A great patio goes a long way. Even if you don't get the cement looking good, chairs around a fire dish and plenty of plants will look like a place buyers will love to spend time.

I suspect the place coukd use some more windows.

You probably do need to paint the brick. Why is it 2 diffent colors?

The gray doesn't go with the brick.

The path appears to go nowhere. I'd have a path straight from the door and plant some shrubs to the left of the door. A columnar arborvitae might be nice.

what do you think about doing a vertical board and batten instead of that current siding?
(also, notice the porch overhang. I love this across your front)

This was the before shot:

another shot of board and batten on the upper portion. Iron Gray.

and also doing the brick?

Right now that cool gray siding color doesn't work whatsoever w/the warm yellow tones of the brick. And, I just don't think that style siding even works. What color is the roof?

So here's your front,

And something else you can do for the flat, long division between the siding and brick.

love this porch overhang instead of that portico.

have you heard of Romabio? it's a lime product that will naturally age on your brick, yet still let it breathe

Comes in the Limewash,

or an actual Masonry finish you can tint any color.

Here's the back of this home and the colors used

And I like this patio cover. maybe you could do something like it over that cement in the back,

or something like this one

and erect a fence across this front yard.

I think your portico should be redone. it just doesn't work.

If it was done more like this, w/the walkway, flowerbeds and the painted brick, it would look better

landscaping will be huge, naturally.

some other similar colonial brick/siding homes

Limewash on the brick, and instead of that siding, they used a composite shake. I like the doorway like this, and the flowerbeds.

Bit more modern. black windows, white brick/white siding

https://www.jimenezphoto.com/half-brick-half-siding-homes/

Beth, you are a pro! Wonderful suggestions!

Wow Beth. All of those suggestions are so awesome. Thank you for all of your time!!
I like the wash idea so much and all of those examples were great.
Changing the siding might be out of our budget right now but you’ve inspired me to look at the option. I love the black and white looks. Also great idea on extending the covered section in the front. Going to see if I can convince my wife.

Would a black/dark brick wash with white siding work? Does the bottom have to be darker than the top?

On a side note. This is how we bought the house so no clues on why the brick is different colors. The home was built in 1900 and seems to have had a few additions over the years. Maybe that’s why? A lot of our money is going to the interior and that’s why the exterior funds are a bit limited for now.

Thanks for the suggestions Sigrid. The path goes to a driveway and separate garage.

no, the bottom can be darker. I've seen dark brick and white siding.

if you do the Limewash (the classico) you can wash it off within 72 hours if you wanted to try it. I think it only comes in the lighter colors though.

If you want to go black brick, use the Masonry Romabio. however, that will not wash off.

https://garrisonstreetdesignstudio.com/our-black-and-white-house-with-painted-brick/

This one has the dark brick and dark board/batten siding.

Found this dark brick w/a light gray siding.

Charcoal Brick color

do some samples on the back of the house and see what you like. but honestly, if you do the dark brick, do the board/batten siding in the white. dark roof fascia, and bring in some natural wood elements.

couldn't find a black/white bottom top house. this is all white brick but you can imagine the black w/the roof portion. gives you a visual.

You have that large square of concrete enclosed on 2 sides by the house but it is disconnected. Run a patio roof out from the long side. If you are feeling industrious make it a full roof, one or 2 cut out areas for large tree or firepit. Simple is much easier. Ledger board then 2x6 out with 2x4 or 2x6 lattice open to the sky. In summer if heat is an issue find some cloth (canvas, sail, parachute, kites...) to cover the top for shade underneath. Are you planning to live there? If so you might consider a slider or triple pane french doors with a light (window) in the center. Planned well it would open partially to kitchen and part to great room/eating area. Or an exterior part of family/living room. Any room can open to it with a natural flow. That gives you as extensive project as you choose and does something with the not quite connected island. As time goes on you can add a bbq, brick, rock and a 200$ cement mixer can do pretty much anything. A plot map would give a better idea of access and what direction the entry is oriented.

Bigger windows to start , then a walkway going to somehwere and a lot of landscaping . IMO the siding color is all wrong but before painting that do the windows all the shutters in the world will not help those huge bare walls.

With your house I might suggest a porch on the front that perhaps wraps around the side to become a screened porch. This should help to unify the upper and lower portions into a more cohesive look.

Hi, I’m not a pro, but was thinking that patio area could benefit from a low privacy screen across the front, such as a low (4 or 5 ft) horizontal board fence, to give it more of a private courtyard aesthetic. This, added to the front changes like in Beth’s first photo, and the walkway correction coming straight out from front door to sidewalk would look great. Add the color changes suggested above and you’d have quite a transformation.