rear maybe SW6066 Sand Trap, its a taupe color that does have a pink undertone as well and should look nice with the trim color. The landscaping will be crucial to changing the effect of the exterior. I would extend the planting area in front of the window to the left of the front door to arch around and meet the corner of the walkway. I see you have stepping stones too, but if they are not needed I'd extend the planting bed all the way to the driveway in front of the side walk. A Japanese Maple and some Barberry (red) would look great. It looks like you have a small tree hidden in the shadows, I'd bring a larger evergreen outward into that bed, and keep some lower style evergreen as foundation plants around it. I'm not sure which zone you live in or I'd make further recommendations. The two "void" areas next to the window of the garage could use a narrow style evergreen as well, like an Alaskan Weeping Cedar. The green color will help balance the pinky tones in the brick.

Sstar93- I'm wondering if you might be able to help me with one more rendering so I can make a final decision? I downloaded the Sketchup software yesterday, but its quite a learning curve as you said. What I'd like to see for a final would be: Rooflines untouched. Traditional siding on large left section of house. White trim around windows and brick on lower level painted to match siding color. Center section: Porch and entry location unchanged. Board and batting siding all the way across till end of garage, so including garage Nd center section. At the point where the brick would meet the center section, I'd like a section of wainscoting with narrow, craftsman style stones, to meet the wall of the garage. Front windows also with wide white trim. Porch and posts: White square pillars, with same stonework as on the wainscoting on front wall, center section on bottoms with brick porch and steps. This is our tentative plan with the eventual replacement of the brick on the main section when we can afford it. We'll probably have to do this in phases, but we're off setting some of the cost by going with the board/batten instead of shakes and using the savings on the stone work. Thank you so much! I can't wait to have a bit more time to fiddle with this program and work on the landscaping! With much appreciation, Terri Shaver

My ex and I had a small "yacht" which in our case was just a big boat. :) (Someone always has a bigger, better one). The wood being luxurious looking and pristine is a must. I'd only suggest adding a small Persian type rug in front of the salon chairs and at the helm. It will add a feeling a "luxury" and a little color and pattern to the spaces and make it feel like "home".

Personally, I'd put some peonies and annuals or perennials in the brick box along the walk. If you put in roses that have thorns, be sure they are not located in a spot where you have to get behind them to do maintenance like painting, gutter cleaning, or turning on the hose to water the yard otherwise you'll be impaling yourself regularly. It looks like you have enough room to put a rhododendron in that corner by the walk/brick box, but some varieties can get very large (see photo) so measure before buying to be sure it won't outgrow the space. That'll give you an evergreen that blossoms in the spring. It's also good in shady areas since it is an understory plant. Have your soil tested, you can get bags from your local extension service to get this done and it will help you determine which plants will do the best in your yard, or if you need to amend the soil before planting anything. For any foundation plantings of shrubs be sure you know the size the plant will be when it is mature so you plant them far enough apart, and far enough from the foundation of the house so they won't be crowded and get fungal diseases. You don't want to plant something that will get huge right in front of a window, and you don't want something that might provide cover if someone is breaking into your home. Looking forward to seeing the finished product!