Your husband is right - it is not a good idea to paint brick. It is a basic house, but if you can afford to hire a landscape designer it could really be special. Right now to call the landscaping minimal is giving it too much credit. :-) You could also change the color of the shutters and front door to perk it up. But without more landscaping it is still going to be basic.

It’s a beautiful house!!!! Wow
All it really needs is landscaping and new shutter color.
Maybe hardscape too.

For shutters - black?

Deep deep navy?

A front porch doesn’t really belong. But a nice big portico would look great!!

See inspiration photos below, but please note, your house is nicer than these as is. :) 💖

Thank you! The shutters are actually black now. I wish a porch could work because we really like sitting in the front. I was hoping we could do some sort of patio. I will have to look up hardscape ideas and find a landscape designer so we can do something more substantial.

Another thought -

Is the jut out on the right a garage? (Hoping not...) what is it?

You can install French doors and do a ground level patio. Coming ideally out of the right wing. But if that’s a garage it can work from the front as well.

I personally don’t think a front porch suits the style of your elegant home. But you can try it ...lol 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Don't paint the brick. A portico could work nicely. But I'd also focus on the landscaping. You need more trees and foundation plantings, which will soften up the boxiness of the house.

I don’t see why you couldn’t have a covered front door area. You’d just need to get some advice and estimates from local pros to see what your options are.

I really like the color of your brick, no way would I paint that. Browns are coming back in a big way (I’m so glad) … be a trendsetter and embrace it. :)

Copper, brown, bronze, tan, etc accents. Always classic. I would paint the shutters in a brown tone. What is your front door? A wood stain would look beautiful. Is the roof going to stay? I think a different color would make a huge difference.

This is a pretty color combo with tan, too:

Lots of lovely color ideas here:

https://www.houzz.com/photos/beige-brick-exterior-home-ideas-phbr2-bp~t_736~a_32-223--64-505

One more thing and I’ll stop ☺️

I saw these a while back. I think Incorporating something like this would be beautiful.
Not sure the photos are clear. But this black and white tile runs in the foyer, the side room which is a study/ library and then out to the front porch. I think the continuity was so clever!!

I must be crazy, then, @Beth H. : because I like the brick in the photo you show better. :-)

I think the landscaping in this dilemma is 99% of the problem. They should focus on that before they do anything to the house, IMO.

I guess I’m ”crazy” because I very much prefer the original brick above.

It’s strange to say someone must be crazy for liking different things.

I also like the after, just not as much. Guess I better call the doctor! ;)

A third vote for the "before" of the pictures from Beth.

The "after" is indeed beautiful, but I like the before better.

And a forth vote for the "before" pic...gorgeous!

lol, well there ya go! different strokes for diff folks!

(and Jinx, lighten up. it's a figure of speech. you've never said, "that person must be crazy for ........" ? Good lord, has everyone lost their sense of humor lately?)

Personally I just dislike the red brick colonial homes. I never did like them. (and they are non-existant where I live, so maybe that's part of the problem).

I think the french country look on that after picture is beautiful, and looks far better than the red brick colonial.

However, OP doesn't have red brick. She has 'Pig-Pink' brick.

And I think liming this to look like the white one would look 10X better. Why not go for the French countryside look? Paired w/the right landscaping, lighting, hardscape, front door, the home would be stunning.

If the colonial look is what everyone likes, then what about redoing OP's to look like this one? (this is still better looking than the pink brick.)

she doesn't have to do a bright white. how about a creamy white or soft beige, with sage green shutters and natural wood doors? maybe a copper accent?

I agree that landscaping could make or break the OP's house.

I'd spend the money on landscaping. Gracefully lead visitors to the front door and create a beautiful entrance. You might be able to incorporate a lovely patio. Beautiful home!

Here's a way to soften the boxy feeling and add some curves and soft lines, along with the portico you want.

White Colonial House · More Info

Beth, wow. I was kidding, too, thus my last sentence and smiley face. Good lord, how about YOU lighten up.

Thank you so much all! This is my first time using Houzz and it's so helpful.

Before you limewash that brick, I would change the color of the shutters. I absolutely LOVE the classic lines of your house and a stately navy or deep emerald green on the shutters would immediately change the look. Front door can match.
When it’s time to redo the roof you might find a deeper charcoal shingle plays better with more colors. Right now, it’s fine.
I’m in agreement that landscaping needs to be designed ASAP so you have a planting plan for Spring 2022. I would find a contractor and show them the idea from @decoenthusiaste above and some of the simpler porticos in @Beth H’s ideas. A more distinct walkway is also missing.
Explore porticos on colonials like your on Pinterest for inspiration.
If you still don’t like the color of your brick, the Romabio idea can be done. Your house is lovely but needs some flowers and bushes to enhance it and soften the “boxy” feel it has without greenery.
Great house!

Here are some options for your home.

Agree that landscaping is the place to start and a porch might be nice but get some 3-D drawings of that before you begin. I love a sitable front porch. Any chance you need a new roof? I think a black roof would make your brick pop.

Here's a before and after in my neighborhood of someone who added a front porch.

Because you have a hip roof I'd definitely want to see a mockup of a porch on it before you did it. Your porch would need to have a hip roof too like this one below.

Residential Projects · More Info

well ok jinx, no problem.

It’s strange to say someone must be crazy for liking different things.

It didn't seem like you were kidding when you wrote this line. you mentioned heading to the doctor w/this , ; on the next line, But that's it.

If you were kidding, you have a funny way of writing it..

No biggie though. it's all good

All nice suggestions. I would like white or off-white exterior on your house.

