Thank you all for such thoughtful suggestions. Patricia, I noticed you provided a nice personal feeling, but no constructive feedback about potential solutions. Would you remove the fake stuff stuck on or just demo it all and start from scratch?

All kidding aside, I think everyone else provided helpful insights and appreciate it!

Sorry I think I just need to know what you like about the house before anything. MY likes are nothing like Tudor andnormally I would say take the trim off and do siding or stucco but that is usually when there is not already brick, stone and stucco . Mayeb just do the trim and stucco a color that is in the stone so a darker color with the trim sort of disappearing , I do think it is too yellow for sure . If there was no stone and you liked modern I would remove all the rtrim get new windows and go very modern with siding and the brick only and the siding a dark color something more like this idea. I I guess Tudor style to me is something more fitting in Europe and I find when I see most in NA it is not the same feel at all.. Kind of like trying to copy a French stone house in NA never quite works. I just think your home says modern to me more than Tudor

interesting thought thank you!

I think we would prefer to avoid changing fascia / materials but if de-tudoring is possible without incurring massive expense we would certainly be open to that idea.

I am not keen on the bottom render in the photo you posted. Such clashing elements. even though i am not a big fan of the tudor mock above, it is more appealing on the eyes compared to bottom render.

I suspect some of the above comments about working with the existing elements and making intuitive changes in more subtler ways is best practice.

Just an idea that is all I ever do is just give ideas. Good luck with whatever you decide and love your home

I like your house too OP. The only Tudors that arent fake are in England and several centuries old. American renditions can still be completely charming, including your 1970s (guessing) take on it. Looks to be a good quality build, brick color is nice neutralish brown, one might even say on trend, blends well with roof. All I would do is aim to minimize contrast between the timbers and the stucco - if timbers are to remain dark pull out some midtone neutral from the brick or stone for the stucco . A lighter neutral for the stucco + lightening the timbers (as in Diana's pic) will also achieve the goal of minimizing contrast. As others have said the strong yellow is contributing to the high contrast look so again aim for a neutral that relates well to the stone and/or brick. I think I would do the garage in whatever color timbers end up being or perhaps a darker shade of whatever color timbers are - no point in highlighting them in a light color (light colors come forward, dark colors recede).

Thank you deb!

built in 1996. Original owner built. It is well built but definitely needs some makeup at this point.

considering the brown roof, do you have any paint shades to rec for stucco and timbers respectively. SW alabaster for stucco? A more tan brown for timbers to diminish contrast? any soecific shade recs?

would you match garage color with front door? with stucco? with timber?

I'm thinking simplify.... a mid-tone taupe pulled from the stone for the garage doors and the stucco/half timbers. Just paint over the timbers the same as the stucco... the same color. Paint over the white garage trim, too.

Here is a quick sketch of my concept

You could be on to something! Achieves multiple goals at once and simple! only issue is thats a lot of blank space above triple window with now horizontal or vertical break of any sorts dont you think?

Cool. I'm so pleased.

The half timbers should still provide at least some dimension even painted the same color. The stucco is a flat finish so the painted wood should look intentional by using a satin enamel. If it still doesn't have depth then a fraction shade darker paint for the timbers... tone-on-tone taupe.

I added a horizontal trim here: I think it works.

Illustration of a less yellow, more stone-like color for the stucco, additional horizontal trim to cut height, darker garage doors with more detail (all as suggested above):

Also widened walkway, added planter and house numbers to pull attention to the entry. It's a handsome house.

I like the idea of painting the garage, the timbers and the stucco the same color. A dark grey could work as well for the stucco, since the brick seems to have some grey.

These colors could work.

Agree that painting the garage would be the most important first change. enjoy your new house!

Your home is super close design wise to my grandparents house built in the 70s . here is a link if interested - https://www.redfin.com/MD/Forest-Hill/2823-Ady-Rd-21050/home/14513088

That is shockingly similar

Have you considered painting all the cream a green color? Change the garage doors and all of it is updated with not a lot of expense. Your trees are beautiful. I know I just watched an HGTV show that they did a green and brown exterior. I've never been a green person but this last year I painted our bathroom SW Evergreen Fog and now green seems to be popping up in other places....nice to have change sometimes!

