Cut down the arborvitae. I agree with the white trim. And a pop of color for your door. Relocate the garbage can ;-) Add some pots of colorful flowers. Maybe some hanging baskets on the porch.

Honestly, the brown looks pretty good. I would change the cream to a slightly lighter cream, but otherwise, I think the paint choices are good.

Your curb appeal will come from removing the two trees, maybe removing or cutting back the evergreen bushes and adding some varied plantings, and dressing up the porch. The charm is going to come from the small details. A slightly larger light above the door, nice hardware on the door, etc. Maybe some exterior lighting on the house? Pretty furniture in the sunroom/porch.

No, there is no window behind the trees. I think you are right...we need new landscaping. We are in the middle of scraping and painting the sunroom, so when we get that done and fill it up, hopefully it will look a little less bland. I like the hanging basket idea. Thanks for the suggestions!

Going to revise my comment a bit: I'd paint the siding white (as well as the porch trim) and the trim brown, not black, since the roof is brown. White and brown trim around the windows and front door.

What a cute house! It's got a lot of potential for that cottage look. I'd paint the dark brown clap board over the door a very light gray or the traditional white. The trim, porch and surround of the door would also be white. I would paint the door a color but I'm not sure which as it would depend on how close the brick is to the door.

Wow! Thanks for the mock up, Beverly. It made it easier for my husband to visualize removing the trees and now he wants to get on it. I tried to do one, but it looked like my 1 year olds finger painting. I also mentioned shutters to him and now that he sees it, he likes it. Thank you again! These are all good ideas!

Now another question, if any of you would be so kind to answer. If I kept it brown, should I stick with the same milk chocolate-y brown, or go with a dark chocolate, or a reddish tint ( like SW Polished Mahogany). I think any white I do, would be a warm, creamy white, but less of a yellow tint. This is awesome!

Is the door we see, with all that beigy wood around it, the only door to your home? Or is there an inner door that was once the original exterior door. I ask because I am sure the door wasn't orignally like that...the porch to the right is another reason that the original seems like it was different. All the wood is just not right to me and that is what I'd think about changing. Can you find an old photo of your home to see wha the entry was like originally?

I think your house has some very nice details that just blend in with the current brownish paint colors. The little round window in the gable, the trim along the roofline, and the rounded trim along the porch roofline are pretty and should be emphasized.

I think I'd paint the siding in the gable, and around the front door one color-- a shade pulled from the brick-- a tan, mid-tone brown, or even gray. Then I'd paint all the trim-- windows, roofline, porch pillars-- white or cream.

Cutting down the shrubs will make a nice difference. Hope you'll come back and post pictures when you're done!

Brick Cottage Redux · More Info

I was also going to suggest adding shutters, which is why I asked if that's the only window there. That window definitely needs to be beefed up.

The topiary is cute, but it would need constant maintenance or else it would be a mess. I'd consider also taking the hedges out so you can put more color in there.

Instead of the topiary, what if you planted a dogwood or some kind of flowering tree that doesn't get too big in that area?

If you were to stick with the brown, I'd go darker and richer. That brown there now is kind of blah, poo-brown, IMO. Does nothing for the brick or the nice roof color you've got.

chuck......I like your idea of painting the siding a darker brown with a hint of red and the trim a warm creamy white or even a deeper warm beige. The darker brown will provide more contrast so the lovely brick stands out and also goes well with your roof.

I would not go darker with the brown. I would probably lean towards the yellow-browns not the red-browns. I'm thinking something like Ben Moore Saddle Brown 2164-10. But that is just a guess. I would want sort of a copper-y feel to the color.

www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/saddlebrown

That's a great color graywings.

I think that color is a good selection too. A substantial wood shutter will frame the window nicely.

Ooh I like something like the dogwood tree! . Here is another picture. Hopefully this is better.

I like the saddle brown! That would warm it up. Never even thought of going the yellow undertone direction! Just FYI, we are going to strip the paint off the front door (it is currently cream) and see what shape the wood is in. The hardware cannot be updated as it was built in 1942 and isn't standard. Thanks again everyone!

Here is your home back without the trees. I'm guessing on some of the details on the porch.

Also you need to determine if your siding has received paint or an opaque stain. That makes a bid difference. Lots less work with an opaque stain.

I think your house has a Tudor feel to it. I'd take some cues from Tudors.

