I like the house as is. I agree the shutters should go. The windows are wrong for them.

Update your landscaping to add more variety, flowering shrubs, perennials and ornamental trees.

There is nothing wrong with your house - certainly front facing gables would not be a good idea. You're probably just so used to seeing it that you're bored with it. I also think the shutters could come off, and new landscaping with color would be an improvement. I can't see the front door very well, but maybe a new color there would perk it up. You're not going to be able to accomplish a substantial change without changing the roof and/or siding. A medium blue or sage green siding would work if you are interested in changing the body color. The garage windows are a variation of a shed dormer (dormers are usually on a second story). You can't change them without reroofing unless you have matching shingles left over from when the roof was last replaced. It's usually very difficult to match existing materials years down the road.

I would remove the shutters and all the shrubs... a clean slate. plant colorful blooming plants, azaleas, varigated grasses, etc.

Paint the siding SW Polished Mahogany for a richer look. ... see the contrast with Brown, much richer. Replace or encase the existing porch posts with a beefier stock, natural wood.

As others have said, you need a new landscaping plan. Right now, there is nothing to take your eye away from the roof. Nice landscaping would totally change this.

Agree with everyone that pulling the landscaping and walkway forward would give you a balance between the roof and the house. A garden island that incorporates one of your trees could be a possibility.

12110 42nd Dr SE ~ Everett, WA · More Info

Or a bed beyond your walkway right to your tree:

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The shutters look very skimpy, so removing them with also open up the house façade. Find a garden designer who can show you some possibilities for a totally new entrance.

I dont always agree about removing shutters, but, on your house, yes, they need to be removed. You dont even have them on the garage windows. The house itself will look much better without them. I wouldnt alter anything on the house. It looks very nice, with the exception of the landscaping. You might be wise to hire a landscaper to make a plan for landscaping, and even if you cant do it all now, you can do little by little working off the plan.

Your roof has a lot of different levels, but they look good together. If you added some gables, you'd just have visual clutter on your roofline. It would not be an improvement.

Forget the gables, they would not help and be very expensive. As others have said, remove the shutters. But by far the most bang for the buck would be new landscaping. Hire a landscape designer on a consultant basis to provide you with a planting plan, then implement the plan as your budget allows.

I agree no gables, no shutters and beyond that the next step would be no grids in new windows but landscaping is what you really should be working on for curb appeal

Totally disagree with everyone about the shutters. We have a similar style brick house, and without shutters all you see is roof and windows. We’ve had it both ways. Shutters make it look homey & spreads a third color around the home. What’s missing is shutters on the other 2 windows. I do agree with what others have said about the walkways.

The only thing I don't like is those funky garage windows. They are too big and have ridiculous dormers. When they house is ready to be reroofed, I would fix all that.

I really like your house. Agree with the suggestions to update the landscaping. I don’t see how you could add shutters to those two other windows. Perhaps add in fabric awnings to take up the space above theme? And, if you really like shutters, paint the them a colour you love to co-ordinate with the awnings.

Definitely remove the shutters. Paint the front door a really neat color. Beef up the posts on the front porch and definitely update the landscaping.

I too dislike those roof projections on the garage, agree with Hunter.

I like the 🏠 Update to some rustic shutters(the shutters add detail). Add landscaping.

What if you changed the style of windows altogether. Made them all open with no cross hatching. Then , as others suggested, change your front entrance. Add a front porch, widen the path to your home, make the front interesting and welcoming with new landscaping. You might even sit out there.

I agree with removing shutters and install new landscaping. Painting the front door, sidelights and frames one bolder color would call more attention to the entry. The present white frames around the door and sidelights break up the composition and make it busier looking and diminish the entry. The roof lines already provide enough variation so I would not add a gable to the front porch. I also suggest, if funds aren’t a problem, unifying the two shed dormers by connecting them to form a single wider shed dormer. It wouldn’t be super costly and it would simplify the roof line. The present dormers could remain intact and just fill in between with some framing and siding to match. The roof would not even need to be opened and matching shingles could be used or roof the entire unified dormer with metal.

