The price of free advice is on-going photos and updates. 😊 We can get very invested in what you do.

Please have a good architect involved if you add dormer windows. We have a couple of examples in our area where builders slapped on dormers to existing older homes and the placement and/or scale were wrong. It completely messed up the exteriors.

Karen, he can tell you lots of things. You cannot add like the Gunston Hall, because your roof is hipped. You will not be able to keep your symmetry. Your roofline is one of the reasons many of us were feeling that more French vibe. You need a colonial roof to achieve that look with the dormer windows. I know the example I shared has both, but the scale of that chateau is much larger. I just have concerns its not going to work out well.

Here's an example the contractor sent of the added dormers and the new middle section over the door.

Your original home is beautiful and charming. I wish I could say something positive about the proposed one because I hate to rain on people's parades. Not sure why you are switching from a hip roof, but switching to the gables makes the house long and out of proportion and more like a few townhouses attached together than a single family home. Sorry! Your original home is so beautiful. I am having a hard time understanding why you would want to alter it in such a degree?

Karen, you don’t really have a hipped roof, correct? You’re not changing the roof line at all, are you? I think people have gotten confused by the roof shadows in the photo. One question: will the contractor be able to match the brick with that raised brick middle section?

Good question N Johnson!! It was mentioned as hipped and looks like it, but maybe the trees are covering :) . The proposed changes are great for the contractor. Not so much for the house. Again, sorry!

Sorry, the contractors proposed brick midsection is bit of a mish mash. Are the dormers for looks or are they providing additional space along with a whole new roof. I thought your home was beautiful the second I saw your post. Yes, needs different color shutters, maybe a few tweaks, and landscaping especially that dangerous branch over the roof. Spend your funds on the inside and back.

Black shutters are too contrast with your wall color. I would go with charcoal gray instead. Black or wooden front door and overhang as top roof continuation.

or muted green shutters.

If you must change the brink have you thought of lime washing it rather than white paint?  Also, have you considered replacing the shutters with an arched joined board & baton type shutter? It depends on the look you are trying to accomplish.

This house is sooo improved by getting rid of that light blue. Those shutters are the real deal and amazing, they deserve a more dignified color! I love the proposed dormers...not so much the door way vault. It looks too contrived. Why the change in the brick color? What you have is a nice in between given the fad to white wash everything. The brick in the dormer pic is beautiful but not as 2022 looking as what you have now. Can't wait to see how this turns out!!

I’m sure whatever you decide to do with your house will be lovely, but personally I love the look of your house as is. It is beautiful and timeless. It is now unique because it seems to have been allowed to age on its own thus developing a sense of history. I don’t know if this house is actually older, or just appears to be, but it’s lovely. Perhaps just landscaping would update to the standard you are hoping for.

Sorry, but I think the gable in the picture your contractor sent is ill-proportioned and gets a little McMansionish.

When you talked about changing the entry of your house, this house came to mind. I've always liked this house, it's a 1960s pastiche of colonial in a partly intact block of colonial and federal houses. The popped up fanlight on this door is very 1960s and totally made up, but to some extent the house "needs" it because the ceiling height at that front door is otherwise about 7 feet. (The houses behind are c.1810 and were part of the Cadwallader Estate)

This is what it looked like back in 1959: it looks like a partly restored bit of colonial building but it's hard to say for sure, there are bits and pieces of much later infill all around the area. The house to the left was probably Edwardian, there may have been something squeezed on the lot where the cars are now. The windows in the newer picture are 1960s fantasy. A new house seems to have been built there in the colonial style. (They are now one house instead of two)

In any case, I don't think your house really needs anything bumped up at the entry because you already have a lot of height there unlike this building.

The window placement is not symmetrical and adding dormers will accentuate this and IMO never look right.

Another vote for soft blue-green shutters, white trim, and no pediment.

This beautiful house needs no foundation plantings. Large planters in front of the pilasters can be changed seasonally with flowers or foliage. Perhaps the foreground can be used if you feel that the lot seems empty. Wider view needed for suggestions.

What does the rest of the house look like? The sides and back.

I don’t think the contractor’s ideas will improve your house. It’s gorgeous as is, and a bit of color changing (shutters and pediment) and some landscaping will do the trick. In my experience, contractors are low on aesthetics and high on creating unnecessary work. Leave your house as is.

RedRyder is right. Please don't let a contractor dream up things you will pay him to build. I'm no pro but I think the contractor's ideas look awful. If you are determined to make changes, add dormers, etc, please first engage a good architect.

Your home is beautiful! Wow! Think changing this lovely home is nuts! The contractor idea - thumb's down. I agree with some of the above. Pick a new shutter and door color to make it your own. Landscape Landscape Landscape - best way to upgrade this lovely home and lot.
Maybe use funds to upgrade backyard into a living space if that is needed/desired. ;)

Leave the brick alone. It has a beautiful patina. Trim the branches that overhang the roof. Paint the shutters. I don’t like the pediment but I rarely do in a 20th C home.