If you want to plant a small tree, plant it on the porch-side corner of the house and allow plenty of room. Curve a planting bed from the side of the house, around the tree, and along the front. Make the bed in front deeper than what's there now. Replace those shrubs with plants with color and texture. Plant a rounded shrub on the other corner, something that tops out at 5 or 6 feet. Replace the hedge with three shrubs that grow no higher than the window frame. Find something that doesn't need annual shearing so that there's a softer look against the brick.

You could put the tree on the other corner, but it looks like your yard is wider on the porch side, and the tree will give you a little privacy on the porch. Keep it pruned to maintain an open structure.

Sorry tibbrix, but this home has no stucco details, exposed beams or high pitched roof details evident in tudor style homes. This is simply a charming cottage that is currently brown, a color often seen on tudor homes.

Not all Tudors have stucco and exposed beams. I also said it has a Tudor FEEL to it, not that it technically is a Tudor. Tudors have the cottagey charm chuck bass seems to be going for, and I simply think she might get some ideas by looking at Tudors. Here is a Tudor, for example, no stucco:

Definitely remove those tall shrubs. The porch is nice but I think you need to go lighter and brighter with the columns. It just seems hidden by the dark colors on that side. And I'd also stay away from the red-browns as they seem to clash with the roof shingles. If you really go for the dark browns, keep it to the window trim and the exposed shingles on the front and lighten up with the rest in white or ivory. Shutters would be great and a contrasting door color would highlght your cute home. Beverly has some great ideas so far.

Okay bear with me...I did this hurriedly on my phone and can't get the colors exactly right because it paints transparently. Any thoughts on any of these? Too much?

Can you do one with white clapboard, white porch trim, and dark brown gable trim?

Chuckbass It will be easier if you use the newer cleaned up house photo. You can download it to your computer by right clicking on it.

Here are some images I found that are similar to your home. Maybe they can provide some inspiration. Like the idea of curving your walk and landscaping toward the driveway.

Here's more! Fun way to spend my kids' nap time :)

Sorry, but I don't think that sable, orangey color goes well with the brick. I think the porch columns and trim should be light, otherwise that side of the house looks a little cave-like. How about a mossy green on the siding and shutters? Can you mock up your last photo with the dark siding with white columns and trim?

The area above the door would be the darker color, not cream oops!

I'm liking it all in white/cream; black shutters; bright color for the door.

Definitely like the the columns in the lighter color.

I like the dark green posted above! I think something like this-

Not sure that the new color combinations are better than what you already have.

I was all over the saddle-cocoa color for the siding until I saw the green. I rather like the shingled siding in green with darker trim (including over the door, round window and the porch area). Lighter green on the door surround and then a bluish or mustardy front door. Since you only need to purchase 2 shutters, please look for really cottagey ones and then a great new light fixture, as has been said before, will be magic.

Much better with the lighter cream porch columns.mi am liking Beverly's second mockup best I think. Or even jlc's with the light trim on the peak.

I like Beverly's second picture but I think just a tad more taupe or darker.

I don't like the light trim around the roof with dark siding...I like the porch columns lighter, would try a color a couple shades darker than bev's last pic for the siding and don't like the brown shutters--- unless they are brown stained wood...

I really like the lighter color, it is a small house, the light color really gives it a good presence, making it look welcoming.

None of the new colors looks anywhere near as good as the color you currently have. Your house is a cottage style but definitely not Tudor.

The topiaries look silly. Large ornamental concrete pots of seasonal flowers with ivy spilling out would be more visually pleasing. Plant any trees to the left corners of the house--- not too close! Even a dogwood can get so full the branches droop over onto the house, causing damp spots on the roof where the leaves shed, as well as a pathway for ants and other insects. The right color Japanese maple would be the right scale for your house and is longer lasting than a dogwood (depending on where you live).

If you want to update your home, I would paint the current yellow/tan trim in a much lighter color that is in the same family as p the mortar between your bricks, and I would think about painting the gutter the same color as the trim and front siding or at least a lighter brown. For shutters, if you decide to use them, I would go with a varnished wood in a cedar color as that is a much more current look. You can always paint them later if you want.

Adding a couple of pictures for inspiration:

If you wanted you could strip and varnish the siding. Huge job, I wouldn't do it! But see the cedar color with brown and brick---- very nice color scheme for your house.

Just in case anyone wants to see...here is what we have done so far...we took out the arbs and planted new shrubs (that will hopefully grow fast), stripped and stained the front door, reversed the dark and light colors on the windows using urbane bronze and revere pewter, found screens for our porch in the attic. To do : paint screens Revere Pewter and paint all other brown areas Urbane Bronze, modern address plaque, add working shutters, make shrubs GROW!

