The dark colors of the exterior of your home are offputting. So is your double posting of the same question. You'll get more answers if you will delete the second identical posting. Thanks.

I like the house. It is true to its style. The lawn looks good and you have beautiful large trees.

I'd trim the remaining bushes back. Plant some bulbs to bloom in the spring: 75 daffodil bulbs for $25 at the home center. Add a bright wind sock out front at the corner. Gather ideas in the coming months for a new paint job if you are thinking of painting.

You might want to go for an off-white, just to lighten it up....

I would paint the garage doors white and add shutters on the front windows. Right now the windows look too small for the size of the front of your home. I think your house is beautiful! A little "sweat equity" and you'll love your home too! Good luck!

For the off white that has been mentioned frequently, I would choose the lightest shade that is in the stone, or a shade lighter, so that the color will blend and not contrast too sharply with the stone.
Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID

I think your exterior has a ton of potential. I agree with painting a lighter color but not too light that it contrasts with the brick. I would consider a clay color or even possibly a light olive green color. I agree with Carolyn, don't go any lighter than the lightest color in the brick. I would paint the garage doors a slightly different color than the house to add contrast there as well. Also, adding some hardware to the garage doors to make them look like carriage style doors would dress it up alot on that end. I would also add some different landscaping with various heights & colors of shrubs beneath the windows. Color and a variety of height in landscaping would really make that end look sharp. Good luck & there is alot of potential here!

Carolyn, we respect your ideas and your credentials. Houzz is an amazing tool for both Pros and non-Pros to interact with each other in a helpful way. As a non-Pro, I have benefited from both since I have been on Houzz. Please don't get defensive because someone doesn't agree with your suggestions.

I've used a light brick colour below, as Carolyn suggests, changed the garage doors to something with windows to make them look less solid, and because I don't think there is enough space for shutters hung three plant containers on the front wall instead. I tried a decorative lamp on the front wall but felt it didn't work because the midpoint between the windows doesn't align with the roof peak.

Second version, with raised trim around the windows. Better, I think.

Nice work, Rina! I like the raised trim around the windows but would prefer the garage doors to be the light color or maybe a shade darker, and with no windows. The odd angle on the garage doors' upper corners bothers me. I wish they had square corners.

With the right paint color, some masonry stain and some future garden trellis work, this home can exude a great deal of rambler charm. I have a bit different perspective than our terrific Carolyn, seems to me the dutch corners on the garage door could be incorporated into pergola details - these ranch homes can use every detail that makes them unique -- unless you would prefer a very contemporary exterior in which case the corners should go.

I think a brick / barn red would be really charming with the white windows and brick- something in the same undertone as the brick with a sw black bean (espresso black) front door. I will come back with some specific colors - any chance of a close up photo of the brick? Looks red-brown, buff and brown. need to get off my mobile to research - and post some trellis photos too. You can get a kind of barn cottage that way - a persimmon red - that and spring treliss / arbor / landscaping will be terrific for the setting.

I would lighten up the paint color to a nice camel/tan or greige, keep the trim white, paint the brick and the garage doors the same color as the siding. this will make the whole house look larger, and newer. board and batten shutters, not too dark, also, to match the roof color would make the windows look larger. I can't tell the roof color from the photo, but charcoal gray is good with the lighter siding.

Here's some things to try if you think you would like to pull off the mod barn or even the cottage farmhouse look - or go to the sw website, upload your photo and play around so you can see it virtually. Try sw fired brick, fireweed or best guess, cajun red http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW0008-cajun-red/

Then, use a dark white or off-white in the warm direction like navajo white or antique white for trim - it will bridge the eye to the white vinyl windows but resonate with the buff toned bricks - this is the place for camel I think. And do the eave and fascia - that is where the dark is really hurting you - if you have a lighter eave, rafter tail and fascia (here, navajo white to match will provide the most charm) you will have a more modern look from a mid-tone color.

Look, generally I agree that when you have wainscot it is better for the house to be sort of one color instead of cut in half. Dark on top is a more seaside tone over stone thing . . but the stone you have does have some darker elements and I can see how to play with them so that the upper siding becomes more of a signal. You don't have so much frontage to worry about being overpowering and this is a kind of a throwback.

This is going to give you a kind of barn charm - which can be played off with some of the terrific exterior light fixtures that have a orb finish with an industrial shape - the long armed angled lights over the front door would be terrific. If you have a traditional front door - the black brown tone is perfect. If yours is a bit more modern bungalow aesthetic, then you could go modern there with a dijon gold tone. SW Anjou Pear is a great one to test. With this scheme - you want red garage doors too . . .

мне кажется надо выделить сами дома как то ярче

Hi there, our new home is black and white and we have used river stone (grey) to create a garden border/pillars, our garage doors are black and so are our double front doors. Think if you somehow made the two windows look larger or replacing would give the frontage a whole new look, I can see a beautiful bay window in white looking out to the street. Paint the stone work/ underneath windows (not sure what it is) BLACK.......good luck.

or add two full length windows in silver/grey making them wider than the existing ones since you have two garage doors :)

I like the darker color on the house and would use one of the mid tones from the brick for the body of the house. Leave doors dark. Do you have a picture of the entrance? Does it have any interesting features around the roofline?

Here are some trellis links for next years inspiration after you recover from your interior gut job [houzz=]
a simple ranch punched with color
[houzz=] a contemporary approach
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These are a bit more modern in their detailing to show you what can be done. An off-white painted arbor will repeat your window tone and help tie into the earth toned brick. You can play with color and add vines for super charm. Know your front door compared to the garage doesn't allow for much - look to arching wooden brackets to support train rack pergola details. Prowoodmarket.com is a place that sells them for your long term plans. I just searched houzz exteriors for cottage pergola - and I do think that traditional cottage details with red could be very charming and re-saleable. Picket fence with native daisies behind along the front :-) take the old metaphors and employ them in a fresh way ... .. the market responds to them.

I think it would be very helpful to know what your style is in the interior before choosing how to update the exterior. It always feels dissonant to me when walking into a home whose interior is completely unlike its exterior. If you're of a modernist bent, the ultimate changes to the landscaping and the home itself would be very different than if you wanted it to be cottagey.

Love the above pic of Modern Cottage..,,black n white....just like clothing looks sharp nothing can compare :)

definatly cut down that big tree in front of the door and paint the door a bold color