Here is a gray New England house that has great details for you to view.

Not manty windows there that can even have shutters so forgrt that plan. I agree the side lights are part of the door so all the same. Garage style any without squares please you have enough of those , maybe abit of glass in the new garge doors Lanscaping still lacking much in the way of curb appeal. Is it possible to have anice white fence across the front or maybe ahedge and IMO always a walkway to the door not always from the driveway.

If there is something you can do with the two-tones brick chimney, that'd help make the overall exterior look clean. That and the roof would make a world of difference if you do nothing else.

Great suggestions here. Love the house!

For starters, the entry path to the house appears to be quite narrow and the badly pruned meatball shrubs don't help. I'd remove the meatballs and widen that path considerably--at minimum 5 ft wide, and plant something low in the curve between the path and the driveway.

Agree with painting the sidelights - it will make the door seem more substantial - I think it’s a really charming house, perhaps you just need to get used to the cleaned up look?

layering in more landscaping is always a good idea imo - but I wouldn’t add things to the house itself

Please remember that the tree plays a role, and have it professionally pruned on occasion to keep it healthy.

Remember, plants GROW, so what seems bare today won’t be for very long. But I think you could do better with the landscaping.

It doesn’t look naked to me all. If anything, I’d say your landscaping looks cluttery, especially right by the garage corner under the house numbers. And I don’t care for the random shrub (actually I just noticed there are two) on the OUTside of the brick walkway. It visually blocks the front steps/door and makes the walkway feel closed in and tight. Cohesion in plantings is good - several different types of things gives a jumbled feel.

Keep an eye on that huge tree so it doesn’t create a danger to the house.

The tree on the right appears to have mulch piled up round the trunk. That needs to be asked back to expose the tooth flare. Otherwise it will decline and die.

The big tree looks like a mature birch. They are not very long lived and while I might be sensible to get it checked every so often, I would not start pruning it.

What is going on with the chimney? Paint the white pipes on the house the same color as the shingles so they blend.

Please don't get a black roof, medium gray is usually a good choice. And try to find shingles that are not checker boardy looking.

I am in the minority here, but I like the sidelights to match the trim as you have it now.

I would widen the walk and have it drop off further down the driveway

I love all your ideas! When we bought the house there was ivy covering the chimney. We pulled it off and this discoloration was what was underneath. Should we power wash it?

I am adding some "before photos" of the very overgrown shrubbery.

Power washing brick is not usually a good idea. Maybe find a company that can have abetter idea fro a revamp of that chimney it looks bit iffy to me but not really close enough to see. You want to make sure the ivy did not cause real issues . I think the new plantings are going to be a constant issue to avoid exactly what you ripped out. A more english garden idea would make more sense with the house . Is the FP wood burning or gas ? I find that huge birch doing not much for the house at all. I do still think a nice fence along the front of the proerty would be where I start

Will suggest that you NOT power wash the chimney. That has the potential to damage the bricks and mortar. Will suggest that you try washing the chimney with detergent and a fairly soft bristle brush. For the detergent use a mild, pH-neutral dish soap in warm water.

I agree this is a charming house and you're close to making it spectacular.

The first thing my eye was drawn to was the chimney - it's got a weird mix of colors going on and just doesn't look good. That would have to be addressed if it were my house. Normally I hate painting brick, but again, I'd have to come up with some way for that to look better.

When the front door is painted then I am another one who likes the sidelights to match the trim, so in your case I'd leave them white. However painting them black is a valid choice as well.

It looks like you have minisplits - if that's the vertical white "ducting" I see on the left side, I'd paint that to match the house so that it more or less disappears.

Looking at your before photos, I agree you've cleaned up the landscaping nicely. Keep going. :-) Your front entry still needs to be further refined. I like the idea above of removing the still too large shrubs between the garage and the house and widening the sidewalk. That one shrub looks like it is already overgrowing into the driveway/garage and will just continue to grow in the spring.

Thank you for your input. I agree!

Good point about the power washing. Thank you

I would be most concerned about the big tree and would remove it...it looks like it's leaning toward the house. It is out of scale to the architecture.

The small tree is too close to the house if it gets any bigger.

You don't mention sun exposure but if you need shade get something with interest such as ornamental flowering purple leaf plum trees...not too close to the house to avoid future problems with leaves and roots.

This house seems like the perfect house for white horizontal lattice over the garage doors.

Since you're near the water, some beach grasses and taller native grasses and native flowers would be nice and they give nice movement in the breeze. I would extend the planting beds further down the driveway.

Without uploading a photo of your house, I asked AI to come up with some images for landscaping.

Thank you! These are great

You did a nice job! Add a pergola over the double garage doors to soften that side of the house.

Traditional Exterior · More Info

Roof color: black.

You love the house, in a New England town, near the water. I have lived in a N.E. coastal town my entire life. I am sure you know the house is not New England in style.

First, replace the bay window with double hung.

DO NOT remove that white Birch tree. Not many have survived in New England and yours is a winner.