benjesbride - We did not. At the end of the day, there are aspects of that I like, but I'm not so in love with it that I'm willing to make all the changes necessary. Because it was an addition, that part of the house is not over the basement, which is the biggest obstacle. I will think about it some more. I really looked at the revision to your idea, not your original idea (at the back of the space, which is currently where our built-in bar is). It does merit some consideration, because our long-term plan would add plumbing to the other side of that wall for a new master BR. I think we would have to move the door to the deck, which is doable. A lot of my hesitation is that I spent years planning my last kitchen renovation and never did it. I really don't want to plan a big renovation in this house and just never do anything because it's too much.

Here's another shot of the shingles. They appear far more red in that first pic - maybe because they were getting direct sun when I took the photo.... I like that darker color you suggested though. Unfortunately we have to stick with the off-white gutters for now, unless I want to paint them...Thanks for the feedback.

I would do the brick veneer, just make sure to offset the addition some from the original so you don't have to worry about tying it into the original construction and it won't be noticeable it is a different material. Wood frame construction and brick/brick veneer is common. Edited to add. Obviously the framing have to be tied into the existing house. What I meant was to not have a straight flat boundary where new material meets old material. If you can have it meet in a corner it will be less noticeable. So either move the addition in a little bit or out a little bit from the existing structure.

Duplicate. Repost with photos here: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5647216/landscaping-ideas-to-modernize-59s-rancher#n=0 Larashack, can you just delete this one please?