I love red houses! Look at the red exteriors in the photo section to see if you can get the precise red that is used. I like your idea of building a deck around the tree. Is the front. door on the side or the middle of the house. If the one on the side is a secondary one, then paint the main one white and that one red so that it blends in with the house. With some cottage style plantings your house will look great.

Yea.. Red, but with white trim and also adding shutters would look awesome !!

I think your house would be very cute in the right red with white trim! One detail that might be worth adding is a cupola on the roof in the center of the recessed bit. Rather than a deck, I might opt for a stone colored paver system (easier to adjust around tree roots, and more like a kind of country house). A white picket fence and a cottage type garden featuring knockout roses around the fence would be quite special.

Where is the front door? Can you post more pix from other angles?

Barn red was my first thought, even before I read your notes.

High contrast trim would do wonders. White with a darker red, blue or green. Navy or Hunter green with whites, light grays, or beige.

Add flowering shrubs. A smallish pretty tree on the blank, right side of your house would be great.

We agree! Red siding with thicker trim is the ticket. Shutters are always a nice touch too. The home below was a boring brown/tan house before they updated the siding. (Also their gutter as well)

We like the deck around the tree idea for the landscaping. Although we do like nwduck's idea too. (Landscaping is not our forte)

Also is the door on the left side your front door? It needs something to make it stand out more. Maybe replacing it and adding light fixture could help.

Instead of adding a deck, I would suggest you add a ground-level stone patio in the center offset. Then, I would suggest you change the picture window into a new entry door and close off the small entry door at the front of the left wing. There is a house very much like this in my town, and it is a very cute cottage style in white with a grey roof. I would suggest you add grey shutters and doors that harmonize with the roof and the suggested stone patio and see if this change adds enough warmth. You also might add window boxes and fill them with colorful blooms during the spring and summer months. You can empty the planter box liners in the fall and winter and add artificial greenery and any other seasonal decorations you would like.