My money says there is deteriorating stucco under that vinyl siding. Have you checked?

Are you aware that there are products on the market that will clean your siding & new paints that can be used to recolor your siding? You are not going to get your siding removed and a stucco surface for $10K. You can clean and paint and landscape for $10k and have it look really good. I'm recommending gray to complement the red brick.

Charming home!

As suggested in previous comments, a warm mid-tone grey for the siding (or stucco if you find it is within your budget) and ivory trim would be a great start. Removing the shutters, replacing the outdoor light with a larger black or dark bronze down-light, and a new front door will help refine the look! Once the foliage grows a bit, the exterior will look refreshed, welcoming, and up to date!

Best of luck with your project!

Please, jshar, don't do gray, it is so depressing to come home and be greeted by a big blob of gray. As Beverly said, get it cleaned and paint the shutters (don't see any reason to remove them) a color that complements the color of the brick. And paint the door another complementary color.

Wow thank you all for the suggestions!

We do plan on changing the entry door as well. Wasn't sure about the color, but it looks like you guys are suggesting a wood color or stain finish. Looks really nice.

I'm not sure what is under the siding. We have only stucco on a few other walls of the house (patio area), so I guess it's possible that stucco is underneath. I will check and reevaluate the situation. I just have seen that stucco can look really nice, and currently, our house is the worst looking on the block for sure. At $6/sqft, I was estimating ~$9k for the stucco. Might be too ambitious to be under budget taking into account the price to remove the current siding as well. The idea of keeping the vinyl siding didn't even occur to me because of its condition and look. You guys wouldn't recommend getting new vinyl at least?

Didn't think about updating the porch light to a larger size, or adding the larger bushes. Great ideas!

As for colors, yeah light gray can work too, but I've seen pics of dark gray+brick and it looked really nice. My artistic sense is quite lacking, so I'd have to evaluate what complements the kind of brick we have. Darker green is a good suggestion as well.

Thanks all for the input.

I don't know that I have much to add except remove the two inner posts on the front porch. They are unnecessary and a distraction.

thanks for the suggestions. I'd be worried if the inner posts contribute to the structural integrity of the porch.

Now I'm even more confused about the siding options. I can't really tell what's under my current vinyl siding except that I think there is a layer of foam.

There are black marks everywhere that pressure washing alone won't remove (though it has helped a bit the one time I did it). It is very labor intensive to scrub the whole exterior of my house. Does it still make sense to keep the siding, or get new vinyl, or go with the stucco?

I've attached some higher quality pics showing the siding quality.

That's algae on your siding. Look up Krud Kutter products and House Armor.

Thanks! I'll look for options that don't require scrubbing. If it cleans up to be as good as new, then repainting definitely sounds like the more economical way to go.

Looks like gray might be out. Didn't realize that our neighbor's house is also medium gray. It would be weird if we both had the same color. Going to have to rethink this.

We struggle with mildew on our house. Repainting the siding will not solve the problem as the algae or mildew will regrow. Unless you can find a paint with an additive that will repel?? We purchased a product called Mold Armor that we use once a year. Attach it to your hose and spray. It works quite well (less so on the undersides of the siding but OK) and does not take long.

My money says there is deteriorating stucco under that vinyl siding. Have you checked?

I wouldn't bet against that, but what is the rest of the neighborhood like? If all the houses have siding, it could be original.

You can get a much better look for your home by widening the foundation planting beds around the home. This is something that can be done over time DIY. Wider planting beds will also reduce the lawn and save water and mowing. The rule of thumb is that planting beds should be at minimum 1/3 the max height of the home to be proportional. What you have there is so narrow that it looks like a little mustache on a big face.

When the beds are really narrow they end up inhabited by either very small plants (bad proportions) or shrubs really too large for a small space that need to be chopped into rectangles or cubes. (Shrubs don't need to be chopped if they are sized correctly for the space.) The best planting areas are wide enough to allow some space between the home and the plantings, and layers of plants (tall in back nearest the home, then medium, then edging).

Thanks for the suggestions!

Most houses in the neighborhood definitely have all siding, some have stucco/siding combo, and almost none are all stucco.

As for the planting area, I like the idea. So you're saying extend the dirt area to about 3' wide minimum (it's probably under 2' now), have taller plants near the home, and smaller plants near the edge that meets the grass, perhaps in a staggered pattern or something like that. Sounds like a good idea. I'll have to add wood chips/rocks so weeds don't grow and create additional hassle for me.