Are you the buyer or the seller?

An updated house: remove shutters, clean brick, replace roof, replace front door, change landscaping, change windows to black. It is not going to look modern but it will look updated.

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Love the house. I don't see "modern" but , yes, "contemporary" (of the time). But, most of all I see a flat front, brick, Federal style house.

Take off the shutters.

If the windows have holes for muntins, put them in.

First floor windows, add trim to the top and frame the door with Federal trim to work with the windows.

This is a middle-of-the-20th-century Minimal Traditional. Since the windows are rather short, it probably would have had a 3 over 3 Georgian style window rather than 6/6

Here is another example of minimal traditional in brick. You can see the ghost outline of shutters on the front windows, so decorative shutters would not be inappropriate. I fear your house may look a little blank without them, but maybe you could get something a little better sized and quality.

Clean the roof. Remove the shutters. Different color door.

I like the shutters because I think the windows would look undersized without them. I would paint them black and paint the front door either black to match or a bright and welcoming color.

And I know many are against it, but I really like the sidelights painted black to match the door here. It gives the front entry a cohesive and greater presence, I think.

Thank you! I’m not a fan of shutters but those windows are tiny and would look lost without them. I too like the all black door and sidelites.

Here are examples of Georgian homes. They don't get 'modernized' easily.

IMO the windows on your home are the issue.

I would purchase larger windows and shutters for this home. I might install a canopy over the entrance.

For me remove the shutters and get a new door in a bit more modern style with plain sidelights . A nice black meta and glass front door canopy in a simple modern style Then a much simpler structural landscaping .

Maybe not quite as autere but you get the idea. BTW I think Gerogian architecture lends itself easiliy to a more modern look . This house above shows the windows that would totally change your home

I think the facade looks a little blank without the shutters because the windows are small. And shutters are completely consistent with the style of this house, even clearly decorative shutters. It's how these houses were built. That doesn't mean you have to have them, but there is a lot of expanse of brick .

Wow. Thanks for helping me see what it would look like without shutters. I have a few years left on the roof but then could go darker. New door and sidelites all black. Horizontal slat shutters. What do you think?

I don't know about those contemporary shutters. They are made for a different sort of house altogether.

I think you could make your house better, but I am not sure how much you could "modernize" it by just changing a few things. It would make it look Different, but not necessarily better, and possibly worse.

You can decorate the inside of the house however you want, those things aren't attached or part of the architecture really. But the outsides are often very difficult to turn into something other than what they already are. Your house could be charming with a few changes to make it look more like itself only better. You could do all kinds of things to make it more contemporary, but it might not actually be a pretty house, just a current house.

1994 Mercedes and 1960 Cadillac, are both handsome cars in their own way. But the combination is not so good.

I notice no one has suggested painting or staining the brick …

The brick looks very nice - even if you paint it, the small windows will still be the issue so I don’t think there is any reason to do that (in my opinion) - a classic black metal awning over the door would look good and break up the brick

A copper that would be allowed to oxidized naturally would be nice, but many metal finishes would work.

Stain is preferable to paint. Paint can trap moisture behind it and will peel as the brick deteriorates.

I think a Charcoal stain would be fantastic. I found this:

Does anyone sit in that chair? If not, remove it and march the pot on the other side of the door.

Reread what Palimpest wrote. The house is a classic style that could be improved to be a better version of itself (VERY good line) 'Modernizing' it would made it look better to some people for about a minute and a half before it became 'dated'. Then you are chasing trends , which may or may not even be possible with a house with such a strong sense of itself.

Here are some simple updates

• Black shutters
• Black front door and sidelights
• Black modern awning
• Black modern light fixtures
• White background wall siding/trim at front door

Here is a rough sketch of my concept:

The front door could be your current door (borrowed image). Not sure about a modern door.

You have a classic home. Keep the brick. I might build on the trim but not by much just to make it stand out a tiny bit more. I like the idea you have of using black on the shutters and trim and front door.

Fun examples below that might inspire you to love your sweet home more.

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Annie Elliot Design Should you paint your brick?

Here I used black shapes screened to 60% opacity as concrete stain on the brick and mortar.