it's not the ugliest house, just not your taste.

For me, the limited shingle choices drive the siding color selection.

With such a heavy roofline, I would select the lightest shingle available in the brand you choose. Like Certainteed® Mojave Tan or that value. I prefer a chingle in the brown family so it looks like real wood shingles. No contrasting trim unless it is lighter than the siding color.

Will you be doing a vertical siding like now? It does help heighten the look of the home.

I wouldn't be too quick to dig out the plantings, it takes years to establish. Just trim back the things that are hiding the house.

Do you have a color palatte you like? NOT gray, it's been done to death.

Many neighborhoods in NJ filled with similar houses from the 1980's. If you are in that area, I would look for those neighborhoods and drive around to see how others have updated some of these houses.

Definitely get rid of the orange roof.

I might be tempted to get rid of the double doors and do a larger single door (42-48") in a contemporary style.

The simple casement windows work with the style of the house, but the bronze/brown color limits your choice of siding color ... unless the windows can be painted without adding major future maintenance and/or voiding any warranties.

I'm on Long Island, NY. There are a few homes around me in a similar style, 95% of them are a light-tan/beige which is boring in my opinion.

I am open to replacing the front door and the stone around it.

Color palette - any that would give this some curb appeal. I've toyed with dark options in my head, like black or an army/olive green, and then as light as a white option. Anything but this yellow!

I'd go with a darker brown roof, tending towards neutral. One of your problems is that the roof is too similar to the color of the house, so you get a really big dose of that orangey beige and the dormers, which break up the large roof disappear. I'm not keen on the stone, I'd probably remove it. . I'd paint the door and probably the door trim. It's hard to figure out what color to paint it with that orangey beige, so I might go a dark brown, but you could try out color chips and see if something else looks good.

The landscaping looks like it has some good bones. I would ID what you have, see what blooms --- there are plenty of plants with really gorgeous flowers that look blah the rest of the time. I see a red tree that looks pretty nice; a neat, well-sized conifer; a leggy thing to the right of the door; what looks like it could be an overgrown messy grass; and a straggling, unhealthy hedge. Now, it's very hard to tell what's what from the picture, but if my guesses are accurate, I'd keep the red tree and conifer, trim the overgrown thing, and consider removing or moving the grass and the hedge. Then reassess.

For the siding, I might go with a warm green with a cream trim. It will work with your windows. It would probably work with your roof if you decide not to replace it.

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I think with a contrast between the siding and the roof, less beige and a few tweaks to the landscaping, you'll have a lovely house.

Apart from the color issues addressed on here, the house itself isn’t ugly. I think some re-landscaping & clearing everything off the driveway would be an improvement, just for starters.

Here are homes similar to yours with different color combinations. Your home is overall too 'peachy' and needs to be toned down.

I agree with chispa that a more modern front door would suit your house well. I love a contemporary in a natural color like a sage green. If you decide to keep or change the stone, that should be the deciding factor in the house color. You'll want to coordinate with or compliment it. Can you post a closer picture of the stone?

is the roof staying? if going, do a charcoal roof color.

I'd lean into the more modern vibe and go darker w/more wood tones.

this is one Lauren Leiss did

https://laurenliess.com/progress-on-our-houses-exterior/

Here are the tones I would do

1980's

Are you keeping or removing the rock trim by the front door? If keeping it, try taking some photos of the whole front door area including the rocks and some close-ups showing a square foot or two of the rocks. New naturalistic color schemes can be chosen from the rocks.

If you are not keeping the rocks, think about how you'd like to feel when you drive up to the house. Do you want one of these: warm and friendly, drop dead fashionable, bright and cheery, bold architectural statement, blend in with woods, look like the neighbor houses or some thing else?

The roof is being replaced 100%; it should have been replaced 5 years ago, before the prior owners sold it. Not a fan of the stone, would love to see it gone. I like the idea of one oversized door or a 30" door with side lights.

When it doesn't smell like fire outside, I'll post a picture of the door with the stone.

I would like something bolder overall, maybe even two-tone. Been looking at aluminum wood-like panels, concrete panels, anything but what I have

@ BeverlyFLADeziner the middle picture is what my neighbor's home looks like. I would like to get out of the brown colors to look a little different. Maybe even a smokey blue-gray would jazz it up

How gorgeous is this house (with double doors). : > }

Here’s another option:

You could do the corrugated steel panels around the front door and then find a paint color you like for the rest. Keep the door as much glass as possible to keep it from being too dark. You could also do stained wood around the front door and a stained, modern garage door and a darker color on the rest. I think either could look nice.

Here is the stone; it isn't much, so removing it and replacing it with an accent shouldn't cost too much.

I really like the Smokey Blue up above and wonder if I could add an accent to that or just leave it as is in the picture. I keep being drawn to dark colors, but my sons like white better.

