I am a huge fan of ranches and yours is especially lovely-much prettier than our 1960 ranch! For what it's worth, I would keep the gutters similar in color to what you have now. The green is great with the brick and also works fine with the roof. I would actually go for a deep purple door and sidelights and skip shutters. What you have is so pretty and I am afraid you'll end up with something less by adding more (it may become boring and predictable like so many ranches).

If I were you, I would stay away from the fake copper gutters. Real copper turns a wonderful green shade over time. It does not stay bright like your sample and, in every case I can think of, it would look jarring if it did maintain its brightness. If you have your heart set on it, I would save for the real thing---and you would end up with green again afterall. :)

Thank you so much for the compliments! We love ranches as well - and couldn't be happier. Might be the number of ranches I've lived in over the years.

Thanks for the color tips. I'm not a big fan of purple, but we'll look.

We're on the fence about the copper painted metal - we want some kind of color pop, and with such a plain roof line and the way it washes into the brick, that seemed like a good way to go. I think it looks good but wonder about if it looking cheap.

If we skipped the copper and matched the gutters to the cream we like, we lose the effect of the copper on the roofline but it will look less fake.

Here's a picture I found online of a room painted in the 'Craft White' color we like, and would go for something similar to what's in the picture for the front door.

http://0.tqn.com/d/homerenovations/1/0/w/D/-/-/13.jpeg

The shutters would be in a dark brown/black -- like this color fired earth:

http://beehivestudio.typepad.com/Color_Chips/Fired_Earth_6011-1.jpg

So our colors are the yellow/tan brick, cream trim, black/brown for the shutters (to be purchased :)), and dark red on the door.

If we don't do the copper painted metail and go with cream, I'm concerned that we'll have the same effect we have now -- just a washed out yellow/brown with no definition on the roofline. What if we painted the board at the top of the wall just under the roofline in the red to match the door?

I asked the question on yahoo answers before I had an account on here, and that was a suggestion that sounded good. We're concerned it might make the house too short, though, serving as a dividing line.

I hate to say this but I don't like the idea of the fake copper. It's too shiny and will dominate the house. How about a similar color to the shutter sample you should us, that was soooo yum. I'm not sure that outlining a house with copper will add or detract from the lines of the house. I'm inclined to think detract. If you like copper you could add light fixtures only and a door bell etc. I hate to have to disagree. Sowwy.

Another vote for purple on the front door. The closeup of your brick shows a lot of lavender and yellow tones in the brick. A shade of purple would complement the lavender tones and contrast with the yellow tones. I'm not talking about a bright, garish purple. Think aubergine or plum. Try a sample of something like Expressive Plum by Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore's Eggplant. As an alternative I would suggest a taupe or gray shade with lavender undertones. Some to try would be Benjamin Moore's Cement Gray or Dior Gray. Sherwin Williams has several taupe shades with underlying purple tones. Try Spalding Gray.

I know this color might not give you the wow factor you're probably looking for butI also wonder if an olive-y shade like BM's Wethersfield Moss or a greeney-gold might look good. I see some undertones in some of the pictures that made me think it might be an alternative.

Honestly, I look at the many shades of your brick and I don't see anything there that would be enhanced by a red door, even a more burgundy shade. But that's just my opinion. And here's one more vote against the faux copper because at least in the pictures your house is very dark and shaded. I wouldn't want the dominant feature to be faux copper if it were my house.

One more thought...take a little of the money you're saving by not painting the brick and hire a color consultant to work up a color scheme or two for you. You're trying to add a lot of elements at one time, and it might be worth your while to have an expert pull it all together for you.

All -t hanks for all the thoughtful answers. I think the revelation that not painting the brick sent us into a panic, since we had already scheduled the painters.

In a panic we threw some ideas together, many of which you correctly identified as poor. Thanks for that!

