soooo .. if i understand.. you dont really mind the front facade ... its more the sides that are bothering you ... thats where the monotone is.. to your eye ... i guess i dont know why you would not just change the sides??? but boy.. looking at the side .. i have no clue where i would go with those vertical lines .... and that tiny window... yikes ... but i still like the front as it is ... part of your side problem.. could be accomplished with trellises.. and introducing a vertical element to your foundation plantings ... that is part of the problem... the vast unbroken wall ... leading you to one vast unbroken color.. whatever it may be ... and i am still flustered by the vertical rather than horizontal siding.. whats that all about.. lol ... just playing devils advocate.. and adding variables for you to consider.. outside the box you are standing in .. props for hunting the area to scope out other paint schemes... its always nice to see it done wrong... lol ... ken

No shutters - wrong for the clean lines of your lovely ranch home, imo I think it is a great idea to take the bushes out of the planters. That will open up the full height of the windows, which will make the body of the house feel taller and work better with the strong roof line. A trellis mounted between the two windows on the left, filled with something climbing and pretty, would be a nice way to break up the long expanse of brick there. The door color does seem a brighter red, and perhaps something rusty would be better. Hard to tell what the real effect is from a distance, tho, in the pix you have posted. I would look for a more modern light fixture for the front door. The carriage light says colonial to me. How about something like this? kichler transitional bronze wall light I think the light has a cleaner line, but not too modern, and echoes the multiple panes in your windows, not fighting with the circles in the front door glass.

Thanks All - I am adding a few more pictures of details of the issues. They are pretty representative of the entire job. He used a Sherwood Chestnut Alkyd stain, and then applied a weathered wood wiping stain on top. Then 2 coats of sprayed varnish that created a fog across all the wood. It seems like that might have been flawed methodology from the onset. And coupled with his level of skill, and no prep work or wood conditioner got us where we are. The first painter I talked to about re-doing the job suggested sanding to remove the varnish, then reapplying a penetrating stain. Sounds like this has no chance of working? Paintguy22- The trim was done in that manner to match the original trim of the house (doors and windows all trimmed that way). Thanks for the perspective on pine. I had also considered fixing the doors only, and then painting the trim. However, after talking to our carpenter it is not possible to remove the pocket doors without re-doing the trim. Even if we can get the doors to look decent, I am not sure if we should paint the trim white or slightly darker than the walls in that case. Jn 3344 - Ouch, fixer upper? obviously not our original intent or I wouldn't be here :) Windows were not ordered primed, as we did not plan on painting. How would you move forward with the windows there if we decide to paint?

Agree 100% with the others. Your brick is actually quite nice, but the roof most definitely clashes with the brick. The landscaping is all wrong for your property as everyone has mentioned. Having a tree up against the house is not good for your home or the tree. Get a landscape plan together that includes a substantial walkway to the front door. Once you change out the landscaping you might be able to get away with the roof color until you need a new roof as beanie1922 above states.