I would not do a stone in the gable sections. I would do a wide lap siding or a shake.

I agree the shutters should go.

Do not add stone to a brick house.

Don't paint the brick. Try light blue for the gables and a darker blue for the shutters.

Oh, and no stone, either

Maybe front door brighter color, I can't even see it. Try to get more interest around front entrance, looks like dark space now. Maybe white wrought iron chair or plant stand with nice colorful plant on it.

The siding in the gables looks warped. I'd replace that.

Paint the brown trim white.

The roof will have to be replaced sooner or later. Consider a different color.

The shutters are wrong. I would remove them.

Are you buying this house or listing it?

Thanks everyone for the advice. The siding is vinyl but there is wood siding underneath. We are hoping to remove the vinyl and keep the wood siding underneath and paint it. It’s likely the wood siding is vertical rather than horizontal based on other homes in the neighborhood. Thoughts? If you wouldn’t add stone then what would you do with the column? We don’t plan to replace the roof right now as it’s in good condition. Any suggestions on landscaping? Any thoughts on a German smear over the brick?

Here are some photos from Google before the bushes were allowed to be overgrown and here is a picture of the bay window. It looks like the shutters were a new addition from the previous owner and not original. so you all were right on those. I don’t like the siding around the bay window which is why we were thinking of stone.

With the bushes growing so much larger than the windows, I'd say they are not the right bushes and that cutting back is not a real problem solver. Removal and replacement with shrubs that are easier to keep is a better solution. And they're not especially well placed anyway. Need the panoramic picture when they are gone.

It looks like a Japanese Maple in the far right corner of the house right by the foundation. You could have that moved about eight feet out into the yard between the two windows. I moved mine when it was about that size. Money well spent.

I can't see doing stone in the gable. I would change the bay siding to cedar shake and continue it in the gables. The shake should have straight edge.

I would like to see a color that is less of a contrast. I think the cream is way too light.

Royal Oak, MI Exterior Makeover · More Info

Yes, the plan is to remove and replace the bushes with something more manicured. I believe the large scrub is possibly a bottlebrush. I am thinking of relocating it to the back yard. I was thinking maybe boxwoods, gardenias, azaleas, Indian Hawthorne or similar?

The thought wasn’t to do stone in the gable. Just the bay window and the column.

I‘m still stumped on the paint color. I like the ideas of all cream/white but I also liked the contrast idea. Would you do grey with white trim? What about the German smear idea? I’m trying not to spend too much money but the vinyl siding has to go. I’m really hoping the wood siding underneath is in good condition because Hardi plank will be expensive. For whatever reason a lot of the homes in the neighborhood covered the wood siding with vinyl instead of painting it.

I would not do shingles around the bay window - there is already a lot going on with the mortar lines and the horizontal siding. I think I would prefer the siding laid out horizontal rather than vertical on this house. You’ll have too many lines going in too many directions. A limewash would be neat on the brick!

A lot of the homes in the neighborhood have vertical wood siding. I’m hoping once we remove the vinyl siding the wood siding underneath is in good condition and horizontal instead of vertical.

So what you'd need to do is remove the bushes and then take a completely new, updated set of pictures that pan across the yard, from lot line to lot line -- where the photographer is lined up with the front door and is no more than about 25' or 30' away from the house. It will probably be better to hold the camera in the vertical format so we can see some of the tree canopy.

Here's a Before and after. I would go for this cleaner updated appearance.

Beverly, do you like the idea of stone on the bay window and column? This example has stone for the fireplace. Others advised against stone. It looks like they covered the brick in stucco?

The metal roof looks great by the way. Unfortunately it’s not in the budget. 😢 To get this look I would have to remove the siding in the gables and cover it with stucco. Then the brick would have to be covered with stucco. Is that right? How could this look be achieved without spending so much?

Don't mix stone and brick, in the example above the whole house was stuccoed and the chimney was stoned to become the feature. In your case there are too many materials- the shaggy shingles on the bay, the vinyl, brick, shutters... As others have said remove the shutters. Remove the vinyl and evaluate the wood (vertical is fine, if it needs to be replaced horizontal lap is fine too). I would remove the shingles off the bay and replace with flat trim and create panels under the windows with hardi. This is not a great photo but I could put my hands on it quickly- note the bay has smooth trim and simple panels.

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Thank you everyone for all of the help and for clarifying. I am learning so much! So the consensus is to remove the shutters, no stone. Differing ideas on the gables and bay windows. Not sure on paint, trim or what to do with the brick, if anything. I’m seeing several examples of solid white homes. Should I paint the home white and do a light German smear on the brick? Should I paint the brick or leave the brick natural? Should the trim be the same color as the rest of the house? The brick is medium neutral tones. I will take photos of the landscaping soon, I have to get someone to pull out the bushes first.

You will get better advice once you post photos with the bushes gone- it is hard to get an impression about what the front actually looks like since it is completely hidden.

Two more detail shots. I have a guy coming out to remove the bushes within the next couple of days.

here's some color combos that should work for you

Danielle, what is your budget? I noticed that one post at the front entry is a 4x4, need to add that to the list. Once the bushes are gone, the house needs a power wash and any brick/mortar repairs done. Whether or not you want to spend the money to change the color is up to you; I don’t mind the color, and there are very nice greens and blues that would work great with it. All the strange shingly things around the windows need to go...since your whole house is brick, it will be $$$ to paint or apply a wash to it.