Here's the question I SHOULD have asked:

We're lost! Consider us color blind. What do you guys think we should do to update and beautify our exterior? We were thinking we wanted to paint it in greys, creams, dark reds .. navy or indigo, too.

Once we decided we didn't want to paint the brick, we went crazy and threw a bunch of ideas together, since everyone was scheduled to perform the work already.

If we can figure out how to do it, we want to change the side lights, if not the whole door. (glass and all) We're definitely going to replace the fixtures. The first thing we did was have a tree service come in, so the shade is much more manageable, but the house still looks drab, and it all blends together.

We were thinking shutters would look good. No idea what color.

I need gutters -- the baked enamel aluminum looks like the best mix of form/function, but I don't know how well the colors match? We hate the side lights, but don't know how much that costs to replace.

--------------

I didn't ask that question, but you folks helped me out anyway -- thank you :)

Your brick and ours are identical, and I've been struggling with this question for a while too. I look around at similar houses and haven't seen anything I like better than what the PO's did for ours.

We have a fairly green-leaning cream color on all the fascia, windows, and trim all over the house. It's a tone in the middle of the various colors of the brick. Looking at the house, you see the lines of the house, rather than the lines of the windows and trim. The focus turns to the landscaping instead...where we have color.

I'm sort of constitutionally against decorative shutters on ranch houses. They never look like they'd actually close together over the window, which annoys me. Also, the vertical size is often off in order to accomodate brickwork around the windows. Not to mention they don't really belong on a ranch, style-wise. But lots of houses in our neighborhood have them, so I am likely in the minority.

If you really want a color - I've noticed that green will make the house look more pink. Red makes it look more brown.

Good luck!

texdal, Have you been talked out of doing something you really want to do? It sounds like you had your heart set on a certain color scheme,and have been talked out of it. I think greys, creams and dark red could be lovely. That's the thing about soliciting opinions, you'll get such a variety that it may end up confusing you even more. And you have to consider that the people giving the opinions may have their own biases. There are a lot of "purists" out there who don't believe in painting brick or wood, ever. I'm of the opinion that if the original brick or wood is lovely, leave it alone. But if it isn't, and it makes you unhappy, why not change it, as long as you're willing to assume the trouble and costs of lifelong maintenance?

I grew up in a red brick ranch house that was later painted white around the time I went to college. I thought, and continue to think, that the white paint transformed the look of the whole house, and provided so many more options for trim, shutter and door colors. And my parents were willing to do the maintenance to keep it up. So that's something you and your wife have to decide. But I would put the option of painting back on the table, because I'm not so sure you're sold on keeping the look you have.

From close up, your brick is lovely with all the creams, golds and lavenders. From far away all I see is pinky beigey brown, which is completely dominated by the large expanse of sloping roof, overhangs, trees and shrubs, and large amounts of shade. I'm no curb appeal expert, so I can't tell you how to fix it, but if it were my house I wouldn't be so quick to discard the idea of painting. And I wouldn't make any decisions "in a panic" because you've heard some conflicting opinions and are backing away from your original plan. Postpone the workers--believe me, in this economy, you'll find someone to do the job when you're ready to get it done. You want to get this right the first time, so slow down and explore all of your options.

We also have some talented people here on this board who, if you're lucky, will do some photoshopping for you so you can see what different colors schemes and trim options can do for your house.

Youndeb - your home is beautiful! I love the lines and windows. The brick looks so clean and bright - have you washed it?

Bluemoon - you make very good points. We are doing nothing this week except powerwash.

I welcome tips deon the bored :)

That's a beautiful house: graceful scale, lovely lines, gorgeous brick. Subtle & sophisticated. I love painted brick homes, but your brick is exceptionally pretty. And that current gutter color works really well with the brick.

Instead of a new paint scheme to make your home "pop," why not just trim back all the shrubbery and thin out that live oak in the front? Then more of your home will be exposed to light, and will be much more visible. A better door color and bigger, better entry lights are all the grace notes your elegant home needs.

p.s. I vote for no shutters too. Your home has a mid-century modern look. Don't try to make it look like a colonial house.

