Could we possibly see a pic of the entire front?

I guess it depends on how much$ you are willing to spend. Removing it would be the best, its never going to come back in style in our lifetimes, but that will cost you.

@phuninthesun, I don't have a shot of the whole front, I will get one. But I added a second picture of the entry which is directly to the right of the previous picture. I will take a new one when I get home :)

I also dislike how there is rock and brick....doesn't seem to go, in my opinion.

It's your house - so if you think it's ugly, well, I guess take it out or cover it up. I like it though - "rocking a retro vibe". If it were my house, I'd do some research on the home designs of that period and restore it to those specifications - cleaning it, painting the exterior, adding style appropriate planters and possibly outdoor furniture if there's room.

Oh theres really not that much of it after all, Its a nice looking house, remove it. Thanks for the second pic

I would definitely remove it. If not, then I would remove all of the red brick and possibly whitewash the stone.

removing all the brick would mean taking out the cement all around the house...entry, driveway, that small wall way out front. Probably stuck with that...for a while anyways.

some ideas

What looks like a brick barricade seems very much to be an added-after-the-fact component that goes with nothing. I would remove it since it is mainly acting as a barricade for the entrance .... a place where you supposedly wish to INVITE people into. It's sending a contrary message.

Usually, with existing property, one looks for less expensive fixes before latching on to the most expensive "fix." I'd consider painting the stone the same color as the rest of the house to see if that would tone down it's somewhat crude looking character. (I don't think it's attractive stone work.) In the future, I think I'd lighten up the house body color into the medium range so as to avoid a look that is potentially 'gloomy.'

Overall, the yard lacks the look of being sheltered. Needs some trees to counteract the too-open look.

Of course I'm not right there looking at it, but I think that brick planter could be removed far short of ripping up all the cement. A sledgehammer and a strong back should take care of it in an hour. You might have to patch the cement where the planter was but that too is relatively easy. If you hate it, that is. I like brick but I agree with others, it really closed off your entry. The brick detailing in the walkway can stay, as it's unobtrusive. You could stain it to blend more with the cement.

I agree to start by painting the rocks and adding landscaping.

I don't think the stone is that bad. I think the concrete and brick area behind the brick wall is very strange. Can you just take out that section of concrete and landscape that area? Native grasses might look good in front of the stone wall. Also replace the garage door.

Have you removed the decorative window inserts in the garage door? An easy update.

Open up the garage windows and the entry to the home. That brick planter is more of an issue than the rock, which can be painted to match the siding.

this was my inspiration with the exterior paint. I thought the grey would look nice with the rock, but in actuality it might be too stark of a contrast in my case.....

I would remove the rock and the brick. Looks like they may have filled in with concrete an original planted courtyard between that brick and house, like it was a raised brick planter, I think. It will look a lot nicer without either of those elements either way. The rock would be alright if it stayed below the window, but with it up the wall and a different treatment than the other side of the house with siding, it just looks off, too busy.

Wendy, I am with you that the rock facing is quite unattractive, and IMO it can't be saved with paint or other camouflage such as plants. It is different from your inspiration photo in that the inspiration photo looks like stacked stone and is in the foundation area, not flat stones fastened on fairly randomly as siding, oriented like tile. If funding allows, remove it. If not, see if it can be covered up with stucco or siding without needing to then fix or replace windows. As a last resort, plan to plant at least some taller shrubs with flowers or other interest to distract from that stone once the hardscape issues are solved.

Rethink the entry; remove some of the paving along the garage (or at the very least add some large planters there) and take out the brick wall to make it feel more welcoming. Pull out the skinny bed under the eaves across the front because it really isn't large enough for plants or proportional to the size of the house. Replace the bed with one that is at least 6' deep from the front of the house - that will give you at least a foot between the house and the ultimate size of the plantings (for maintenance) as well as room for more than a single straight line of plants.

Didn't read other comments. I would just paint the yellowish, offwhite part. Would try different colors digitally. Think that a dark color could actually look good and then spend the rest of the money on some landscaping. I find neighborhoods and homes that lack trees especially, look kind of poor and sad.