Congratulations on your new home! It is lovely as is and I wouldn't paint or whitewash that brick it's beautiful! I think you should live there for a year and ponder your ideas to have a plan. The first thing I see is the landscaping at the entryway has opportunities to really enhance the curb appeal. The shrubs look kind of overgrown there. The roof looks grey/silver and maybe needs a complementary accent below to unify with the home, like maybe a couple silver pots on the porch. Power Wash the driveway and walkway. Enjoy!

Agree with the above comments. Really the only thing I’d do right now is study those massive shrubs at the doorway. I can see they’re healthy and trimmed (both sides of the porch), but they’re just soooo big.

Google for some images of ‘colonial home front entry.‘ Your house would have an entirely different feel if you could have some space for air movement and more open sightlines.

Oh, and don’t forget powerwashing.

Painting the inset panel of the portico the same as the door and shutters would work to lessen the bulk of it, yet still add interest. The medallion would remain white.

I love the classic simplicity you have of one color for trim and front door.

100% agree with advice given so far. Don’t think about painting that brick! What you have is very low maintenance & classic. The entry shrubs are ”mature”. They’re overgrown & hedged to control their size now. The green ones against house are starting to cover windows. It might be early enough in season to give them all a major trim to reduce size for now with a goal of removing some of them to open up the space. I would definitely give all the concrete a soft power wash to clean it up. For the entry, add a generously sized door mat that’s as wide as door & sidelights. Maybe add a pretty bench to one side of covered porch. Add very large pots of very colorful flowering plants & set them close to pillars on both sides. These small changes will make a welcoming entry. The entry lights on porch & at gararge are pretty small & wimpy looking. This house needs grand lights - change them out for a larger size & I’d keep them black to match shutters. The garage door - I wonder if that top row of ornate windows is just a pop out cover over the glass. I’d look at it & if it is, take the covers out so the doors have plain rectangular shape windows. If the doors aren’t too old & you know the brand, you might be able to replace the covers with a more traditional design over the glass.

The house looks very nice, but if you want to start saving for a future project ... you would add a lot of curb appeal by replacing the cement driveway with a paver driveway.

Your driveway already has a lot of cracks that will only get worse.

The nice thing with a paver driveway is that if you get ground settling over the years, you can lift the pavers up, level the base material again and lay the pavers back down.

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Play up the circular driveway with landscape.

Any thoughts on adding panes to the door windows and painting the painting the door white?

Your house needs a nose job.

Your house started as a very nice Georgian that someone applied an overly large front canopy to. The scale is all off. I would work to eventually downsize that gabled canopy.

Congratulations on the new home. You can't know how happy I am everyone told you how beautiful the home is and encouraging you to get acquainted and enjoy it before making change.

I agree landscape can use minor change/addition/subtraction. As you look at two story and bi-level homes notice most include 1 or 2 tall plants to balance roof heights. While you study that feature and how it might fit your home, plan ahead for optimum season for planting as well as major reshaping existing plants. Existing landscape is low maintenance ( color in perennials rather than annuals). Think about whether you want to keep that or commit to extra attention for annuals. Which brings us to the question of whether you will mow and maintain yourself or hire someone. If you are paying ,do yourself a favor by contacting a nursery for landscaper recommendations. The cheapest lawn maintenance contractor often is most expensive in the long haul. One season of bumping,banging and beating trees and shrubs with tools is enough to put them in decline and eventual death. Indiscriminate use of pesticides and herbicides have killed millions of trees/shrubs and put millions others in sick decline. I want to stop and knock on homeowner's door when I see a bunch of new in town South Americans up in trees with chainsaws. Enlist experienced landscaper and/or nurseryman for choosing and planting new plants as well as reshaping old plants.