LOVE your house. No shutters. House doesn't need them or want them. I think awm03 is right--part of what is bothering you is "overly-mature" plantings. Happens with older homes.What looked wonderful 50 years ago is now eating the house.

Hard to tell from the picture...but that looks like (l-r in the picture) a large rhododendron/illicium/acuba(?),
a GINORMOUS fatsia, a large can't-tell-what-it-is-variagatus, and a lovely Japanese lace-leaf red maple...perhaps Tamukeyama. I'd be tempted to yank at least one of those four things out--first choice would be that big-leafed fatsia-looking thing that is blocking the window. Or at least cut it back.

You know...there's a garden design forum over on our sister-site the garden web. You could go read a few threads over there and decide if you want to take the plunge. Or you might just want to take that money you saved NOT painting and hire a garden designer who is comfortable with MCM design to come help you revive and revitalize your landscape. You'd be amazed what renewing one's plantings can do for one's home.

I just realized the last two posts are commenting on my house, rather than the OP's. Thanks, I like it too and I realize that the plantings are too big, I just haven't gotten around to getting them cut back...now I'm feeling motivated!

This is OP's house...which is so similar...

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Whoops! Well, youngdeb...I really like your house!

No, youngdeb, I was commenting on texdal's. I did click on his link. I think the topiaries on either side of his front door could be trimmed back and the live oak in the front could stand a good thinning out. The shrubs by the windows could use a good trimming too.

Your trees arch so gracefully over your pretty home. Lovely! Texdal can get an idea of how thinning out a tree can enhance it as well as let more light shine on the home (and garden below).

Sorry, awm, I misread yours.

I agree on the plantings...the rows of box shrubs are pretty dated, for example. Updating the plants would make a huge difference, but could easily cost more than the paint! We thin out our trees every 2 years or so, or we'd be in a cave of darkness...it makes a huge difference. You can also raise the canopy a bit to get clearance underneath.

Awm, msjee, thank you for the compliments on the house! We have been frustrated at the lack of light for a long time, and seeing the dark green all the time hasn't helped.

What you don't see from the pictures is that the gutters in terrible shape and not functional, so a necessary replacement. We have to pick a color, and we need to replace a fair bit of wood as well, so we need to paint. To paint, we need a color, and ... Well, we ended up here :)

The house was about as close as I've ever seen to original condition when we bought, and we've been improving over time. So far, we've focused on the interior. We've backed off on the workers, and are contenting ourselves with just choosing trim, front door, and gutters.

We're not doing that until at least Friday, when we have someone coming over to help us with colors. Today, we like SW Kilim Beige with an Almond 5" gutter, or SW Nomadic Desert with Wicker gutters. (American Construction Metals Rainware Colors? We're installing the pre-colored aluminum gutters and trying to match) Both with something like SW Turkish Coffee on the door. We'll keep playing with colors and let a pro guide our final decision.

As for the landscaping -- I've been doing much of that on my own, though you can't really tell :) I'm building a bed around the base of the tree planted with Purple Winter Creeper for color, and was planning to tackle the shrubbery next. Color in front too.

I also have a bid to remove the planter boxes and build actual beds.

I was waiting to do all that until we had the tree lifted - which we just had done. I snapped some pics tonight but unfortunately it was dusk, so the lighting is off, but here you go. Sorry for the vehicles! I was in a hurry to get the pics snapped before I lost all my light.

Were we too conservative with our pruning? The middle shot is from the street standing, and the two corner shots are the approaches. It's a lot of roof!

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Awm, msjee, thank you for the compliments on the house! We have been frustrated at the lack of light for a long time, and seeing the dark green all the time hasn't helped.

