Wow, thanks Suero. I've been wanting to play around with that image. But I don't have photoshop. I'll do some quick research and find out how to change that image. Thanks again.

Thanks Palimpsest for blowing it up and commenting and to other for their comments. I've been away but got together w/ and architect last week. Surprised at the estimate - $6000 for design/plans/working w/ city - permits. Is that in the range for a basic second floor addition to a 750sq ft house? Palimpsest - both 1st floor windows will be partially overshadowed by a front porch with sloping roof (this roof helps disguise the brick to siding transition and "heavy" look of the second floor being bigger than the first (taller due to running floor joists over existing trusses (sorry if my terms are wrong).

No, not over the brick. Your windows and doors etc would need adjusting, along with other things. You could, of course, remove all the brick and do the wood siding like you have on rest of house. I would just do a paint wash. Anything else could be very costly. As long as you get the brick to blend in (try to use the same color gray as you have on rest of house in a paint meant for brick ), it will all look great. A nice color on the front door, to make it show up as your entry way would look nice too. I also agree, the garage doors and the garage entry door, should be the same color as the body of the house. For your main front door entrance, I see a bright darker teal. Something that will show up as your main entry.

I don't like to advocate painting brick, but this house would probably look better if the bottom half were the same color as the top. If you don't like the idea of painting the brick can you make the siding the same color as the brick instead? Is it time for new siding? With the black windows you have doubled down on Modern Farmhouse. You definitely don't need the shutters on the larger windows. In the winter plants are not at their best, but your landscaping looks minimal. After you clean the brick (and maybe painted it) put some time and/or money into landscaping.