What if you changed the color of your siding to a shade in your roof? Then the roof lines would blend with the siding. And then make a small patio on the left side of the stairs. A water feature in the recessed area on the right side. Remove the bushes and replace with grasses. Shutters off and a pretty door color with the new siding color. Have fun! Brick & Batten has great ideas on Facebook & Pinterest.

The house would benefit from landscaping. If you want to do something with the garage, fine but landscaping will improve its look.

Landscaping, landscaping, landscaping! Lawns are passé.
Maintaining grass lawns increases greenhouse gasses, pollutes ecosystems, wastes water, and diminishes biodiversity. Grass lawns are expensive, unsustainable, and poor investments. While more environmentally friendly than pavement, grass lawns and their upkeep come with heavy carbon costs.

If you are not a gardener, find a landscape designer who can turn your biological desert of a lawn into an amazing layered, low maintenance, bio-diverse, eco-friendly park. I have done this with two homes now and will never go back to a lawn. When you have a beautiful, park-like landscape your perceived architectural deficiencies will evaporate.

It’s a lovely house; like most say, remove the shutters and update the landscaping. Do you love the roof? How old is it? Maybe consider a new color scheme when it’s time for a new roof. A new front door color is also a possibility once the shutters are removed.🙂

Your home is really lovely. I suggest you reconsider your attitude towards the windows on the garage. Their presence, and the side orientation of your garage entrance, eliminates a problem of many modern houses. So often these days, the garage doors become, by default, an unfortunately major element of the design. The garage windows, while superfluous, generate the fiction that the home itself goes on forever, with no need for anything as vulgar as space for vehicles.

I'm gonna chime in with another vote to lose the shutters, at least for now. While the garage roof line is kinda funky, there's really nothing you can do about it right now, so focus on other things until it's time to do a new roof. That's a huge expense and not yet necessary.

Agree with focusing on the landscaping as that's going to make a huge difference! Right now, everything is crammed up against your house and sorta forces your eyes to the roof. It reminds me of walking into a large room where all the furniture is placed up against the walls, lacking any kind of form or dedicated spaces.

You can beef up the porch pillars if that's something within your budget, but would definitely consult with a landscape architect or designer first.

You have a really lovely house and by starting with the landscaping first - which will make a huge difference and cure a lot of ills (like a funky garage roof slope & windows) - you can then take on other projects in steps and as your budget allows.

Beautiful home! Love the roof lines and large windows. Here's an example without the shutters and with some colorful landscaping. An ornamental tree like a lilac tree or hydrangea tree would look great. I agree that the columns could be updated. The home doesn't need 4 columns on the porch, maybe two squared columns (sized a little larger - sizing is important to keep elements proportional). Not necessary to change, however, if you don't want the expense. My vote would be to keep the siding the same color. Don't go dark. A brighter door color might be fun when you are done with the landscape.

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Repaired roof, and removed shutters, the landscaping needs to go.....

tweak the landscaping & add a focal point (i.e., 'pop' the front entryway)

Here's an example of two square columns for the front porch...the square columns open up the front porch making it feel much larger and giving the home a transitional feel, especially with the large windows.

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I agree about having only two (bigger) square pillars on the porch. I don’t mind the shutter. I would go light, maybe white. The current landscaping looks tired, old & not uniform. As far as the windows on the garage… I notice they are larger than the other windows on the house. They look too big for the dormers. I would combine the two dormers into one roof line & put in 3 windows instead, that are the same size as the other windows in the front of the house. If you’re worried about the siding or lack of, you could salvage the existing siding that is taken off, add stone detail on the lower half, (or contrast detail)on the lower half of the exterior wall. Do the same detail to the other end of the house, leaving the middle as-is.

Landscaping. Spend time and money on something to draw the eyes down to the ground so your deep roof is offset. Work with a plan, as has been said, and do flowering bushes, perennials, annuals, etc.

My roof is very prominent too. I have a deep day lily garden that helps draw your eyes to the front. Hydrangeas that work in your climate are showy and lovely. Rhododendrons, hostas, roses, etc. Color!

It’s a nice house. Don’t add anything to the roof, but consider thicker columns.