What you don't see from the pictures is that the gutters in terrible shape and not functional, so a necessary replacement. We have to pick a color, and we need to replace a fair bit of wood as well, so we need to paint. To paint, we need a color, and ... Well, we ended up here :)

The house was about as close as I've ever seen to original condition when we bought, and we've been improving over time. So far, we've focused on the interior. We've backed off on the workers, and are contenting ourselves with just choosing trim, front door, and gutters.

We're not doing that until at least Friday, when we have someone coming over to help us with colors. Today, we like SW Kilim Beige with an Almond 5" gutter, or SW Nomadic Desert with Wicker gutters. (American Construction Metals Rainware Colors? We're installing the pre-colored aluminum gutters and trying to match) Both with something like SW Turkish Coffee on the door. We'll keep playing with colors and let a pro guide our final decision.

As for the landscaping -- I've been doing much of that on my own, though you can't really tell :) I'm building a bed around the base of the tree planted with Purple Winter Creeper for color, and was planning to tackle the shrubbery next. Color in front too.

I also have a bid to remove the planter boxes and build actual beds.

I was waiting to do all that until we had the tree lifted - which we just had done. I snapped some pics tonight but unfortunately it was dusk, so the lighting is off, but here you go. Sorry for the vehicles! I was in a hurry to get the pics snapped before I lost all my light.

Were we too conservative with our pruning? The middle shot is from the street standing, and the two corner shots are the approaches. It's a lot of roof!

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The tree looks great, really nice and you'll get plenty of light through there.

But those hedges around the driveway aren't great, imo. And the other large shrub - it all looks really dated. If you need privacy, a few taller plantings in beds in front of the windows would be better. But curtains are a better solution in any case. Just my opinion...

It's a great house!

Thank you! We're doing curtains, but fabric selection hasn't been easy. I never thought to ask, but is it going to look with curtains in the front bay windows and blinds on the others? (as they are now)

I think it would look good without the hedges, just afraid of the house looking naked and the noise/privacy issue. The angle shot with the massive yupon holly and the gravel? My back is to a very busy street, and while there is a brick wall, there's a break where the streets meet and I like blocking the view of the street with the bushes. Nothing is off the table and thanks again for the great suggestions.

texdal---are those red-tip photinias lining your driveway? I get why you'd want to keep the bushes...they are probably a huge help with noise...but if they are photinia you need to check with your local nursery and find out if y'all have the fungal leaf spot down there. I work in a garden center and we don't sell photinia because of Entomosporium fungus. It's REALLY difficult to cure and (eventually) kills the shrubs.

SO...if those ARE photinia, and entomosporium is a problem in your area, you might want to start making plans for how you are going to replace them (eventually.) You could look at ilex vomitoria 'Bordeaux'--another form of yaupon holly that doesn't get huge like the regular species...and the fresh growth is a lovely burgundy color. And, like it's ginormous cousin, it is drought tolerant and deer resistant.

Great job with the tree, btw. Looks like a GORGEOUS live oak? Worth a fortune. (One can't buy that kind of age/size.)

I'm going to play devil's advocate here...are the planter boxes original to the house? Perhaps, just PERHAPS mind you, you should think about keeping them. That house looks architect designed...might be worth preserving original elements. Just more to think about!

melanie

Thanks Melanie!

You nailed the photinia - even in their shortened state! Too lazy to cut my own bushes so that is the result. I'll look into the holly you mentioned - I see a lot of them and it would be a nice touch.

I have a massive yaupon on the corner shaped like a tree, and 2 more (6-8' tall) that are bushes - not visible here, but I like them because they're so old.

The planters are original - we bought the house from the original owners, and they hadn't even changed the wallpaper... And it was custom - all of the houses in the neighborhood are different. I think we got literally the last untouched one.

Weve been so reluctant to make major changes, so not ttouched much since :). Paint, counters, some fixtures, flooring. We even left the parquet. A lot of the old ranches here were opened up, and we almost did - formal living AND dining??? -- but glad we left it as is.

