What is your end goal? The bay window is aging the look do you intend to square it up or remove it? Switching up the landscaping will feature the windows on the brick to the right side which are not typical either. Those shutters are silly. I've seen siding run vertically that gives a nice modern vibe on these older homes.

The current siding color is a rather brilliant pick. Someone really nailed it. It looks great with the brick tone and is perfect with the green of the yard and blue sky. The size and spacing of the siding boards is also really spot on. And the color manages to not make the house look top heavy.

But, if you are dead set on making this more contemporary, you have to be skillful about it so it doesn't look like random add ons to a 70 year old home. Make sure the graphite color has a softness to it - not a harsh grey. Add floor to ceiling windows on the left. Remove the shutters. I'd totally relandscape the front of the house with much less grass and more shrubbery.

The house should look like it does now, only with much better landscaping. Contemporary splits exist. This is not one of them. Cedar and black is not going to age well on this house, and date the exterior badly in a few years. No. Just No. It's going to look like Halloween all year.

Our first house was a small split with steel board and batten siding. It looked nice. However, it had the typical split proportions where the two sides are equal. This one doesn't. I think you do want to draw the eye to the left, living room side, and deemphasize the bedrooms.

BTW, I agree with Kendrah that the current color is perfect. My guess is that it is the original color that nobody has tried to beige or gray out.

I agree with mad_gallica in the post above. Its a nice looking house. I can see the siding has been neglected, if it cant be scraped and cleaned and repainted, then replace it with what you have. You have a very nice looking split level, dont try to change it to something it isnt. It definitely needs new landscaping and that huge tree right in front removed. Extend the landscaping in a curved pattern over under the bay window (which I love the look of) and add some colorful plants. I would remove most of those shrubs etc on the right side, and replace with all new nicer looking plantings. The siding, should also be a color that blends with the brick and also your roof, unless you are changing the roof too.

Your photo won't enlarge. So kinda hard to see what's going on but, from what I can see, there is a lot going on in the way of different materials, window types, etc. Might suggest that you paint siding and brick the same color to give the house a more cohesive composition.

That bay window is driving the style and I do not agree that siding color is great with the brick I do however like black siding with brick .I would get rid of the bay then do the black siding black trim and a total redo of the landscping to make it look modern . IMO painted brick first instantly devalues a home and always looks like painted brick . I would not add ceadar to the mix unless you paint the brick black too. Regardless of those ideas the landscping is a total redo for sure.

Thanks all, good tips. The original was white - I actually have the blueprints even :)! I really like the light from the bow window, and it makes the living room feel really spacious, so I am going to keep that. I could do a painted post to match the siding, but the current metal ones just look silly. And I agree - no shutters. Thanks for the rendering with the charcoal - to me, that makes the brick pop. And, the landscaping gives me some good ideas. I like the idea of framing each side with a taller evergreen and then adding lower color in the front. The huge tree in the front may eventually be removed, but I am not in a hurry to do that.

Will you have drapes or shades on the windows, and will they be white/ light? Because ( when closed) that will give a much different look than the way the windows are rendered in the dark siding mockup. Note the windows-within- siding appearance in your original photo.

Good point...we're not drapes people, but it might lack privacy if we have no window treatments. Maybe some light sheers.

Charcoal would be perfect for the siding, but, you have a brownish roof. That was why I asked above if you planned on changing the roof. If not, a cream color or tanish color would be much better for the siding, because, the charcoal would clash with that brownish roof.