Have you done "test spots" of the gray on the brick yet? If not, I'd start there. You may need to paint the siding a different color, depending on how the Romabio ends up looking. Looks like you have a very light and cool bluish-gray right now. If the brick ends up looking warmer, then I'd suggest a warmer contrasting color for the siding.. Also - once you do the brick, are you looking to change the door colors? Looks like you have two front doors, I'd personally change the color of the main door and paint the second door the same color as either the brick or the siding. I'm sure other folks will chime in about adding landscaping..

Thank you all for your help. Yes cat_ky, the house has been ignored for 25-30+ years. I grew up in the house and just took it over -- I look forward to giving it new life. So Color Zen and cat_ky, would you do the entire house in the blue-green/grey combo or would you make the horizontal siding and garage door white (is that considered trim too)? And by minimizing the corbel, should I just paint it whatever the background color is? I definitely am planning on getting rid of the shutters! HU-187528210, I considered painting it all white, but I can't remove the stone and my neighbor next door has an all white house that is much nicer than mine. I am doing the inside in a bright white though! Thank you all again for the valuable feedback.

Wow, I love your breeze block wall! Just a question, how white were you thinking of painting the house? To me, stark white is so ... styrofoam-y. But white with a drop or two of robin's egg blue, or mint-y green -- very very pale, just enough to hint at a color, would look fabulous in your setting with a bright yellow door. And might work better with all your cement than a more pure white.

Hi Janee, oh this is going to be a great home, because now you can put your OWN touch on it! Listen to your OWN thoughts and instincts on this. If something doesn't seem right to you, or if it isn't appealing to you, then you change it. If you don't like the arches, there's a reason--it's because they don't belong on that style of house. If you try to "cover them up" you KNOW they are still there, and it's going to give you stress. If you try to bring attention to them, you'll REALLY be stressed by looking at them every day. DEFINITELY get rid of the arches. The suggestion that Lucky998 posted above is the way to go, but not that exact style. You'll probably want dark wood rustic beams, and maybe keep it flush with the existing front wall, not protruding out like the photo shows. Cutting into the roof to put up a peaked roof like in the photo is going to be expensive---it will cost more than new windows, for sure. You would have a higher ceiling on the front porch/entry, but you'd lose any storage space you have if there is an attic above. You can "fake" the look of the peaked roof in the photo, the contractor will just build a dormer right on top of the roof, but not cut into the roof. Do you have it in the budget to open up the wall and make the windows larger? Longer windows would improve the look of the front of the house. No mullions on the glass, don't do white vinyl on the windows--use black -- it goes better with the brick, and absolutely no shutters. If shutters aren't wide enough to completely cover the windows if you could close them over the windows, then they just look tacky. I have a feeling that the window to the left of the front porch is a kitchen window over the sink--there are vent pipes on the roof above it. You won't be able to make that window longer, but you can "fake" the look of a longer window that matches the size of the window to the right of the front porch. Black metal window boxes--not solid, but rather the ones made of thin, flat pieces of metal on a basic frame... hang it lower on the wall, and find or make an "antiqued" mirror and glue it to the wall between the top of the flower box and bottom of the window. The boxwoods aren't doing the beautiful brick any favors... the roots go deep on them, and they spread out...ugh. If you don't get every last bit of them, they'll grow back. There is an "extra" space on the right side of the house that has no window. Is that a side entry garage? For symmetry, you might consider putting in a window there. If you can't, then consider planting some tall, heavy plants like podocarpus. If you CAN put a window in that space, a tall planting that isn't so thick would really dress it up. Not sure what zone you are in, but lilac, dwarf bottlebrush, chasteberry, hibiscus, rose bushes, would look great. Let us know how you are going to preserve this great home and make it your own. :-)