Thanks again for the tips out front with the landscaping - that's the part I've been stubborn about doing on my own, and it needs help !

My wife had a very sensible idea - I have defacto beds (gravel, or too shady for Bermuda) in front of the boxes. What if I leave the boxes alone (leave empty or replant) and plant in front?

So here's what you need to decide...how "retro" are you willing to go? How "retro" do you WANT to go? There are some GREAT old landscaping books out there...most by Sunset Press...that talk about landscaping these sorts of houses. Check your library first, then if, if you can't find anything there, try ebay. PDX Mod has some vintage landscaping books. And check out the magazine "Atomic Ranch."

There's also a GREAT blog out there for "time capsule houses" called Retro Renovation. I've linked it below. I think it's a good idea to take things slowly with a great custom house...live in it a year or so (if one can bear to!) before one makes structural changes. Now...walpaper? THAT I'd probably get rid of asap (except maybe in baths and powder rooms.) I've got to run...but I'll check back in. And DO consider taking your landscaping queries over to the LD board on GW. I think they'd have a blast with your space...just be prepared to be a wee bit thick skinned. ;^)

Here is a link that might be useful: Retro Renovation

Those are some great ideas! I'll look out for those books, and play with ideas for the beds near the house first. Seeing the ideal 50 years ago would be an interesting point of reference. Quick question, what is PDX Mod?

I apologize - I didn't explain myself clearly. We've been in the house for over a year. We did a lot inside - all floors save the parquet in the family room, all walls, some of the kitchen. Nothing structural. Still have a lot to do, but wanted to focus on the front.

Thanks to all for your ideas! We've slowed down, and are playing with a lot of different ideas.

I'll post pics as we progress. Thanks!

Sorry--I've been sick in bed for the last day-and-a-half and didn't see this until today.

"pdx mod" is a seller on ebay. I've purchased quite a few books from him for my sister and her husband who were reviving an Eichler. I'll link to his (her?) store below. Have fun!

melanie

Here is a link that might be useful: pdx mod books

I think the tree could stand to be limbed up a tad more to expose more of the roof. And speaking of the roof, that's the dominant feature of this home. The biggest impact that you could make would be to change the roofing to something more architectural like cedar shingles (expensive) or asphalt architectural ones. That will make a bigger change in the curb appeal than any possible painting or gutter color that you think of.

The only thing that would make a bigger impact is to update the landscaping. The straight lines and the soldier curves of the boxwood and photinas aren't doing the home any favors. If you decide to replant the photinas, look at doing the area as a landscape bed and as a whole, not as a hedge. Shrubs of different textures and heights and ornamental grasses with a groundcover would make that half circle bed be a huge asset as well as help block any street noise. You just want to avoid using the same plant in a line. Groupings are good. Lines are not. I'd say the same thing about the bed next to the house. Get rid of the brick encasing it and forcing the straight line and expand it with some curves. Your home is already the straightest of straight lines, and more straight line shrubbery is too much!

And I'd have to be in the camp that says no fake copper. Fake anything would be bad, but fake copper would be about as bad as you can get. NO shutters either. Especially fake shutters. You want natural not fake.

As for a color scheme, I'd vote for a deep brown for the roof and for the window color, with a mossy green for the trim and gutters. You want colors you pull from Mother Nature. I think for your door, either an elderberry purple or copper orange/brown/red or get a slab door and cover it with real copper sheeting and let it age naturally. You could faux simulate panels by using copper bar stock, but I think a slab copper door would really suit the mid century design. This would be an inexpensive DIY project that would add a LOT of character to the home.

Thanks live_wire_oak - I find myself agreeing with nearly all of your style points. I don't think we realized how prominent the roof was until we really spent some time looking at it from the street. I don't think changing the roof is in the budget now (it's pretty new), but we'll definitely keep that in mind.

We're both really intrigued by the suggestion of a slab door - what is that? We picked up some paint samples yesterday.