On the house colors. Colors don't come true on computer screens. There's plenty willing to take a shot but that means it is not possible coordinate colors online. Buy a color wheel at paint store or craft shop (Hobby Lobby) then spend time educating yourself on how it's used. Steal,beg or borrow a color fan so you have a way of showing paint store, upholstery shop exact colors of what you already have such as brick and roof when and if you need to. After playing around with wheel I "THINK" you'll find previous owner chose roof and shutter colors as "complimentary" to orange brick. Dark blue-green in combo with white gives home "pop" which some love and others hate. You "MIGHT" find replacing pure white body with white carrying strong blue-green undertone plus toned down,almost drab blue-green and about 50% intensity of existing shutter blue-green as new trim colors. At any rate I believe you will be comfortable choosing colors or working with paint store rep in choosing them. If you want to dive deeper, download a program or have paint rep put your colors on their program showing your house in various colors & combos for your viewing.

Good luck and if you plan to continue picking brains online, make it clear how much you are doing hands on and what you are hiring out.

All I would change is finding a way to add softer landscaping. The bushes are beautiful but they are cut into firm looking structures that give a statuesque feel instead of a feeling of home.

I love the colors of your house as-is. Your house is beautiful!

I would not paint the brick-it is lovely and painting it will require maintenance. Start with the front area to make it welcoming. Trim back the bushes and maybe make the reddish ones in front lower than the green. Add 2 large planters/urns with colorful annuals on the porch and 2 on the walk. Pressure wash all the concrete. Add a large mat at the front door. Look for a pretty green wreath for the door. Etsy has some really nice ones. Your home is very nice-I would live with it for a bit to think about what you really want to change.

The house is very nice. I don't think new hardware or lights will make a difference --- most people won't notice them. I wouldn't paint the brick, either. Brick is timeless, white paint is becoming ubiqitous.

You have a big, empty porch. I'd put either some attractive chairs or some big pots of flowes on it. You have blobs on either side of your porch. Replace them with some much nicer landscaping. You'll be amazed at the difference.

All over Georgian, no house like yours has a canopy nearly as large as yours.

I think we've made that clear, but the OP doesn't want to spend a lot of money right now, and changing that portico is going to be very expensive.

There are lots of good ideas here that don't break the bank.

Agree, the OP made it clear that at the moment she is looking for easy and low-effort, not construction-type projects.

IMIO nothing is more timelss than brick and painted brick is IMO the fastest way to devalue your home .I might think down the road of not white with the brick and a new garage door with a nice style that suits the house .I think nothing needs to really be done this momnet enjoy the house and think about what it is you dislike first. I do not like drivways up to the entry but that is my thing.

CONGRATS ON YOUR NEW HOME! It is a nice looking house - and it has the potential to be a stunning house!

I think that you should add a photo from the actual street - I'd like to see the whole front yard in order to think about some landscaping ideas - I cannot tell how large/deep that landscaping "island" is between the street and your circle driveway.

As has already been discussed in above comments, the portico is too wide. Without a lot of construction $$$ right now, you could do some things in order to improve the look of the front of your home.

First, look at your shutters:

Compare them to the shutters below:

Your shutters are attached flat against the brick in the photo above, the shutters may or may not actually be functional - but they appear to be functional. It makes a HUGE difference in how your house looks - it provides some depth = the front of your house doesn't look flat.

The portico below would require $$$ in order to change it to a flat (well, very slight angled) roof. Notice that it is wide also - but it looks very different (even if it wasn't a flat roof) because of the pilasters that are by the front of the house + then it "steps in" which makes it not look so wide. It has more details and dimension to it than yours.

Here is a less deep portico with a flat (slightly angled) roof + has pilasters against the brick:

Your current portico is pretty deep and wide - it would look better if you added items in order to fill up that extra space. The below house has added two chairs + planters up next to the sidelights + ones on the next to the posts on the inside. All of these items help fill up the space = which will make your wide portico look less out of place.

