You have that nice taupe color on some window shades and pipes, i think it would look better if nothing was white? maybe go with the taupe? I also think it would improve the look of the front door if we moved the down pipes further from the front door. I think you need to be careful about painting etc changes. some will not work at all, some will make it look worse, at the least you are turning a no work for nearly a century, into a job every 5 years or so. you have to accpt the house for itself and learn to be happy.

Please don't destroy the exterior! Landscaping would be a safer way to give your house a "different" look. Once exterior elements are destroyed it can be prohibitively expense to fix. Having said that, if any of the decorations are not original it would be better to remove them and return the house to its original appearance. Do you have any photos of the original appearance? If not, it's research time.

Its the contrast with the white that's overemphasizing the oranginess of the brick. Try a dark charcoal brown-gray or dk gray-green. Ive also seen dark inky blues that look stunning with red brick. Red brick IMHO is classic, timeless.... dating to roman times if not before. Before doing anything irreversible, I would try working WITH the color instead of against it. Not sure what you mean by "witchy" ? I think just jazzing it up with fresh, more compatible colors will help a lot.

Consider shedding the later accretions--namely, the scalloped awnings and the absurd shutters, the second floor window grille . (Sadly, I presume the first floor protection is functional.) The rear porch lean-to is undoubtedly very handy, but could stand updating. The last one of those I encountered was sent to landfill.

Please be careful about the landscaping....it looks like it was originally well thought out. Maybe it just needs a little cleanup? Agree about the scallop-y bit of the awning, but I like the awning itself.

Some houses you can't make into "urban modern farmhouse" or whatever it is that's popular.

Love it for what it is.

man, I wish we had homes like that we I lived. Love tudors. you're so lucky to have a home like that. I hope the interior has it's original charm.

as said, landscape will go a long way into 'softening' your 'haunted house' look.

Love the idea of the copper awning. maybe remove the scallop part and replace w/something like this?

Beef up your exterior lights too. bring in a gargoyle somewhere!

work w/the red brick by bringing in dark grays, charcoal

I really love your home. I hope you don't change too much of the exterior. I would take off the bars if you can or if it's safe to do so.

Do you want this to be cheerful? Dignified? Welcoming? Formal? Colorful?

I'm LOVING all these thoughts and ideas! I will clarify that the color of the awning and the wood trim around the windows is not a pretty taupe, its an awful peachy beige...the picture makes it look better than it really is. HA!

So quick recap from comments thus far = Lovingly clean up/trim back landscaping, Remove bars from windows, Get rid of any white (trim & windows), Remove the Black Shutters Altogether(?), and work with the color of the house.

@current resident, decoenthusiate, and Beth H = I'm swooning over the pictures and ideas... I noticed from the pictures, no one has shutters! I never realized that.

Dark charcoal, dark gray-green, dark inky blues...yes, yes, and yes!! This may be a dumb question but can i paint my white vinyl windows? Also, just as a temporary solution to replacing the awning...paint the awning a slate grey or is that too matchy matchy with the slate roof?

@apple_pie_order - I think i going towards welcoming and dignified. :) Excellent question!

I'm wondering if an original finish is underneath that awning...

ETA totally wrote without thinking.....what I meant to say is a finish that's worth looking for. It was probably painted at some point and it faded. Brown sometimes goes pinky beige with enough sun.

I'm fairly sure the drain pipes and awning are copper (original). I don't know if its possible to take the paint off without damaging the copper underneath. Does anyone know?

strip the paint off the awning if you think there is copper! I like SoyGel (btw,,strippers will only work on one layer at a time. so apply more if it doesn't go all the way through)

I found this copper awning..

I don't imagine it will harm the copper. as for the drain pipes, they naturally patina w/age. you could try putting some lemon juice or vinegar on them and see if it eats through to bare copper. it won't hurt it, just make it shiny again. within weeks it will turn back to the brown. I have a copper rain chain and it never stays shiny.

Smith, as for painting the vinyl, I don't think so. your best bet is to call the manufacture and ask. maybe you could do the inner part dark (black or Urbane bronze ) ? looks good next to the white.

Modern Masters has fab metallic paint. they have this copper

and they also have reactive process that will simulate patina.

but you need some lights like this next to the door. the gargoyles so fit your Tudor!

this is the perfect landscaping for a tudor

I love that door. I'd paint it red.

That would be nice, what shade of red do you envision? One of my neighbors has a lime green door and another has a gorgeous sophisticated navy blue....they both look FANTASTIC!!

"Fabulous Red", you can get it from Lowe's. :-)

The overgrown and poorly planned landscaping are the major cause of the witchy appearance. The house looks abandoned. The front yard is too narrow for the peninsula bed under the windows. Something more simple would suit the house and the size of the yard.

If you think awning is original and you hate the scallop you can have that part removed. I'd make it darker.

Remove the shutters and window guards.

White windows can be lived with. Usually it is a bad idea to paint vinyl.

Larger lights are needed and this is an area to splurge in my opinion.

Paint the storm door dark brown to match the Tudor door.

Remove the bed to the right of the walk and replace with lawn.

If you want a perennial garden I would place it on the left in the bed that already exists.