Looks great so far. Taking down that tree made such a difference. In my experience they don't grow much the first year, a little the second, then just shoot up the third. It looks fine the size it is, but you're used to the bigger one. Keep us posted as you make more changes. Great to have found the screens!

I'm sorry I didn't see this last month. Taking down those trees was a huge improvement, and you are on the right track -- except for one thing. I'm sorry to say this after you've just replanted, but the bush you planted where you took out one tree/bush is going to grow back to be like the one that was there. It looks odd now, but it won't look better when it is bigger just because there is one instead of two. Can you find another home for that bush? It may hurt to do that now, but it feels even worse to try to live with something that isn't right and then have to take it out when it is bigger, deeper rooted and you are more likely to harm it. Been there --most recently with a pear tree that wasn't the type we expected and we hated to just take it out and dump it. It didn't get better and it got harder to remove -- we are still trying to establish something new there after the heavy rains this spring flooded the newly planted replacement.

If I were going to plant another tree, I would agree with putting it to the left side and not too close to the house. Keep the doorway open and bring in color there. I would definitely reshape the beds and give them some curves -- maybe starting away from the house a bit by the driveway to include the tree, curve in back down not as far as by the drive on the sidewalk side, then continue on the right side of the sidewalk and give it another curve or two. You could keep the hedge in front of the porch if you like it and then plant some color in front of them. You could also remove the hedge and do a cottage garden. I'd want to see the shutters in place before deciding what or whether to fill any tall space to the left of the door. If the bed curves out enough there, you could have planters, a fountain, birdbath or sculpture, house numbers or maybe some taller perennials -- lots of ways to fill vertical spaces.

I don't know where this house is or whether I would even know what to suggest to plant if you are in another part of the country, but there are so many plants that will provide more color, texture and interest.

All good points lascatx! I was so glad to see it opened up, that just went right past me.

Here's an idea that's a bit off the beaten path. What about making the gable in a navy and then painting the porch columns the navy too. This color I picked is probably a bit too bright still, but it gives you an idea. Then do a soft white for the rest of the trim.

I don't like the green brown or blue ideas for the siding, I like the mockup in cream or keep the siding the same color as the roof the make it blend best.

I'm a blue person, but I'd stick with the cream or white and brown combinations on the house, but you might put a color on the door.

Thanks everyone for the ideas! We have decided on paint colors. Urbane Bronze and Revere Pewter. I was just updating on what we have accomplished so far :) Lascatx...ha we did put another arb to the left of the the door. We know it grows well there, and we are kind of modeling it after our neighbors, who keep theirs pruned and they are smaller. The previous one was never pruned by the owners :( so it was very wild. I did just finish reshaping the beds. It might be hard to see, but I have both sides curving out by the sidewalk, and then some curves going around to the side of the house on the right side. It was hard work!! I would LOVE a cottage garden, but with children under 5, I will be doing low maintenance for the foreseeable future. I think I may add some potted flowers here and there. I will update when we get more accomplished! Im happy with what we have done so far, but sometimes the middle stage looks so sloppy and unfinished. We'll keep on trucking! :):):)

Could not really tell if you had changed the shape of the beds, but it sounds like you have the right ideas. You can try keeping that shrub pruned and see how it does. Don't be afraid of planting some colorful perennials though. Some salvias grow 3-4 feet and taller and will provide blooms for your color enjoyment, nectar for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds and science lessons for your kiddos. They are very easy to maintain. (I have one that I think if 4-6 feet, but it is in a sloped location behind a raised wall and I'm not sure how tall it is growing here).

Agree with Lascatx. A few low-maintenance perennials are so much easier to maintain than potted flowers, which require daily or almost daily watering, changing out with the seasons, storing the pots, buying soil and re-planting next year, daily watering... etc.

Low-maintenance perennials require that you dig a hole, water a bit until established, prune back in fall or following spring, and then let it grow and do its thing. Much easier in the long run.

Awesome. Ive never planted flowers, and didn't know that. Thanks!

A cottage garden with perennials is so much easier than anything else. Put it in the ground, water and leave it. That's what I did when my babies were babies.

My rule of thumb every year was I'd clean the beds, mulch, add new plants in May/June and then not touch anything until the fall when I'd plant bulbs to come up the following spring. That was the extent of my gardening and I had a lush garden that was the envy of neighbors. But I knew I didn't want to be out there doing a lot of maintenance, especially in the hot summer months.

Thanks! Like I said I haven't done much gardening. I have been intimidated because my neighbors have a beautiful garden, but are out everyday working hard on it. I'll have to look into it!