This next photo shows a deep and fairly wide portico - but the space has been broken up by changing the width + height of the portico = a nice looking portico. I also think that all the red brick around your front door emphasizes how wide the portico is. If you added pilasters against your house + more moulding/trim around the door - your portico would look more similar to the one below:

This is just another possible way to change your portico if/when you decide to put some $$$ into changing the look of your portico. Also, adding a second set of columns inside of your current ones would make the portico feel less wide (plus, adding the containers + lanterns under the portico). You could also make your round columns into square ones by wrapping them if you like that look better. I don't know if square columns would break some architecture rule re: the style of your home - I just like square ones better! LOL

Maybe just making a curve to your portico would break up the long horizontal line of yours? Also, they've added the planters + they have pilasters against the house + more white moulding/trim around the door which would be a good idea for your house ( = covering up all of the red brick around your front door).

this is just another way to change your current portico when you are ready to spend some $$$

Just one more example of curving the ceiling of the portico - it may be a nice update for you (I know someone who did this recently - I'm considering whether I should do it to my portico - they didn't spend a lot of $ to make this update).

The OP states:

I’m all for small projects I can either figure out myself or pay someone a little to handle.

So comments about rebuilding the Portico are not helpful. There is nothing wrong with the Portico and unless you're an Architectural Purist, it is beautiful.

My rendering of the painted inset is doable.

Another option would be to paint the Portico and the rest of the trim Black to let it recede visually. Here you can see that garage doors are black also.

A much larger welcome mat and some big planters flanking the door will do the trick.

As requested, I have attached additional pictures however, they’re admittedly, just what I could pull together from pictures on my phone/the realtor… I’m following this comment. I will include a few more showing what it looks like when you’re facing the street from my house.

Facing the house and then turning my body to the left to face the street… for or context in case it’s needed, it is a full half circle driveway

Also, not to be too picky over here however, the tiny circular window in the center of the house throws me off as well… Any ideas regarding that? one?

Beautiful first impression from the driveway and curb appeal. I love the porthole window.,.plenty to love about this house!

What a lovely home. I agree with others saying do not paint that brick. It is currently almost maintenance free, classic. If you start painting it you have to upkeep it like other painted surfaces and brick can never be restored completely back to it's original state.

Mostly it just looks empty to me. But then the one pic that shows a bit of the house across the street their front porch looks pretty empty too. So it might be the norm for your area. But you got a lot of space you can play with there. If you get a lot of packages you might want to consider having a package box on your porch. Often a pair of planters flanking the door with the contents changed for the season are a handsome addition to a big porch like that. If you want to present a bit more welcome, a bigger mat and a seat of some sort. You have space enough to do a bench if you wanted.

The bushes are great. And also looking like they are at the max of their grow and grooming. Their bulk is making the entrance seem swallowing more than inviting. See if you can open up a spot to look inside those. If they can be cut back a bit hard, do so. They should really be lower than your windows to start.

Would you guys paint the garage doors, black, or keep them white?

Softer landscaping in front will make a HUGE difference.

Two more

I would keep the white garage door. A black one might look like a huge dark hole.

Here is an example of a black garage door.

I would paint the garage doors navy blue and play up the blue so also the front door navy, the shutters, and the Portico inset navy. So lovely with the brick, and the gray roof.

I dont have software but here is my sketch. The eye is drawn to the blue...not the portico so I think it works.

Exact paint color TBD...color shown is only for illustrative purposes to visualize a concept.

Here are some real live examples.

Congratulations on your new home. It is lovely. For now I would work on landscaping. Those huge shrubs trimmed into boxy shapes are not appealing. Go to a local landscaping/garden center and get suggestions for small trees or shrubs. I would also get some oversize planters with evergreen shrubs for the large area under the overhang. Maybe paint the garage doors the same color as the shutters so that they aren’t screaming ”look at me”. You could use an AI app to try out colors for the front door. I would live with the brick before whitewashing or painting. Take your time and enjoy creating your new home.

(though one day I’d love to whitewash the brick for a softer, more timeless look) Painting brick is a fad, a current trend that will date all those who are painting/white washing/staining brick. When you have your terms confused it tells me the best advice is slow down. Really do your research and keep talking to others. Hire a landscaper to make you a plan. You might not have the money to execute all of it at once but if you own the plan you can work on it over time. Removing the over grown bushes is free DIY for you.

