I think a lot is going to depend on your budget. Personally, I think you need to break up the roofline with a gable, either by creating a gabled entryway or by changing the roofline above the garage door to a gable. You might also consider adding a a shed roofline above the garage doors to create some visual interest. Here are some images that I found on houzz.com. If you've not discovered that site yet, it would be worth a browse for you - there are literally thousands of photos that come up when searching for split level): [Traditional Exterior design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-exterior-home-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_736~s_2107) by Chicago Design-build Normandy Remodeling [Traditional Exterior design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-exterior-home-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_736~s_2107) by Minneapolis General Contractor Knight Construction Design : Chanhassen, Minnesota [Traditional Exterior design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-exterior-home-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_736~s_2107) by Portland Kitchen And Bath Fixtures Designer's Edge Kitchen & Bath Hope that helps!

If you make the other changes as suggested, I don't think you'll feel the need to paint the brick. There's no sense creating a maintenance issue where there is none now. The house has the potential to be very handsome. Some pretty pots with flowers on either side of your door will add some color as well. Don't forget that nothing looks pretty this time of year when trees are bare and lawns are brown.

Well, painting our doors is taking much more time than anticipated! Partly bc we decided to take them off to lay flat and spray for a smoother finish. Plus my husband decided to work on building our shed yesterday so i had to wait for help on a few occasions. But we need a shed so that’s ok! Prep took forever bc the doors are not in great shape. And those darn windows! But I got both doors prepped and we sprayed 1 coat of primer on 1 door. But then couldn’t move it right away and then had to hang them before dark! So we will finish this weekend! I’ll post pics when done. Thank you!

Thank you Kate, Millworkman and Sammy. We got the doors. I am so excited! It will be great to finally replace the old ones that are such an eyesore. The new doors are definitely solid oak. The wood is in good shape but the exterior side shows some neglect. The finish is also more orange than it looked in the photos.I will probably post a question on the paint forum about how to strip and refinish them. I don't want to mess them up. Millworkman, you are correct that the steel doors are 79". It didn't have much weatherstripping. The wind was able to blow right through a large gap at the bottom and between the doors. I was completely unaware that there is a difference between thresholds for steel vs wood doors. Thank you so much for letting me know. We will definitely change out the frame and add the Q-lon compression seal that you suggested. I found this one on the Home Depot website. Is this the best type or should I look elsewhere? They also have it in brown. Should the color of the seal match the door or the door frame? I looked up interlocking saddles. There seem to be many different types. We get lots of wind so I'm willing to spend money on quality parts to keep the cold drafts out. Would you be able to suggest the best type of threshold to get and where to buy it? As you can see in the photo, there is a seal attached to the bottom of the door. Should we replace it? We will swap out the gold metal strip with satin nickel or oil-rubbed bronze. Would it be a good idea to use a taller metal strip to better protect the door after it is refinished? Our door hardware throughout the house is satin nickel but if the door is stained dark brown, should the kick plate and threshold have a dark finish as well? Sorry for the multiple questions. I know absolutely nothing about door hardware and accessories.