I agree with the medium dark gray or charcoal ideas for the trim. It will look much classier. And painting or replacing the front door awning is a must, as is removing those odd and crude white blocks emanating from the front doorway. But please don't do anything to the brick color, unless of course, you can paint it taupe like in the 2nd photo from Beth H. but that would be a very large expense to do right, I think. In other words, do minimal changes to this wonderful cozy irreplaceable house. Isn't that why you bought it in the first place?

Choose a trim color from the stone work around the front door and paint all the trim, awnings the same color and remove the shutters....new back door and new wood trim where needed to add structure to the home...it is beautiful.

Can you post a picture of the WHOLE front? Including landscaping? Maybe taken from across the street.

That's a charming house, but you have only shown us bits of the elephant.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2481648/painting-vinyl-windows

A red door will not look good with your brick color.

As far as the awning over the door, I like it except for the scallop trim. Can the scallops be removed, or covered over with a straight piece of wood?

Do not use gray! Choose a creamy trim color from the stone. Your house is stunning!! Lucky you!

@lazy gardens - here is a full picture taken today...

Do not remove the shutters! Why do that? They are one of the nicest details of the exterior. And leave them black. I know you are getting so many different ideas about what to do but like I said in my previous comment, do minimal (unless you are able to make the expensive and sophisticated reno as seen in Beth H's photo) and keep one of this country's wonderful houses safe and intact for posterity.

Such a great house! I agree with removing the shutters. The double windows are too large for them, and the house has plenty of character without them.

That's a great arch out there in the side yard...I hope you find some wonderful old brick walkways under the...foliage :)

Also completely in love with the detail of the brick over the adorable upper windows!

I'm very envious of the fun ahead of you. I love research (none to be done about my 90's home!) and hope you're getting to embrace the whole idea of owning a home with such personality.

Good luck to you. Please keep us posted...Or start a blog.

expensive? yes,,,and I also offered less expensive options. Like stripping that scalloped door awning. You could totally paint that in the metallic copper paint and forgo the expense of real copper. you could also do it do the window awnings. Basically it would look like this (with some technique you could get the green/blue patina look)

cleaning up the brick and the wayward plants, would help. redoing the shutters in a deep black, along w/the copper accents, would really look amazing on this place.

Judrand05: The shutters look foolish because they don't fit the windows (too tall and too skinny). They are obviously non-functioning stick-ons, probably added in the '70s and probably plastic, and surely never part of the original design. That's why they should be removed.

M Smith: Yes, you can get rid of the scallops under the porch awning. I'd get rid of the ones over the windows too--they look like '60s add-ons. Get rid of the bars.

And, yes, you can paint vinyl windows; there is special paint for plastic. But keep in mind, if you go very dark and they get direct sun, you may have problems with premature aging due to heat build up in the warm months destroying the frames.

Whatever you do, please honor the house that has stood for 80 years; keep it as original as possible.

My first project would be to paint that storm door with an anodized bronze paint or similar dark but not black metallic paint. If you know what color you wish to paint the front door, you could paint the storm to match. I could see a very dark blue green in a fantastic gloss. However, unless you are hiring an expensive painter to do a knockout job, a satin enamel is probably more appropriate.

Not liking that back porch at all.

I adore your brick! It's really a lovely color/colors! It's a very charming house that has been tarted up over the years.

Now to the un-tarting. All those silly awnings must go. A good brick man can repair any damage to your brick. The shutters must go - they look ridiculous - all out of proportion.

Unless you truly need the window bars for protection, remove them. If it's a high crime area, you will have to live with them.

Don't do anything to your landscaping until spring. She what comes up and what you can do to control/tidy the area.

If you can afford a new custom storm door, get one. I should be wood. If your climate does not make a storm door a necessity, get rid of it.

Take this one step at a time, but those awnings should be the very first step before cold weather sets in!

Remove the screen door, find out if you can have the drain spouts moved, remove the shutters and paint the awnings grayish black. Add really large urns at front door and research landscaping ideas for both the front and back. I would have someone look at the back porch, as it doesn't look safe or practical. What would suit your needs...a simple deck? If you won't be using the garage, the idea below is cute. It all really depends on your budget.

The structural part of the back porch looks to be original - at least the brick in the pillars is same as the house. The screening, door, steps, rail, ugly glary light fixture, etc can go though. Perhapsjust leave it as a simple open porch with railing/new steps + nice wood screening around the bottom to conceal the space underneath + a little carpentry to tidy up that wood trim up under the roof + a nice attractive ceiling light fixture + Id rethink gutter/downspout somehow. Contingent on condition of structural elements - not always possible to save everything but its nice when it can happen.

For advice on curb appeal you need to show the WHOLE FRONT YARD, not closeups of bits and pieces.

Ellsworth-Hallett,,,what a great house that is! Beautiful job you've done.

The photos have been taken at these angles because of the trees/branches in the front yard that block the view of the house. Here are pictures from the street, a side view of the house, and the back view of the house...

I love that we get to stay in the loop here, thank you (serious older home envy)

Gosh how much do I love that brick drain thingy in the second photo?!?

The house is beautiful and the brick is gorgeous.

I agree, the house is beautiful and the brick is gorgeous! First tend to the landscaping and warm up the trim color.

what a beautiful home. I miss living in areas that have homes built with red brick.