It looks like you are in the southeastern US based on your landscaping (looks like boxwoods, lorapetalum, and the crepe myrtle) and your house. Is that true? What zone are you? I agree the hedges are too large, but right now they give structure. And replacing those will be expensive. But, depending on your tolerance, you could add something in the area between the hedges and the crepe myrtle that will fill in and give some color. Tracefloyd's posts had a photo of some plants between 2 rows of hedges. It keeps the formal look consistent with your home but adds softness, dimension and color. Over time you can replace the hedges, or cut them back hard in the fall. I did this to the home we bought in SC. the hedges looked awful for a few months but then came back, were balanced, and saved me a lot of money. I also figured if they don't survive, I was going to replace them anyhow. If you did this you can add just 1 or 2 types of perennials or ornamental grasses. If you chose grasses you could add little bluestems (schizachyrium) varieties of 'Ha Ha Tonka' (it has outstanding blue color that glows silver in certain lights and with dew: https://www.izelplants.com/schizachyrium-scoparium-ha-ha-tonka-little-bluestem/ ) or standing ovation. Many varieties also have red or burgundy new growth. They have outstanding color in the fall as well. Pennisetum 'Karley Rose' (https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=250176&isprofile=0) is elegant and has pretty pale purple blooms. This variety also does not take over your yard. If you like red you could add Texas autumn sage, or other colors of sage (https://www.gardenia.net/plant/salvia-greggii). I would keep the color palette simple to add elegance. These few examples also will be tall enough for you to you see their blooms. There are so many options. I personally don't like annuals due to the cost. But if you are in the southeast, like I was, some annuals survived the winter. If you want to keep cost down and yet need a lot of plants go to Izelnatives.com. They supply flats of plants from growers. You can get 32+ plants for $3-$7 each, but you buy in bulk. Finally, look at Jay Sifford's gardens (https://siffordgardendesign.com/). He is in the Charlotte area and planted a "stylized meadow" gardens, . A lot of his plants could be placed behind, around, you hedges, etc. Good luck with your home, and I agree with others who say live in it awhile to see what really works or doesn't, and to not painting the brick, but that is my opinion and it is your house.

Please don't start piecemeal painting garage doors and porticos when what you need is an overall plan for the front of your home that will take a few years, likely, to execute - resize portico, add pavers, relandscape.

Until then, what I hear is you are looking to put your own stamp on the place with what I'm guessing is around $2k - $3k?

This big portico that might look more right sized if it were filled up better with objects.

It could take a large lantern in the middle. If it makes you happy, hire an electrician and go for it. You'd then have to figure out if sconces still make sense.

Get benches for both sides of the porch and face them inward. (If you don't have the width, get narrow ones for each side, or just do it on one side.

Get large urns with big ferns in them. You could do one on either side of the door and one in front of each column

Get a larger door mat.

Cut those hedges back as far as you can and still have them look nice.

Don't worry about the circular window. Once the rest of the front of your home is looking right, the eye won't go there anymore.

I agree with everything she said ^^^^ Do NOT make expensive changes until you have lived there at least a year.

You have such a lovely home and setting. Congratulations to you and your husband. It doesn't look dirty but a good pressure washing on the front and driveway always feels good and looks nice.. I would keep the door black and change out the gold knocker for something the same color but larger. Is there room for putting decorative house numbers next to the door? Maybe paint a wooden plaque black and add gold letters. If you add letters, paint them with clear nail polish to keep from tarnishing. On the porch I would add a large mat in front of the door (maybe black and white striped) and flank each side of the porch with either benches or chairs with a small table all in white. Add a decorative planter on each side of the door with an "S" shrub and trailing flowers.. On each step, add a long black mat for tread. I would replace the porch lights with something larger and two more that complement the garage's look. I would choose black. I like the garage doors white but you could paint them black and they would look great. There is a company that you can purchase magnetic garage door panels to change up the look. For landscapingeing...trim down the shrubs on each side with the front one shorter, middle higher, and back shrub the highest. Add black mulch around the front. Keep it all level and the same shape on each side of the porch. I would enhance your circular driveway with either shrubs or flowers along with black mulch or maybe both. Not sure if you want to get this aggressive but you could add a pathway from the circular part of the driveway to the back of the house with stones, etc. Is there room on each side and middle of the garage doors to add a pretty planter with flowers to give some color? That would look pretty. I would also trim all of the greenery around your house to keep it all consistent and looking finished. We use electric trimmers and mowers; they're easier to use and you don't have to worry about a long cord. Also, you don't have a picture of your mailbox but buying a new mailbox that complements your home is a great way to add curb appeal. We find a lot of our items on Amazon which is where we got the brush for our pressure washer. It is round with wheels and is easy to use.. If you are working on a tight budget, ask for items that have been returned or are on clearance at the store. The more you can do yourself the more money you can save. YouTube has some great how-to videos. Buying the right lawn tools for what you need is also a bonus. I hope this helps. You got some great ideas from everyone :-) .

