I wouldn't touch the brick. Do you want to turn a no maintenance surface into one that requires maintenance? It's not like it's ugly brick. How about light to medium gray siding and a medium gray roof? You don't want black unless you live in a very cold climate. In the summer black really holds heat. The blue door is a good idea.

A neighbor of mine put a black roof on their stone house to sell it. The house is impossible to keep cool in the summer. It has been sold 2 more times since they moved just 3 years ago.

I love your red brick facade because of the easy maintance. I vote to keep it.

A black shingled roof does not increase the temperature inside your house. That is an Old Wives’ Tale. We are shopping for roofers and I’ve asked two of them if darker roofs make a difference. Both said “no”. Modern insulation makes the color irrelevant.

However, a dark charcoal roof is a pretty option with a white house and dark shutters. Black roofs look quite severe.

Based on the posted images from @Olychick, I think your plan will be a great improvement. Do not “paint” the brick. Look into Romabio - it is a more permanent solution to changing the brick. You won’t have the maintenance headache of painted brick.

Sounds really nice. I love the last photo from onlychic.
Really pretty.

I’d consider extending the porch if you can. I think it will add to that farmhouse, French country vibe.

I also think maybe adding some board and baton would look nice.

This is an exciting project. Love this style 💖💖

The very first thing I would address is eliminating that bay window It looks like an after thought and doesn't fit the home.

This is the best remodeled colonial I have ever run across

I agree about the bay window, but it may be something wonderful on the inside that would be missed if eliminated. I think if it's surrounded by white washed brick instead of the red, it would be much less noticeable.

As far as roof color, I think it depends on where you live. Looking at the tree cover, it doesn't look like a hot, tropical sunny location and the property may have lots of shade from those trees in the hot months. The heat gain from a dark roof (if there is any) might be welcome if in a cold winter area.

Love your colour of brick as it is classic. Please don’t paint it! I vote for black roof
and white siding. I would decide on shutter and door colour last

Christina, you will get lots of different opinions here; some will say sure, paint the brick (I like the idea myself), others will say no, absolutely not. I love the example BeverlyFla posted, and I personally dislike bay windows greatly (we had 3 in our last house, rear side, and I found them difficult to work around), but if your rooms are small, you might need that space. I’d recommend looking at lots of updated colonials on Houzz (search for them directly in photos), then collect your favorites and you should be able to figure out what YOU like best. Good luck! (BTW, we have friends who bought a house with painted (white) brick….no problems or maintenance whatsoever….they’ve been there for 20 years, and it’s an older home.)

I would fix the important things first if home old. Example update roofing, plumbing, central ac, water heater, windows fencing. Your home looks nice and clean from the picture. If want update the front door area yeah paint the door, maybe columns since the metal one looked dated.

@Christina Montelbano I think your idea sounds fine. If you find yourself in need of one more color somewhere, try a light cool grey. In fact, maybe substitute the light cool grey for blue in your shutters and allow the dark blue door to be the focal point. Silvery grey, white, and blue are awesome!

Another vote against the bay. I doubt you can go to what it would cost to remove it/change the inside too but it's the bay that doesn't fit. Sorry. Painting brick is a really bad FAD to follow.

Just noticed your skylights; that must make that space inside so pretty! They may become more visible with a black roof. Is that ok with you? The grey roof camouflaged them really well.

Sorry, maybe your "black" roof is just a really dark grey anyway. Could be fine.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to put thought into our house project and comment.

Congratulations on your house ! Your ideas are just fine and will improve your house ! I would white wash the brick . ( even though there is a lot to say about not painting the brick , natural , no maintenance etc. etc, in your case however I think it will improve the overall look and bring the dated look of the house out of retirement and give it a youthful up to date look ! P.s. if you like blue put a blue door ….besides you can always change the color of a door …enjoy your new updated house