The brick if fine. The window is great. You need landscaping. Flowers under the window and some trees to frame the whole house. I'm thinking azaleas and crepe myrtles. Maybe Japanese maple.

Maybe some roses

Whitewash the brick and add some nice landscaping! It would give it a bit of a farmhouse feel and the stone will become a nice accent wall. If you keep the shutters, keep them a dark color so they will pop against a lighter house paint.

Is replacing the window with a large single pane of glass out of the question? Would modernize the look and make the room feel brighter, too. I'd go with black frames and paint the other window frames black, too.

This is not a window problem, it’s a landscaping and maintenance problem. The good news is that landscaping and maintenance are less expensive than a new window or painting the brick. Go visit a local reputable independent garden center and ask them to help you put together a landscape plan. If necessary, you can do it in stages. Power wash the sidewalk and paint or clean the fascia board and gutters. Perhaps some sheer curtains, or none at all. If you don’t use the screens on the outboard windows, remove them. Finally, the shutters are kind of silly. Imagine folding them inward over the windows...they really wouldn’t cover much at all. As is, they just look like little vertical stripes alongside the windows. Take them down and beef up the window trim if you feel like the windows need more oompf.

That was my plan but when I saw the computerized version it just didn’t look right. A ‘little bit of house with my window’ kind of thing. It looked as though I needed to add brick to the bottom to make it proportional. Thanks for the feedback.

I think it would look nice to paint the brick white, since it would help the windows stand out a little less. As many people mentioned, landscaping will help as well. How lucky you are to have such large windows — you must get great natural light! :)

Just found this article, thought it might help show you some painted brick ideas! https://www.houzz.com/magazine/should-you-paint-your-brick-house-stsetivw-vs~94155530

The window is great. as mentioned, you're in desperate need of landscaping.

just look at the diff some well placed plants and trees and lawn makes.

However, the shutters on this home fits the windows. On yours they do not. Shutters should be able to close and cover the windows. Your big center window should NOT have shutters, and I'm on the fence for the other two. Trim them out in some nice wood trim casing, but remove the shutters.
If you want to do the brick, look at Romabio.

extremely low maintenance and would look great. they have many colors. look at their site to see before and afters

No shutters, black trim around the windows would look something similar to this.

not exact since these are black windows, but it should give you an idea)

Do something like these large cement blocks for a walking path. simple DIY project.

something else you may want to think about,,,,,perhaps making a porch to the right of the door

I just photo shopped this one above onto yours to give you an idea.

Now imagine the brick is all white, wood posts, maybe some black trim. (no shutters)

Well, I am late to the game on this but I agree with landscaping and if you keep the shutters make them a light wood tone to stand out. Add some color by painting the door a brighter color. I think your final option comes down to how much you want to spend.

Thanks to everyone. I know landscaping and new gutters would help drastically but I was postponing those until I decided on the window & painting. I tried removing the shutters too but the window definitely made a statement with the red brick sections on the sides. And like I said above, my initial plan was to simply replace the window (min price to do that was ~$7k) but that didn’t look right either on the computer.

I thought maybe painting the window trims darker would help, and it does de-emphasize but it looks drab.

But adding the landscape from the above comment picture REALLY transforms the entire front. I think you should invest in a good landscape design and live with the window.

You’re tackling this in reverse order! Invest in the cleaning/maintenance and landscaping first. It’s very likely you will find the window is just fine. Don’t invest 7k before you try the 1k fix.

Paint the brick white! It will brighten up the whole house

Pleasant looking home as is. None of the window shutters are actually needed.

Painting all the exterior white trim, including posts and downspouts, a color from the brick or a medium brown should make the windows less prominent. Then you could work on making the front door the focal point of the front of your home by painting the front door(s) (storm door, too) your favorite bright/dark bold color.

Budget permitting, course, changing the roof line to create a front porch in front of the windows and front door would also make the windows seem less dominant.

Vicki, the shutters really need to go in this case. Your house is nice but the style and window sizes aren't right for shutters. Agree landscaping is key. Love that first pic from Beth. I'm not a fan of brick mixed with stone. Just wondering if the stone could be removed and that area painted white. Maybe similar to the entry area in Beth's first pic with white surrounding the black door. Paint the downspouts to blend with the brick.

Definitely would not pain the brick. Anything painted will, inevitably, need to be repainted.

You might consider extending the length of your downspout so the end attaches to an underground pipe with holes to disburse the water into your front yard rather than having it pour out onto your sidewalk.

Agree with others that landscaping will make a huge difference, however, how much time, effort, energy and/or money are you willing to expend both creating AND maintaining that landscaping?

What (utilities/septic tank, etc., ) is beneath your front lawn? Would it be possible to plant a tree or trees in your front yard?

The good things about your house: Your window is large and attractive. It's in proportion to your house and is the right style for a ranch like yours. Your brick looks good too. Please don't paint it white - you don't have a Cotswold cottage. Overall your house is well proportioned including the width of the walkway and the size and shape of the bed in front of the big window. In short, great "bones".

What could be improved: Landscaping will make the biggest difference. Your shutters don't add to the look, but if you like them keep them on the small windows only. They are odd on the big window. The downspouts should be painted a dark brown so they don't pop out. Your front door would be more inviting in a lighter color, maybe even white, although we can't really see it in either picture you've provided. Remove the grids from the front window for a cleaner look that's more in keeping with your house style, and if you have a bug-free season then remove their screens too.

Fall is the best time to plant shrubs in many parts of the country.

Either paint the brick or lose the window. The multitude of square panes just look wrong with the rectangular grout lines. It’s too busy. Nice house, lots of good ideas here.

I agree, and yes, everyone has been incredibly helpful. Someone mentioned removing the grids but it’s not possible, they’re in between 2 layers of glass. Thank you.

Please update us when you make any changes — I'm sure we would all love to see!

I had a friend who replaced her windows that had grids with plain glass. The bid from Anderson was $54,000 the bid from the local glass company $6,000 and they are beautiful fixed glass low UV. I think plain without grids would look terrific and no shutters. Then determine if you are going to paint or not.

I will definitely post after pics. I was reminded after this post that when we removed the shutters they had previously been painted green while attached to the wall. There was green paint on the bricks that can probably be removed with a pressure washer. I’ll have to try removing them again since that was a common recommendation. Thanks again for all suggestions.

The window is fine. If the grilles are snap-ins remove them from the inside.

Vicki mentioned the grids are between two layers of glass and can't be removed.

As most have mentioned, landscaping can do wonders. I think the shutters emphasize the windows and they don't fit. I would remove them. Your brick is attractive and would not paint it.

I would replace with a double french door and create a nice patio the doors would open on to. Plain glass, no panes. Tie patio into main entry door.