I would never paint the brick. Too many folks do that these days...and one day it's gonna be an ugly mess when folks want to remove that (later owners or whatever)...or b/c moisture gets built up behind the bricks (b/c they can't breathe).

I'd pop a beautiful vine to grow on a tall trellis so that it surrounds the entire front door for a stately appearance. But of course, you need normal landscaping too. You'd probably be amazed at how some simple landscaping would soften the front of your home's appearance. I'd also want to lighten the front door color....since it seems so shaded.

SHUTTERS: I personally don't prefer the current shade of gray on your shutters. I think you could find a color that pleases your eye more.

Have you considered removing the bottom-floor shutters on the main part of your house (leave the garage ones and the top-floor ones)....and make the front door more of the focal point? Sometimes that's more of a hassle than it's worth...b/c then the part of your brick that was under the shutters may need a special cleaning.

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Like others mentioned above, before doing any major overhaul (including removing shutters), I'd: 1) landscape (for sure) and 2) try to make the colors be more pleasing to your eye (ie. find shutter colors to.

And yes, as someone mentioned, I personally would like a darker....if you're ever at the point of replacing the roof. I think this house would be prettiest with browns being it's color point...and no gray involved. But you have it now...and just need to work with it....and not against it.

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Use this color tool. Find at Sherwin Williams a beige color chip that matches your brick. That way, you can try to match colors to your brick color. For instance, I just guessed at the color of your brick and chose Kilim Beige as your color & it showed these corresponding colors. --

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https://www.sherwin-williams.com/painting-contractors/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6106-kilim-beige

You could play around with it. Of course, you could use any color tool. I just googled and used this SW one. You'd be amazed at how much more you'd like your homes appearance if you have matching colors & landscaping, I think. :)

And I think you're totally right about the front door needing to be highlighted more. It does indeed. You could probably have someone hang woodwork above and on the sides & paint it....and it would help it to be more of the focal point. Or you could have someone build a simple portico, as you mentioned. You're thinking correctly -- the front door needs to be made more of the focal point.

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EXAMPLES

https://www.google.com/search?source=univ&tbm=isch&q=shutters+around+front+door+colonial+home&client=firefox-b-1-d&fir=jQdTEcqMHe0IdM%252Ch8MJA7kiz8n5KM%252C_%253BBhwFmRE_Kwg4sM%252CAeAfmvY80Pk5vM%252C_%253BAUt-iBcuXQA07M%252CsQe6xsseHPfdKM%252C_%253BohgoyIFOfhR0iM%252CLSBe_txS9g1YgM%252C_%253BChnx_cLR-D7ACM%252CmJ5tDA1O8kQLmM%252C_%253BDrH0Q57DBlljaM%252C2Ktc6eUmFjV2UM%252C_%253BzszU4WHh-SBOM%252CUULHYSA5N3iAYM%252C%253Bumhn6Av7MTnmQM%252Clo6-VlyMxP2xqM%252C_%253BjjVHJupeYmhAJM%252CM7DTWeNIP_I9UM%252C_%253BMDQszGjVVc8g4M%252CLSBe_txS9g1YgM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kR51i3h1ihbDqBzbCWEP7egNjAhnQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiNrrmz6Yv0AhVOWs0KHWAcC4AQ7Al6BAgDEFI&biw=1665&bih=791&dpr=1.5

p.s. -- I love lime-washed homes (when they're done well)....and yours would be big time lovely done that way....if you also address the front door/entry to make it more prominent.

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examples:

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmariakillam.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F04%2Fbrick-house-header.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmariakillam.com%2Flimewashedexterior%2F&tbnid=IjV-l9dw1iZc9M&vet=12ahUKEwjgh7yz64v0AhVRhlMKHRLVBhoQMygDegUIARCuAQ..i&docid=IYERCxQFQctkRM&w=850&h=400&q=limewashed%20colonial%20brick&client=firefox-b-1-d&ved=2ahUKEwjgh7yz64v0AhVRhlMKHRLVBhoQMygDegUIARCuAQ

See how much better this home looks b/c it has a darker roof --

https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/bde2d7150a756a74_4404-w500-h333-b0-p0--.jpg

trellis highlighting front door --

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https://www.sarah-tucker.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/hr3687707-1-900x600.jpg

I think lime wash, a beautiful portico, new fixtures and a shutter redo (as well as landscaping and reconfiguring the front walkway) would be an incredible transformation.

I’m with Beth all the way!

You might like to go more monochrome with your shutter color (rather than contrasting it to your brick color). All depends on your personal preference.

More pics of this house:

https://architectdesign.blogspot.com/2010/01/mary-e-stewart-mansion.html

Jenette,, no one said to 'paint' the brick. and then you go on to say you like the limewashed brick. lol Yes, we do too. Which is why we suggested that very thing.

I would never paint the brick. Too many folks do that these days...and one day it's gonna be an ugly mess when folks want to remove that (later owners or whatever)...or b/c moisture gets built up behind the bricks (b/c they can't breathe).

I posted that Romabio should be used. It's not paint. It's mineral product.

The picture you like and posted a google link to, was done in this exact product.

Hey Beth, I was replying to the original poster. She's who mentioned the painting of the brick.

And yes, I was agreeing with the above comments about limewashing....instead of painting it.

yes, thank jennette. you posted some beautiful examples.

I don't think she knew about the romabio until we mentioned it in the comments.

I told her I liked this look for her home (but other commenters said they liked the Before picture of this home a lot better! )

Romabio masonry was used.

which one do you like?