Funny that your sons like the white and you like the Smokey blue. I keep looking at those two and can’t decide which I would like better. Either would be gorgeous.

I’m in the dark grey roof camp. I have done 3 roofs and two were in medium gray but the current house stumped me because it needed brown. Your two best choices (blue or white) call for a dark shingle gray roof. Let us know which color wins.

And a new door will make a huge impact.

Just here to say this is not ugly to me! Just needs a little change of color, and landscaping would help. I think a tree to break up the continuous roof line would look nice. That commenter Amy with the smoky blue board-n-batten siding rendering is pretty fabulous. I would add a tree

where the driveway meets the front walk (instead of or in front of the hydrangea). A red japanese maple (not dwarf, something that grows to 15+ ft) would give some vertical interest.

I changed the roof to charcoal gray. I ran out of free image creations so I couldn’t do the lighter color too.

Based on your budget, if needing to do in phases, I’d just trim back the landscaping for now. Also, once the house updates are completed/lived with for a bit, you may want a completely different feel. The garage door is another area that could wait and just paint.

Are you open to replacing the windows as they will have a huge effect, driving all of the other decisions (bonus: more energy efficient). Envision: black windows, warm white house, blackish roof, black entrance & garage doors. Stone removed and wood added for a similar look to below. With the heaviness of the roof, white will offset and the entrance will become a really welcoming focal point.

You could soften the look.

Thanks @Molly. The smokey blue with the lighter of the two roofs looks really nice.

@Maureen I like the second picture with the wood a lot, which makes me see why my sons are saying white

@Epsilon I agree the front needs some trees, and they are on my wish list. When we moved in, there was a sickly Pine tree there that we removed. A Japanese Maple and Birch are on my list. Anything but Oak, the entire court is oak trees

Thanks for all these ideas and the feedback, I really appreciate it

=-

Let us know what is the final decision.

If the roof badly needs to be replaced, I'd focus on a roof that will look okay with the beige. I think a new roof color will really improve the look and you might decide to wait on painting. I'm guessing you wouldn't have bought a house you find ugly if your budget was unlimited.

Pivot doors are really stupid. They take up a lot of space, but they don't give you a wide entrance.

@Emily that light color looks lovely, do you know the name of it is? I think the cleanness and sharpness is what my youngest is looking for

@Lynn Klein, I'd start with a sample of BM Chantilly Lace which is a pure cool white, which gives a clean modern look. SW Pure White is another one to sample too. Sampling is key, so selcet some and make sure to paint a small area before committing to the whole home.

Something like @Molly's renderings would be a great, dramatic change. The foundation landscaping probably just needs trimming, but the curved hedge could be removed. Like what @Molly did.

I don't hate it, personally, but I agree its outdated. I would aim for something with more contrast, your current colors are all too similar. https://www.buildersservicecompany.com/how-to-coordinate-exterior-house-colors 

I envision grays reminiscent of a Sea Ranch house of weathered wood and with native and ornamental grasses..

You already have the gray windows and gray rock chimney. A lighter roof does not get as hot and more energy efficient.

Here is a concept rendering.

Sea Ranch, California has similar architecture and natural landscapes.

I don’t think it’s the ugliest house ever. I think it has real potential. We have a home in our area that is very similar and the owners have really turned it into a showcase. Really the maintenance of the wood siding and the roof and landscaping it what’s making it look so rough. I would concentrate on those and replacing the garage doors. True to the style of the home I would bring in wood elements on garage and front door. Painting it dark will date it quickly. Consider a warm white for more longevity and to compliment the stone and the new wood accents. . Do the trim dark.

thanks @pink_peony the warm white also looks nice, and I really like those garage doors. I think them in wood and in black; tough choice ahead of me

pinkpeony has great idea but how far does the budget go is really the question

If the windows are staying, send us a close up picture unless they're wood and you are planning to paint them.

Not an ugly house. Great modern roofline. Odd colour choice for the siding, and the colonial style front doors are completely wrong. Will be a great house with the right colour scheme and leaning into the modern vibe for doors and landscaping.

As far as your landscaping, it looks like the low hedge at the front is boxwood. 2 of them look dead, probably from boxwood moth which is a pest that is spreading into your area. I'd remove those for sure and not plant any more boxwood. You can spray for the moth but it has to be done several times a year and becomes time consuming and expensive.

The evergreen under your house number is likely an Alberta Spruce. Not long lived because it often gets infested with spider mites, and is not happy with too much sun. I'd remove that too.

Can't see much of the rest but I agree that it's worthwhile to get a professional gardener to see whether any of the existing plants can provide a head start to your new landcaping plan. Don't clear-cut just yet.

I quite like Molly's and pink-peony's suggestions. I don't think your house is ugly, even as it is, it just needs a little TLC.

One thing I really dislike is the trend towards painting the whole house in a really dark colour. It makes me think of horror movies. And I think grey, unless a light grey with white trim, is just depressing.