I like what tracefloyd posted. Match the garage/shutters/door either black or dark blue. Also, if you could afford it maybe change just the columns of the porch. Something sturdier and statelier (bigger/squarer) might be visually what you need. Some tall plants/small trees in planters in front of them or next to the columns might give some appeal. DO NOT paint the brick or whitewash it or anything it is lovely.

holly and others mentioned black so here is my sketch with black, not blue.

Simplest but challenging change...pull those huge shrubs out, all of them! Find native plants for those beds to add interest and very low maintenance, plus it is great for the environment. Then add pots to the porch and the impact will be huge!

Hi Anna, Congratulations on buying your first house--it's a classic with great bones! Now, let's get your style to shine through and make it a HOME! You want to whitewash the brick to soften it up, GO FOR IT! First of all, it's the style YOU are looking to create FOR YOU, not for someone else, or some 10 year in the future buyer pool. Second, don't pay any attention to those on here who claim "it will drop the value of your house" or "it requires s ton of maintenance." Neither is true. Your house is not an antique piece of furniture where altering the patina of 200 years is going to drop the value. Drive around your neighborhood, I think you'll find a house with white brick. As for maintenance--EVERY house requires maintenance of the exterior covering, whether it is brick, wood siding, stucco, Hardieboard siding, aluminum siding and vinyl siding. EVERY exterior needs to be washed yearly, stained (if wood) on a regular basis, repainted every 8 years (in Florida, at least)... this "maintenance-free" shtick is all BS. White brick is NOT a "fad" it's been around since WAY before I was born 62 years ago. I have seen 200 year old brick houses painted white. It really IS a timeless classic. If you can paint a door, you can paint your house--you're young--your knees and back are still in great shape ;-) and you can probably manage to stand on a ladder for a few hours. Whether you choose a lime-wash, a German schmear or a full coat white paint, it will look great. Just wait for the dry season so you don't have to contend with the rain.

A Southern classic white brick house calls for black shutters. They should LOOK wide enough to cover the window if they were to be "closed." Of course a white house calls for a black front door, but here's where you can put your style on it... a really interesting blue would liven it up. A periwinkle blue, a blue hydrangea, a blue parakeet-- happy, smiling colors. A peacock blue is really dramatic. It has the same deep richness as the black shutters, but there's that pop of color that turns "classic" into "eclectic." When you paint the brick, the garage doors will blend in--and that's ok..what you DON'T want is the look of two eyeballs staring at you each time you pull into the driveway. You can dress up the white doors with black magnetic (decorative) hinges that give it the style of a carriage house. When it comes time to replace the garage doors, consider a set that has a medium or even dark stained wood look. Do NOT paint the peak of the portico, especially dark blue! It will only draw MORE attention to the monstrosity when you want it to fade into the background. When you paint the brick white, the portico will blend in much better and won't look so oversized.

