Your house has quite a fine design. Have you thought about painting the entry portico white like the windows?

For other design options, look through the traditional exteriors on houzz photos, find twenty or thirty you like, including color schemes and landscaping, and save them to an ideabook. It'll be much easier to identify themes that you like once you have a collection of photos. For extra credit, create an additional ideabook of ten color schemes you don't like.

Hello ,in my opinion your house is really good looking but its not appreciated enough .
In first i would get rid of these metal barriers on your window they might have some purpose but they dont help in the look .

The greenery in the front of the house sells it ,its what it makes it beautiful , add nice flower boxes in front of windows ,paint your porch in more natural color and change the light fittings as they dont fit in there.

I actually like your door i wish i had one of these we don't get these in UK ,i would paint them in nice wooden colour around oak colour and add big beautiful stone pots with nice flowers or bushes in them on even side .
But what is your dream house looking like ? because its really hard to help you without knowing what you want

I would do the following:

Remove the railing
Paint the porch white
If practical and affordable go to one picture window downstairs
Add shutters to your home.

For immediate impact-
Paint the front porch white and add shutters to match door color.

Good luck!

We have an old brick home (late 1800's) and have removed all of the shrubbery up front to show off the home. Landscaping really made a difference to our home.

Sometimes a modern contrast with a more classic home design is a welcome change for the eye. Consider a modern door with lites (glass/window portions) in an opaque finish to reduce visibility, but maintain some light passage. Painting your door a color, such as a deep red, can also brighten the entryway and requires little investment. Painting the porch white, as mentioned above, would also be a quick and cost-effective change. Regardless, you have a beautiful home and a multitude of options. Cheers!

There are some great suggestions here. I second them! I would grow a creeper up a trellis on the right side of the porch to hide the drainpipe. Maybe a wisteria or something soft and romantic. That can drape over the porch. It is a lovely old house but it looks a bit stark and severe. I think soft foliage and blossoms will really improve the look. definitely remove the metal railings, and on the corners of the house I would paint the square bits of brick protruding the same colour as the porch ( i hope you know what i mean) There is a square pattern in the corners that sticks out, I'd paint those bits but leave the rest of the brick alone.

hi, I would stick with the starkness of the style of the house. You have a beautiful traditional home, but the things around it aren't in the same style. The good news is it wouldn't cost much to get everything tied in.
I would paint the portico to match the windows. Then ruthlessly cut back the plants around the front, or re-plant with formal planting (low box hedges neatly clipped, or something quite low, maybe with a white flowing shrub interspersed which would reflect the white of the windows. Repaint the front door to match the portico (either white or black), but add good brass hardware (knocker, threshold trim, doorbell, letterbox, house number, PIR lamps outside and under the canopy) all matching, with very very very high polished surfaces. The shiny brass will look fabulous with the colour of your bricks. Take the existing number off the side of the house.
Re-fence the side in a sympathetic style (wrought iron fencing or wooden fence painted to match your front door) , and figure out a way to get your downspout on the side of the portico into a proper drainage system.
Scrub the concrete steps until they are a uniform pale grey. Resist putting pots or plants in this area - it should be uncluttered. Hidden solar lights in the front garden would help show up the awesome proportions of your house after sunset.
To get privacy, consider having the glass in the doors covered in a coloured film. You already have etched glass which is right in keeping with the style of the house anyway, and makes a beautiful statement in its own right. I'd love to see your "after" pictures.

Gorgeous brick! Agree on removing the rails over the windows. a bolder lamp on the front of the portico would help. The one there looks timid. And painting it white. I'm not sure if the pillars are the best kind. I wonder if square pillars would look better?

These are all great suggestions. To be honest I never thought about painting the portico white.. Instead I was thinking of painting the windows to match the portico (which I'm not sure whether can be done or not). I also don't love the existing colour of the portico so I will definitely consider painting it white. Is there a design app that's free or affordable where I could digitally make these changes to see how the house would look?

I would love to replace the wood door with a metal one. Does anyone have recommendations on stylish metal door brands that would match the house?