I think timbers + garage door need to be darker than the stucco, if only slightly - enough to accentuate them without being high contrast. If all the same color you just have these weird undifferentiated triangles and geometric shapes that make sense in the context of "Tudor-esque" style but not otherwise. I like Simply Natural's rendition, just neutralizing/taking down the yellow stucco color a few notches . Or you could just take stucco color and darken (or lighten) a step or 2 on the paint strip. Easy!

Beautiful house. My house is smaller with less interest than yours but I felt painting all the trim and doors a united darker color and changing to darker windows pulled it together. I think it would give your house a very statley look

I think your home's appearance would benefit from a re-painting that would de-Tudor it.

Tudors are stucco/half-timbering across the top floor, brick and stone below. The 2 brick strips that go to the roof are all wrong visually. It's the kind of colour blocking that we see on very modern homes.

I recommend you paint the stucco and wood sections dark to blend with the brick. Remove the wood trim if the budget allows, or just paint it the same. Dark or wood garage door.

FYI it's not that I don't like Tudors. I live in a 1973 "Tudor" and love it. The classic colour for the stucco is white or cream. My (very British) decorator told me to keep my stucco its original cream colour, especially since it is is a stucco with a slightly sparkly sheen in the stucco mix, which is apparently also a thing.

Never paint stucco - makes is less breathable and more humidity inside house. The house is tudor (even tho it is a poor example of it and too much 1980's influence), if you do not like tudor, you should have bought a different house. Leave it the way it is.

Paint the garage doors a dark color to blend. The lightest color is the one that sticks out the most and garage doors should not be the main focus of the front of the house.

To my eye, an attractive modern house. The strongest design element is the vertical colour blocking on the triple window section. That lends it to a modern aesthetic, and why it doesn't really look properly Tudor despite the stucco and half-timber trim.

Emphasize the vertical elements on the right side - no decoration above the triple windows. Let the eye see it as modern, colour-blocked vertical elements. Add modern house numbers and larger modern lighting. Architectural landscaping such as grasses and spiky plants.

Wow @partim that looks pretty in that wooded setting ^.

I think so too! It's really an attractive house.

I tried to photoshop in some large modern house numbers and MCM style grasses, but my photoshop skills are not up to that level LOL.

It's also a pretty easy option.

I see what youre going for. Its so dark though. I think if we were to go with more modern design we would fiber cement over everything as opposed to such dark color blocking but i really really appreciate this idea because its unique. any other thoughts about playing into the modern lines in a way that is not so dark?

as for some above silly comments about nomenclature of true tudor vs not vs not buying house if you dont like appearance are so unhelpful and lazy. there are so many things that fan be changed anything is possible and i posted here for great ideas i havent thought of myself but definitely dont care for the rigid opinionated commentary about definition of tudor vs not tudor. Im not classifying it as such, i merely posted for design ideas many good ones have been shared too!

Based on some above ideas i made a mock myself using AI, but it changed windows and roof black. also lightened the brick.

perhaps after power wash the brick will be lighter than current.

do you guys think the stucco color in this render would work with the brown windows and roof or only works eith the black contrast? we could paint the brown trim, stucco and stripes all same taupe. this is essentially what tracey recommended i think.

Tudors can sometimes bring out emotion on this board - I've seen it before.

A few years ago we vacationed in Shrewsbury, England and there are is lot of Tudor style. A tour guide described the style as the original "McMansions" because people wanted to show off. So they used a lot of different materials - brick and stone and stucco and....everything! More wood trim!! Fancier wood trim! Higher contrast between the stucco and wood to show off everything!!

We had to laugh because our house is a 1973 "Tudor" and it has a bit of everything too.

I doubt whether power washing the brick will lighten it to anywhere near what you have there. Personally I am not a fan of taupe on exterior surfaces. Some neighbours have gone taupe on their stucco to match the pinky stone, and it looks oddly flesh-coloured in the sun.

Yes clearly! So odd people cannot control their rigidity. Call it whatever just want to freshen it up really. Anything can be done. We like a lot about the house. We are fine with exterior appearance but think it can be better and we now have time and resources to consider updating it!

so far i like idea of paintint trim, stucco and faux beams all same color but cannot decide if we shoild go taupe, brown, ivory or cream white.

