Can you give us an idea of the budget?

Small things to start with. Paint the downspouts a dark brown to blend in to the brick. The red door does nothing for the red brick and should be repainted.

Will the circular driveway be staying? Or can it be made smaller to add some landscaping in front of the house? Where is the house located so we can suggest some plants - closest big city?

Redoing the garden beds would make a huge difference. Look into replacing the bushes with maybe a bicolored boxwood such as Golden Euonymus depending on your planting zone. Or at least something a little brighter.

Some option to paint siding

or

I like what celery shows in her rendering using the green second floor as it works well with your brick and the reddish/rust door color works too. partim is right about the landscaping. The asphalt running in front of the house looks harsh to me. Does your brother need the extra parking or the circle drive? I would get input from a landscape designer to see what you/your brother could do to reduce/remove that circle drive. It would make a huge difference in the curb appeal of his new home IMO. If the circle drive is necessary, consider using a different material that has a more green effect like permeable pavers (examples below).

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Thank you all for the great suggestions! Budget is about $2500. I like the idea of painting the downspots to match the brick. Driveway does not need to be that wide and adding landscape closer to the house sounds like it will help soften the exterior. It is located in NY.

I really like your idea Partim, for putting a potted evergreen in front of the extension. I just have to find something that can withstand the winters here in NY.

What do you think about painting the brick white? Or white washing it?

New cars come with backup cameras making backing up easy. Unless you're backing into a very busy street, I'd lose the curve and haveva straight driveway from the garage, Put a straight path to the street and grass around it. That would go a long way to upgradingnthe house.

I think that it is a cute house! I would not paint the brick! The white siding is a bit stark and would look very nice with one of the colors suggested. Yes, new landscaping would be a great start until such time as the budget allows for bigger redos. I love the potted plant idea!

I like the brick. I don't think that painting it white or whitewashing it would improve the look of the house.

https://gilmour.com/new-york-planting-zones#:~:text=New%20York%20planting%20zones%20have,able%20to%20tolerate%20winter%20conditions.

https://www.midwestgardentips.com/evergreens-in-containers

https://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/faq/overwintering_evergreens_containers

https://www.manitobacooperator.ca/country-crossroads/wintering-trees-and-shrubs-grown-in-containers/

https://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/overwintering_potted_plants

I would definitely paint the brick or at least whitewash it. The two
different materials now cut it in half and do not complement each
other. Celery's colors look better than the original, but I think brick the same color as the siding would look wonderful:

Wow, I really like the painted brick. Thank you for posting those before and afters.

What kind of sun does the front of the house get? Is it south facing or north facing or east or west? That is an important factor in determining what plantings to put near the house. I like the idea of something evergreen but as one of the other posters said not too tall so that the windows are not covered. I like the photo with the potted plant added but using a pot can be difficult in NY unless you are in Long Island with very mild winters. You could just as easily plant an upright columnar shrub in the ground there to the left of the front door --Maybe a Derunk holly? or skypencil holly.

I think the realtor had the right idea when they put in the virtual grass. Drive should lead to the garage unless your brother provides valet parking for his guests.