Old gutters are down and the house is already looking cleaner, even without the new ones up. We picked a gutter color that is called 'wicker', and had SW mix paint to match.

Here's a pic of the samples we put up. It's dim - by the time the paint had dried, this area (east facing, under covered patio) is shaded - but you see the colors we're talking about, over the green and next to the brick.

Trim/gutters - light tan (color matched wicker metal gutters)
Front Door - BM Currant Red (1323)
Shutters (if we do -- causing marital strife) - SW Umber
Brick (more marital strife - not painting though!) - 6140 Moderate White.

I like the green but we compromised and are currently planning on going with the tan color -- which we color matched from the gutter color we're putting up. That will be all the trim. The dark brown we were thinking for shutters, but if we don't do shutters... Clearly we won't use it :) Would you consider using that brown to paint the aluminum visible in the picture of the front? We'll replace the windows -- they're 1966 single pane glass -- but not sure when, and we don't like the aluminum lines.(could be usable)

I like your suggestion on the planters and I'll consider today a success if I can get them dug up before the Rangers game :)

Melanie, I believe, on the landscape forum, suggested creeping thyme -- I think we'll do something like that to try and break the planter box line.

I also like the idea of semi-circle as landscape bed. My kids aren't playing out there - too close to the busy street - and having something to break up the monotony and add curves would be great.

Melanie -- thank you for explaining! I'm looking at his books on ebay now. Thank you SO much for your help here and on the other forum! You've made us like our house a lot more.

Summary on what we're going to do this week:

Gutters (wicker above unless someone can talk me out of it in the next day) installed, trim/fascia/sofits painted to match.

Paint front door

Remove boxwood in planter boxes up front

Pause and evaluate....

To sum up questions:

If we don't do the shutters in Umber -- which my wife wants to do, and my painter assured her it was easy to shave the raised brick to install them, what else can we do in the brown to pop? The window frames? We had a decorator come to help with color selection, and she was a strong advocate of both shutters and painted brick. My wife is still on board with leaving the brick unpainted for now, but the shutters idea has come back with a vengeance. For what it's worth, most house in the neighborhood do ... But, this decorator also suggested we call a Realtor and ask for advice, which is exactly what I DON'T want to do. I want it to look good and not offend those that know what they're looking at!

We were going to paint the windows in the white color, but would the brown pop? Give us some color without having to throw up fake shutters?

VERY interested in learning more about doing a copper door. We're going to paint the door and frame in that red color above - more of a magenta.

Finally, what are you guys thinking about the below picture?

Dim again - my photo skills aren't the best - but this is an angle shot of my back patio. Same brick, which you can see. To the left is another bay window just like the ones out front, this one into the breakfast room/kitchen.

The ceiling you'll see the drywall portion is white -- and then the wood portion turns to the trim color. The decorator we had suggested we paint the same color, the moderate white, so there's not a line -- opening the space up. But the problem is, if I paint that white, I think I have to carry the white all the way around the house under the roof, meaning the wood on the underside of the roof would be white, the rest of the trim tan. (We're thinking the white above)

Or -- can I just tape off a logical line somewhere and transition from white to the trim color?

Or .. I can just paint the ceiling the trim color, but then it all kinda blends in.

THANK YOU!

The door with the paint samples is a slab door. A slab door is a door with no panels or frills or ornamentation. I dunno how one would make a slab copper door...maybe sounds interesting, though.

Nothing wrong with white soffits (the under part of the roof, as you call it) and tan trim. You just use the trim as your separation line.

You need to find the Sarah's House Mid-Century makeover on HULU (or HGTV) and watch it. I've linked the HGTV page below. She did some AWESOME things with the mid-century modern house she bought to re-do...and not ALL of them were crazy expensive. Hang in there...and I'm glad you are loving your house more. I never thought I'd be an MCM fan....until I started LIVING in an MCM ranch. They LIVE so well.

melanie

Here is a link that might be useful: Sarah's House