As for what you can do now to bring in some of your style--well, the portico is really large and kind of "in your face." So, treat it like a regular room. First get a large indoor/outdoor rug, 6x9 or 8x10, big enough to cover most of the porch floor... as wide as the bump out at the front door. Wayfair has a great sale going on now, I just got a sisal rug for my front covered porch. You can layer another rug on top by the door to wipe your feet. Chairs or benches on left and right side anchoring the rug in place. Black footed urns on the first step in front of each pillar. I could only find gray plastic urns at Big Lots a few years ago, so I got out my favorite flat black spray paint and had a painting party! Any greenery will work as a base for your OWN design. These are for annuals---pack the bottom of the urn with a couple bricks, and fill it up halfway with plastic bottles. Then find a plastic bowl that fits in the top and plant the flowers that make you happy in it. Drop it right into the urn and change it out with the seasons. In the back corners of the porch, splurge on tall glazed ceramic planters in colors that make you happy. Turn one into a lighted fountain--Wayfair has some beautiful choices. If the left side of the porch is western exposure, you might want to install an exterior roller sunshade OR exterior curtains to block the harsh afternoon sun. If it is southern exposure, you'll need something to block it all day in the summer.

Love, love, love the crepe myrtles! Don't let anyone cut them down to the knuckles, it weakens the tree and we call it "crepe murder." You can trim those each year or every other year, sometime around mid-February. Trim off dead branches and branches that are crossing over other branches. Low ground cover and ferns would look great under the large crepe myrtles. Crepe myrtles have some hefty roots, so you may have to bring in bags of topsoil to build up a planting bed for the ground cover. The smaller crepe myrtles in the planting circle-- dig out and relocate. They would look great on each side of the porch, in between both front windows. You'll probably have to remove some of the boxwoods because you need room around the crepe myrtles so you can get in every other year to trim any dead branches and pick off the air plants and Spanish moss. Boxwoods, unfortunately, are very difficult to remove. You need heavy equipment, or at least a big pick-up truck and heavy chains to yank them out. IF it's just too much trouble to take out the boxwoods next to the house, maybe you can find a nice place in the backyard for those small crepe myrtles.

The area to the left of the porch where you have a break in the boxwoods, leading to a path on the side of the house is a perfect place for an arbor. You can find a good sized, sturdy one on Wayfair for $100-$200. An arbor about 3' or so wide and 2 or 3 feet deep, and 7' high will fit in nicely. Plant clematis, morning glory or mandevilla on both sides. I'd just trim up the boxwoods for now, keep them away from the sidewalk and driveway. You probably don't want to be scraping them on the side of your car, in the driveway and curved drive. When you see how the sun falls on each part of your yard throughout the year, you can then plan what you want to put in. If you decide to pull out the boxwoods up in front of the house, a nice replacement would be a pink dogwood on each side. Gotta be PINK dogwoods because you're painting the house white!

Good luck and let us know what you are going to do :-)

Congrats on the new home! I Love it! Just a note - the red/orange brick is in the warm brown tone and the black roof and fake shutters are in the black tones and they clash - that is why when you look at it, it seems "off". When/if you need a new roof, do it in a brown color (unless you paint the brick). And - remove the fake shutters - they are cheap looking! Shutters need to be real, and operable to close in the event of a bad storm, else leave them for mobile homes. I would consider painting the garage doors in a medium brown color that blends with other trim when you paint trim, etc.. The lightest color of a house or outfit is where the eye goes first (that is why white shoes are OUT except for an all white outfit) - the garage doors should not be where the eye goes first. Now if you want to paint the brick, and people have very strong feelings about that, then the whole color group can be a cool set of colors including greys, but if you keep the orange brick, a dark green front door would be the color, or yellow - staying with the warm brown tones. Grey is OK on the outside of the house (if the brick gets painted a light grey), but grey and black are hideous inside - except on the handles of pots/pans, and a few tiny places like that. There are some great photos on websites of painted brick houses - check out Southern Living and Better Homes and Gardens articles on southern style houses with columns for ideas.

And - best not to spend money on temporary changes - wait and do the entire house. But - I would remove the fake shutters asap. And work on landscaping that will be permanent.

Wil need to jop

Be aware that removing the shutters might reveal a shadow of the shape in a lighter tone. And removing that portico might also leave you with damaged and/or a different brick color underneath.

Having the house power washed (do not do this if you’re inexperienced- you could damage the mortar) will let you know what the brick looked like when newer. THEN you can decide if you want to change the color of the shutters. We power washed our brick house when it was only 10 years old and it really looked different. It did change my color decision for the front door.