I try to avoid terms like "true" or "pure" and prefer "historic" instead. Often the name people use to describe houses comes from real estate listings. Realtors use a shorthand or lowest-common-denominator to simplify the issue and encourage as many responses as possible. The styles are generally Colonial, Victorian, Craftsman, Ranch, Cape, Contemporary, etc. My 1891 house was featured in the 1892 Architects and Builders Supplement to Scientific American magazine as an example of the new "Colonial Revival" style but it was advertised for sale in 1983 as a "Victorian". One of the most common house styles in America is rarely identified in realtor listings. There's nothing wrong with the realtor approach for their marketing purposes but when discussing the design of your own home with interested homeowners and design professionals, it greatly improves the discussion if you are more specific. A quick study of historic Capes might help you. A house style that evolved over hundreds of years can be an incredible resource whether you intend to make it historic or not. When I visit the Cape I take hundreds of photos. The houses are spectacular. For instance, the front facade is often taller so the cornice is higher than the second floor like this modern Cape in VT. The transom light above the door is one of the most characteristic features of a Cape. But these old houses were framed wth a version of post and beams with continuous wall framing so raising the cornice in a modern version can be more expensive. Here are some interesting Cape photos: historic Bow roof in Chatham

I think houzz is having more consolidation pains. Someone on another post said they thought they had posted on painting forum, but it showed up here.

I really appreciate all your comments and suggestions. In rethinking this, we’ve decided to move the dining room table to the left of the kitchen, ditch the banquette and turn the former dining room into a morning room/library. (I am having trouble giving up my existing house and I was attempting to take many of the rooms we now have and recreate them in this proposed house. Both my husband and the building designer had suggested otherwise but it wasn’t until reading all your comments that I finally realized this just wasn’t going to work. ). I think this arrangement will work really well. Greenfish1234, I love the house pictured in the link you sent. Our proposed house looks very similar, flipped so the garage is on the opposite side, with a shed dormer above. It will then have the master bedroom wing where the garage of your picture is. And there is enough room over the mud room to connect the bonus room with the rest of the upstairs and include a bathroom there. I also think your suggestion about finishing the bonus room later is a good one, and that was our original intent; however, when I tried to fit my husband’s TV into the plan downstairs, it just didn’t work. We compromised by deciding to finish the mud room sooner, rather than later. And if it seems too expensive, we’ll just have it finished to the drywall and flooring and my husband can do the rest later. He’ll be retired at that point, his “shop” will move into the basement and he’d love having a project to work on. My existing furniture will fit there perfectly and it will get the morning sun.

Personally, I would not paint your brick. I think it looks very nice. What I would change is as follows: 1. New house numbers. What you have looks cheesy. 2. New light fixture. Something bigger than you have. 3. Personally I would lose the shutters. 4. Paint your front door a vibrant color to stand out against the brick. 5. Landscape with some flowering bushes and get rid of all the depressing green bushes. Re-evaluate at that point to determine if these relatively simple fixes are all you need. Good luck!..