Thanks for your thoughts. I’m definitely looking forward to landscaping, that’s more up my alley. Planning a waterwise cottage garden. So excited!

AI says, and I like this particular rendering because staining the brick will brighten the entire front of the house.

GAF Timberline HDZ Barkwood Algae Resistant Architectural Roof Shingles ( 33.33-sq ft per Bundle )

Colors make the house look very French Country, IMO.

What's your budget, and potential scope of work?

What's the backstory? New to you house you are fixing up to live in?

For a project like this, you need a comprenhensive plan, and not a one thing at a time process.

For example, you don't change the roof, then try to make other things work with it.

It was an auction home we plan to live in. And yes, we want to have an overall vision before starting work. We’re looking for ideas now on what that comprehensive plan might look like. I mentioned the roof because we had it inspected and ended up deciding it wasnt worth the cost to replace with cedar planks. So, we have a roofer on tap but nothing planned yet.

Scope of work and budget are all in the ”gather information” stage. We want to get ideas and then price out what it would be and go from there. But we understand that we’re probably looking at $50-80k.

Lots of potential.

What about the inside? People often tackle in and out as separate projects and miss out. Often doing the inside first so they can get moved in, then the all new inside keeps them from making exterior changes because they don't want to disturb the work just done.

The bay windows would look better in brick, and I'd consider removing them, but unsure what material I would use to fill in. Have you looked for matching brick?

I would try downplaying the dormers. Here I've changed to a hip roof.

Colors, including shingles are best chosen on site. I would try to complement the brick and not match it.

I like the brick, and would leave it all as it is. Clean the brick though, because it does looks a bit dirty. Pick your roofing shingles color from the brick that is on the house. The garage doors are a good color right now. They blend in with the brick, so dont stick out in your face, when you look at the house. I like the color of the shakes that are on the roof now. Once its all cleaned up and you have the new roof, then tackle the landscaping, which is much needed. You may want to have a landscape designer, draw up a plan, and if you plan on doing it yourself, you can follow the plan and do little by little.

I love the brick and the roof. I would not switch to asphalt and if you do, buy a premium product designed to look like the wood you have now. I say this because you have a lot of roof and the current roof looks great. Asphalt shingles are no one's idea of decorative. The bow window roofs might look good in copper.

I'd experiment with paint apps on painting the siding Urbane Bronze or a warm taupe, cream, or gray (has to be warm) , but think the brick color you have is not bad. Garage door Urbane Bronze. Gutters are not a design element, match them to the roof.

It's such a great house. You need landscaping and lawn, of course, but the boulders suggest a good start for the landscaping and it's hard to tell if that's dead or dormant grass or straw covering a recently seeded lawn. With your house, I'd focus on landscaping.

IMO do not do anything to the brick except have it cleaned and make sure not power washed on high. I do agree the outside changes will be driven by the interior changes which IMO need to be decided first .It also helps a bit to understand your style when tackling the exterior . This is always one of my faves for siding and trim with brick but mostly if a mor etraditional style is what you aslo like . The other with the black roof and black windows takes that house in a completely different direction. So my advice stop and think before doing anything and water wise and cottage garden are 2 very differnt things in my experience

Such an appealing looking house! I also like the shingled roof but not sure if it really works with the brick. If you get one of the "architectural" shingles, make sure you know how it will appear. They may look good close up, but from a distance can evidence a mottled/dotted appearance.

Also, depending on where your house is located, $50-$80K may not be enough for the entire project. Think long and hard before you start work, and definitely have a long-term plan.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting thanks for your thoughts and pictures. We’re leaning towards a more traditional look but have also been considering the more contemporary options.

As for the landscaping, cottage and waterwise are generally two very different things, yes. However, at my current home ive been able to hit on a blend of the two that makes me happy (since i love cottage gardens but dont live in a climate for them). Im excited for a bigger yard to do more with!

If that is something you have done, in the picture above, it looks very nice. I think, a roofing that is closer to the look you have will look better on your house than the architectural shingles that usually have too much varigation, and could very well clash with the brick.

@cat_ky yes! thats a picture of my current yard! :) Thank you!

As we’ve been looking at more shingle options, i agree. A lot of the architecture shingles look like a patch work quilt…and would probably be too busy for the brick.

Yes, it does. I have a stone house, and had to avoid the architectural roofing altogether. Even the shape of the shingles looked terrible with my stone.

I too wonder about your budget. Does that figure include the new roof? Three years ago we had a new roof on our home, a fairly simple ranch with an add-on in the back. We live in a low-cost area in the midwest and our cost was $20k +\-.

I have a brick home with a large roof. It was nerve-wracking to choose a roof color. Timberlane has a visualizer on their website, which helps a lot! We went with a deep brown shingle.

Yes, you need to (gently) power wash the bricks first so you get the “real” color exposed. Our bricks were only 10 years old and brightened considerably after the power wash.

@RedRyder thanks for the picture. We are leaning towards deeper brown as well. I’ll look into that visualizer. And now ill also look more into power washing before finalizing color choices! Our brick might look very different once its cleaned!

@littlebug Zone 5 Missouri thanks for sharing your experience and price estimates. That is helpful. The budget i mentioned is for new roof and siding/paint. We’ll have a different budget for interior and landscaping.

+1 for removing the bay windows. they look like they were not original and they mess the front elevation up especially at the roof line. matching brick woukd be great but if not possible a siding color to blend in with the brick.

@wsea its very likely that the bay windows arent original. There are many in the neighborhood that look like later additions as well. I like to imagine a very persuasive bay window sales person went through the neighborhood twenty years ago 😅 However, the interior of the bay windows are very very nicely done . So, theyll most likely stay so that we dont have to retrim and general fix up the inside