I thought taupe meant muddy undertone, a warm neutral gray.

I don't think my other render has a pink undertone but my software sucks at color and so does my monitor. I agree no blush undertone, yuck.

It would help to have a photo of the house in sunlight..

I took your render, added your brick and a brown roof. Taupe paint.

Trace so i know what you mean can you share paint name from SW or BM youre referring to for taupe

These are not paint colors, just an estimation for concept. At this point I would go to SW or BM and find something that looks like it and use their Visualizer. Upload your photo and "paint" it online.

Especially for outdoor painting, paint a few big boards and look at them in different lights. You'll be surprised how the colour shifts as the light changes over the course of the day. Be sure you like them in all lights.

Taupe in a colour name can mean so many different things. https://www.colorpsychology.org/taupe/ 

I'm sure my neighbours didn't realize that their warm beige would look pink on their house LOL. I think they did the "match to a colour in your stone" because we all have granite and it has some pink/orange/salmon colours. (I made this mistake years ago indoors. My "warm beige" on the chip at the store, turned pink on my wall, especially next to the gold carpet that had to stay for awhile. It looked awful!)

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White would also work. Not for the trim though.

New thought. i know painting brick often gets people riled up but wonder if we went an entire different direction and limewashed the brick white went full white with timbers gray or brown. thoughts? anyone have a software that can show that look? thanks!!

Big no to white.

I really like some version of the darker colors— admittedly not sure just how dark, what exact color- essentially ignoring the Tudor trim strips and doing “ blocking” with the stone vertical strips and the square (ish) siding sections. Keeping a bit of contrast but not high contrast. Looks so handsome, and then you can soften with some small trees and other landscaping.

You sure big no? Here is a mock up.

Since you shared the white....here is someone who did just that.... Updated Tudor Paint Colors | Julie Blanner . Here are her colors, Our brick tudor, painted in Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee, with Benjamin Moore Pale Oak on the trim.

Wow I love it. Such a simple
Solution how did no one think of this! I love this look. Thanks for sharing!

Did this other person use limewash or just paint? Not sure we would just paint. I think limewash is much better for the brick.

Someone near me painted their Tudor flat solid white. Everything - brick, granite, siding, stucco. It looks very odd in real life, not sure the photo captures that. Be cautious.

Compare the original from google street view.

I think the white is the least of the issues with that garage home. It’s just too much garage not enough house. The black and white is the issue I think.

There's also German Schmear or Smear for brick and stone and very nice too, so check that out.

Maybe also apply some kind for treatment instead of paint for your half-timbers too.

I found this photo of a very old house with very old timbers and rhe white paint has aged beautifully. I think the effect would look very nice against your stucco and go with your new brick. This house even has cream plaster like your current color and it looks fantastic.

Been looking into it. We don’t want the distressed look. Sounds like a product called ROMABIO masonry flat is what we’re looking for. Perhaps will go with a griege tint for the trim and timbers similar to example of someone else’s project above.

Cool.. I googled limewash and saw that idea. Judging by your AI your house is gonna look amazing.

Romabio is recommended a lot on houzz and people love it.

Updated Tudor Paint Colors | Julie Blanner

If you click on the above sentence it is a link to her blog. I think she painted her tudor. I bet if you comment on her page she will tell you more. Good luck!

Wow, Julie Blanner's tudor is gorgeous!

You could limewash the stone around the entrance area more lightly, to leave some of the colour and texture. The example above has only brick and stucco. Romabio sells both limewash and paint.

Yes I think the paint is mineral limestone based too, but less chalky and intended for flat painted appearance with same benefits of limestone for brick and stone. Really cool product I’m learning about. Normally would never consider “painting” brick but these aren’t latex based so allows brick and stone to breathe.

Great house - so much potential! when we painted our older home this book was really helpful - hope you keep sharing pics so we can all follow along :)

wow J blanner’s home re-do is lovely - FWIW i find it so interesting that so many exterior updates of older homes work to really simplify the facade — but all the new houses being built by me are super busy from the front with crazy gables everywhere, will make for interesting projects down the road…