Somehow the pediment/portico looks like an add-on to your home and is too dominant for the home's style. I think the fact that the top is closed is a factor. Can you reduce the footprint some? The gutters and downspouts are a big distraction and look very out of place. Would also remove the wought iron trim upstairs.

White paint for the Portico and a bright color for the door will brighten things. Also the facade of the the pediment is rather flat. Look for some Georgian or Neo-classical buildings to get an idea for some trim or molding to give it some detail. Do you need both lamps?

try the Sherwin Williams website. You can upload a photo and change the paint color of various things in the photo.

I agree with painting the portico but would like to see it painted a black with brown tones. Paint the windows the same color and give a pop of color to front door. Remove foundation plantings and put gravel in front of foundation. This is the traditional method for classical houses not our 20th c landscaping. Good luck, your house has good form and could look quite elegant in a very simple understated way. I would also remove the light in front of portico.

Google "brick house with black front door trim". Several houzz pics come up showing what I suggested earlier.

Something about the portico that doesn't work for me.. Too chunky I guess. Paint could help, but I'd remove it and install a more simple awning (or just some nice stone facings).

And a front door with square panels would look good. New paint colors maybe, but keep the brick natural; painted will have higher maintenance and the wrong paint can cause moist problems.

This is what it will look like without the portico:
(empty leaves more room for imagination)

You have a very pretty house. I am glad you are not painting the brick. I do think you should remove the metal in front of your windows. It looks like you have granite sills this will stand out more and not get obscured by fussy metal work. I would paint the portico white. I love your door. I would frost the windows for privacy and get rid of flower pattern. Pick a fun bright wacky color or go very traditional with black for the door color. Either way have it very high gloss. Clematis would look very pretty on your drainpipe. I like the idea of boxwood ruthlessly trimmed. Flower boxes would look lovely.

Oh and I agree that all the downspouts are distracting. They should be unified in color, (I would match them to the brick as close as possible so that they disappear) and see if they can be set up in a more balanced, organized fashion.

It's a really beautifully elegant home you live in. Really nothing drastic is required.

I don't recommend leaving the entry with nothing. If you're planning to remove the portico I would add an awning or decorative moldings around the door. It looks like your existing one is off-balance with heavy posts compared with the roof part. The last picture below looks more balanced. Also, your whole front wall is flat except for the portico, so you don't want something too heavy.

You could also look at getting new windows & entry door to breathe new life into your look. I recommend wood or steel casements to blend with your colonial look.
Here are a couple ideabooks you may be interested in-
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/11024643/thumbs/Wood-Window---Door-Ideas
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/18543834/thumbs/Bronze--Copper---Steel-Window-Ideas

Here's an idea- reduce the bulk of the portico by opening it up. Get rid of light on the front face of the portico and change out the other light to a simple but classical hanging fixture. As others have said, paint the portico white with perhaps a classic black door. You can use your existing door but change out the glass to a frosted or semi opaque finish. The window metal work should go away.

Here is one pic showing black trim for portico and windows .
http://houzz.com/ideabooks/19542427

Your doors are beautiful! You mentioned you don't like people looking in through the glass in the door, a simple inexpensive fix is to hang curtains on your front door with flat sash rods angled above the door window and flat sash rods at the bottom of the door window so that the curtains are flat against the door top and bottom, so they will be stationary and not getting caught in the door when opening and closing the door, then no one can peep in your windows.

Or simply use privacy window film, cut to fit press and stick:
http://www.lowes.com/SearchCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&N=0&newSearch=true&Ntt=privacy+window+film#!

There is also available a film that allows you to see out but the person outside cannot see in.

If there is not much space above the glass in the door these very fine 5/16 sash rods will work, they come 2 to a package are very inexpensive, you could use lace or sheers or lightweight fabric and still have the privacy you seek:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000U0RKX0/ref=asc_df_B000U0RKX02803059?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=pg-802-06-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395097&creativeASIN=B000U0RKX0

another example:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/63282-flat-sash-rod.html

Hello, Trumanstclair! Take a look at the ideas we had for current remodeling projects:

You can definitely light it up!