Thank you so much! Beth: of those combos, I like the Sherwin Williams combo the best with the Shoji white but the Behr combo is nice too. Which one would be the main color? I also like the lighter look as suggested by Hallet and Beverly but at the end of the day I just want a house that looks nice, is somewhat timeless, updated and appeals to a wide variety of buyers/renters. (This is a new rental property that my husband and I purchased just before COVID unfortunately). Yes, Shady, good observation...the 4x4 does need to go! I was debating if I should go with a 6x6 or 8x8. Thoughts?. I agree the shingle things need to go too. I can do a wash or paint it. That is within budget. I hesitate to paint the brick due to ongoing maintenance but I could possibly be persuaded.

Again, using the Romabio, there isn't ongoing maintenance. it's guaranteed for 20 years. Even if you did need to do touch-ups, it's simple. The stuff is natural and will patina w/age, naturally.

I think your brick and house would look great lime washed like this, with a soft white and blue door

Why don't your grab a sample pot, mix it w/some water, and try it on the side of your house? You have up to 5 days to wash it off w/hose nozzle/water. what do you have to lose?

This one below shows the diff. one coat.

The following pics are all romabio

https://redbarnhomes.com/ken-anita/blog/limewash-a-simple-how-to/

or, here are a few color combos w/your brick.

this one is similar to the Urbane bronze or a dark mossy green

and the lighter one. maybe Shoji and the Tan color

Thank you so much Beth. I really like the first photo of the white house with white trim. Do you think the roof color would be an issue in pulling this look off? What do you think of linen white by Benjamin Moore for trim and gables?

Danielle, if the 4x4 is up to code, you can just box it in instead of replacing it.

I don't think the roof would be an issue. linen white is a creamy white.

this one is BM Lily of the Valley. supposedly a hair lighter than Linen.

Linen White

if you do plan on doing the brick, choose one of the warmer colors in the Classico line. You can still let the bricks show through. (just like the first picture does)

Thank you so much Beth! 🙏 I will check those out. The bushes and shutters were removed today. Does anyone have further suggestions? Does it look better without the shutters? The shutters are cedar. Would it look bad to add them back if i go with the mostly white look with whitewashed brick? Should I stain the support beam on the porch or paint it white? Any suggestions on landscaping? I was thinking a row of boxwoods in the front and then maybe Indian Hawthorne in the back? Boring but safe. I left the azaleas for now.

A few more pictures.

Front door and windows.

nice. It's going to look so good once you get it done!

let me show you a few examples of how to address that porch/flower bed around the front.

You don't need the shutters. put them aside. wait until after you paint and I bet you'll see you don't need them.

first off, that post needs to be a bit thicker. you can paint or stain it, up to you. here's a close up

Put one like this in the corner. (if doing wood, make sure it has the proper base for putting wood post down on cement)

look at the size of the posts in these pictures

notice the size of the post in these pics (you'll just need the one), but look at the flower beds too

i think once that brick gets lightened up on the area around the door, it will look so much better. bring in a new light and dress up the flower beds. Here they've used mulching and diff types of tall grasses and other trees. (Landscape design can advise you better)

bring in some color.

for this window,

what do you think about removing whatever you have on there and replacing it w/the cedar shake

or, maybe doing something like this? (some exterior trim work?) Might look better than the dated material you currently have.

also, another shot of a mortar wash/lime wash, brown roof, but I like this soft blue for the trim along w/the white.

again, lime wash, but they used a dark charcoal for contrast. and look at the plants in the flower bed

another shot showing a post size, and the flower beds

hope this gives you some ideas

Your landscape guy missed some bushes. 😟

"So what you'd need to do is remove the bushes and then take a completely new, updated set of pictures that pan across the yard, from lot line to lot line -- where the photographer is lined up with the front door and is no more than about 25' or 30' away from the house. It will probably be better to hold the camera in the vertical format so we can see some of the tree canopy."

Lined up with front door means looking straight at it, not aligned with a walk that goes radically toward the side. Panning from lot line to lot line means that the camera stays at one location and pivots, showing the entire width of the yard in a series of slightly overlapping pictures ... not just to the edge of the house, but includes the space that surrounds the ends of the house. Vertical format means hold the camera to use it in the "portrait" mode. No more than 25' or 30' feet away means check your distance with a tape measure.

I think you should keep the current post but add another. It was done often back when your house was built.

I love the idea of a line wash on this home. I think a light wash with some brick showing through and then the dark taupe siding would be beautiful with white trim all around. I agree about no stone. It’s going to come out great no matter what you do!

I love all of these ideas! I never would have thought of some of these things! You guys are amazing and thank you so much for sharing your time and talent. ❤️ Yardvaak, here is a better picture. They are putting a red oak tree in the front yard today which is what you see in the photo on the right.

Beth, thank you so much for all of the ideas. I like all of the ideas about what to do with the bump out window. The siding over the bump out window is currently cedar shake that has been painted. Decker, that’s really interesting regarding taupe and white. I’m going to think about that! Emmarene, nice idea! It does balance out the porch to have two beams. Any other thoughts on this idea from others? I had planned to pull out the arched thing over the front door area and make it straight and a bit higher so it’s flush with with the front of the house. Should I leave it?

Remove the rest of the shrubs. It will be a vast improvement. Also cut the branch of the small tree that is brushing the roof.

I like the slight arch at the entrance but think it would look fine without it.

The house looks so much better. I think the arch is fine- I like the idea of two 6x6 columns a few inches apart- simple but adds a little detail. The shingles need to come off the bay but just replace with flat millwork. It is looking great- it is what a friend of mine calls 'addition by subtraction'. You have removed things from the house (bushes and shutters) and added appeal.