Another down vote for me. Try the simplest suggestions first. (If you choose to try it,) the pediment should come down without damage, so you can always put it back. Paint is cheap. Altering the house is not and irreversible. Please heed the feedback you’re getting.

I’m not a Pro, but love your French style home. Changing the home to a Colonial style takes away that it is a softer style and unique. Think of soft colors as proposed by the Pros, a walkway with gas lanterns and landscaping. The long windows must be beautiful inside your home.

House looks absolutely different with dormers

Maybe dormers would work if they blend in with the roof, like this pic.

The cost of doing dormers should scare you away. And most of us are telling you that your house is adorable as is. We are happy to help you spend money on the inside, if you need help. But please don’t do dormers on the outside.

There is no way to know anything for sure without knowing how the entire house looks. Otherwise it’s just a house front, like on movie studio lots. Until you show all angles, we can only speculate.

Maybe this is an old house in New England. Maybe it’s a 1970’s ranch in Dallas with embellishments and a two-story tan siding back. Maybe it’s a mid-century in Omaha with a walk-out siding-cladded basement.

Regardless, it all needs to fit into a cohesive whole, not just what looks good from the front.

Following

I adore your house as it is. Even the light blue, which provide a freshness to the creamy brick.

I agree with Bari Castle. Colors & shutters are lovely.

I really appreciate all your comments. My husband wants to see what you all think about this idea.

I still prefer the original colours and I think your house needs trim work around the front door and above the windows.

That has a very Texas look to me (I’m Texan). I like it, but again, want to point out that there are three more sides to this house.

Does this latest rendering coordinate with those?

The backside of the house. The small window is in the master bath. The fireplace is in the family room. The patio door is off the breakfast room. I will try to add a side shot soon.

No to the brown Shutters. Big NO.

I think if you lived in Texas Hill Country the brown iteration might be okay. But if is in in the mid-Atlantic or Northeast coast, not so much. I don't know, I feel like if you have money to burn you can change the character of the house, but I could think of a lot of other things I would do with discretionary income instead of changing the looks of that particular house, beyond paint colors. And this is coming from someone who has extensively renovated every place I have owned.

Personal preference: I would have the front door a different color from the shutters.

The brown door and different brown shutters do not really complement each other and I don’t think they are better than the first iteration by the contractor. What attracted you to this house in the first place? Are you thinking of resale OR what you want to live with for the next 20 years++?

Seeing the back of your house completely changes my perspective as this is, in fact, not an old house at all. I can now understand why you would like to unify the front and the back of the house. I still think a major overhaul isn’t needed, but can understand your desire to change it. Perhaps your husband’s idea would work well, but without quite so much heavy brown. I’m now drawn to the picture “lisedv” posted with the white brick and soft green.

We live in Texas, but not in the Hill Country. We are downsizing and expect this to be our home for the next 20+ years. We have remodeled the interiors of multiple homes, but not the exteriors. We were drawn to this house for the location and the floor plan. It was built in 1972. We would like to update the exterior. At a minimum replace the windows, paint the shutters (sorry to those that like the blue), and replace the door and sidelights. The windows look new in the photo, but they are original to the house. All of your suggestions and comments are very helpful. Thank you!

The brown isn’t charming. Previous color suggestions for the shutters enhance the look of the front. The whitewashed brick screams for soft colored shutters.

Now that you mention you plan to replace the windows, here's another take at your house in white wash with black windows without shutters and a new double entrance door.

My humble opinion is the brow door and shutters you show doesn't do anything for the house.

And this one with grey shutters & black front door...

The back of this house is a lot more attractive than the backs of most new houses, even though it is purely 1960s-70s traditional. I would imagine that this is a plan that could have French tacked on the front as well as Colonial--that's often how they designed such houses. So I don't think the back is all that relevant one way or other. It's completely finished in the same materials as the facade and not just vinyl siding or Dryvit like it would be in many communities.

Your house is lovely and brings to mind a French country house in Provence! On my monitor, that blue looks really bright and a little too much. I would keep the shutters and repaint them and front door a very soft muted grey, green or blue and not paint the brick and lose the pediment above the door. For the back, try adding a shrub with some height on either side of the master bath window to break up the expanse of brick.

We’ve made some progress using lisedv and others ideas. We removed the blue shutters, painted the door black, trimmed the trees, and power washed. We are currently adding a drain in front of the house to fix the drainage. We plan to also work on landscaping and replace the windows.

Great progress. Just make sure the bushes are not too close to the foundation. Allow a foot space for them at their mature width.

Nice! I like the simplicity of the front!

Agree with @houssaon that new foundation plants should start away from the house to allow for growth in all directions.

Great job! Looks fantastic!