That’s a beautiful home! Very nice. I don’t think it needs modernizing and I love the window pediments and trim.

What your house needs most of all is new landscaping, a professional plan which opens up the front approach by completely removing the hedge in front. Those bushes look original to the house and trimmed within an inch of their lives. They. Need. Gone. Your front door looks hidden behind a maze. (Personally, I’d remove 90% of the existing shrubs.)

Your house could be so very attractive and welcoming, if a person could actually see it.

And no to ivy climbing on it.

Modernizing means different things to different people. Your house is quite traditional and I don't think it's ever going to be anything other than that. For a '90's house you are blessed to not have any half-round windows (maybe there are some on the back?). The number of gables and roof angles are also relatively restrained. It could be so much worse. Your instincts are right - removing the stucco decoration around the windows is going to make the house look boring, so I don't see the reason for doing it. It sounds expensive for the number of windows you have. You can paint the trim a color that looks like stone and the body of the house a different color, but I would paint the trim first and see how the existing color looks. It might look fine. I know you said you didn't want to replace the windows, but the style of the windows on the garage (guessing that's what's on the right side) and the triple window next to the front door are oddly not the same style as the rest. They are Craftsman, which is not in character with the rest of the house. If the stucco detailing around the windows really bothers you so it must go then you should frame the windows with composite (something that won't rot) to give them some interest. You might be surprised by the cost of custom shutters for all those windows. If you try to make a standard size work, but they don't really fit then you have not improved the appearance of the house.

I agree with littlebug that you should be putting your funds into landscaping. After 25-30 years everyone's landscaping needs to be redone. The shrubs are overgrown in places and it's just boring having a bunch of shrubs and nothing else. Granted it's winter, so this might look better in a couple months. It looks like you might already have a nice stone front walk. If so, the landscaping should be enhancing that, not hiding it.

"removing the stucco headers and frame decor around all windows << this is the part we hate the most!"

I would not remove these as that is what gives the house charm in my opinion. Paint them the same color as the house if you have to but none these should be removed in my opinion. Definitely no to any shutters. New front door in a bright color would be my choice, 4 lite door, not seeing it so cannot tell but I do not think that fits either. The storm door should be the same color as the front door. And as mentioned above, LANDSCAPING.

Another vote to leave the lovely trim around the windows. It’s a beautiful house and that's my favorite feature! They fit the style so well and I really think removing them would take a lot of character and interest away.

I think your shrubbery is nice, if you like a bit more formal look. If not, then yes, there are lots of other possibilities.

Your house already has the aesthetic you say you like, I just don’t see that it needs any big changes. It really does look like an ”after” picture …. when people come here wanting a lighter stucco color (from yellow or gray). It’s so lovely and gracious.

Those window headers that you do not like, are actually, one of the best parts of the front of your house. Please do not remove them. It will take a lot of the charm away from your house. I would paint them, so they stand out, rather than remove them. I agree, you need landscaping. Those hedges (yews?) need to go. Get a landscaper to draw up a plan, and then you can do the landscaping little by little, as budget allows.

I love your home. Every home doesn't have to be modernized especially if it's a classic style.

Nothing more classic than an all white home. I would paint the details around all the windows the same color white as the walls.

What your home needs IMO is to remove all the overgrown dated landscaping and replace with landscaping that is more classic in nature.

I totally agree with above posters: landscaping and replacing the garage windows and the triple windows to match the others would be where I spent $$. What is it about the stucco window framing that bothers you? It looks entirely appropriate, subtle, and adds to the European aesthetic that you say you love. I think the house would look more 'ordinary' and nondescript if they were removed, but of course, it is your home to style as you like. I just can't see how any added on framing, shutters or other embellishment would improve the home's lovely appearance. I personally dislike boxy hedges (which is of no import at your house), so I would use my resources to totally transform the landscaping...paint if you need to, but I like the color scheme that is already on the home. Good luck!

I think if you had come here with your house looking like this and you wanted to know if you should ADD window headers... the advice would have been a resounding NO.

Not from me. And those aren’t coming off without all of the trim having to come off with them. It wouldn’t look like your picture.

All the trim could come off. It's just a nice looking stately house with a 90's styrofoam trim pasted on... a facade. It could be turned into anything.

Note BeverlyFLADeziner’s suggestions above. AND that she splurged and replaced the craftsman/prairie style windows in your garage and in the triple window. PERFECT!!!!! Yes to transforming it into a beautiful French style home. Classic! Love the suggested garden landscape, too. No to the shutters. Classic and Stately. No natural wood anything anywhere. Especially not shutters. Beautiful home. Beautiful bones.

Not removing them easily anyway as they are all part of the stucco and that would need to be redone around every window after removal.

No offense, Paul, but I believe the sample changed home you posted looks quite a bit less sophisticated and cheapened than the original.

I would never do those changes, obviously, if it was my house. But maybe that’s what the OP prefers; actually seeing these changes to her house may be helpful to her.

I like your house a lot. New landscaping would really make it shine. Perhaps get some landscape designers (or whoever the proper professional is) to give quotes and ideas. I honestly wouldn’t spend a ton of money changing this- put that money to other use.

This is all incredibly helpful! Amazing what some unbiased opinions can do. Really appreciate @BeverlyFLADeziner showing pic with the garage and front windows matching the rest. I had no idea what a difference that would make. We bought this house over a year ago and those windows have the fake grids in them while the rest have interior plantation shutters.
And thank you for opening our eyes to how bad the shrubbery is. We do have a lovely stone walkway that could be easily highlighted. Like the examples Beverly provided as well.
So now: keep the stucco borders the colors they are? Paint them a darker color so they pop more (grey/taupe)? Paint same color as house? What color do we paint the front door?

A definate yes to a landscape renewal priority! I really like the 1st two landscaping pics Beverly showed.

Also, remove the grids on the garage and the 3 other lower windows, if possible, to unify all the windows.

I think your home is lovely and really like the colors you have, including the subtle highlighting of the surrounding window trim. Painting it all the same color would be a mistake IMO. It would take away from what makes it classy.

You have a classic house with a lot of classic details. It sounds to me like "modernize" means to remove the classic details. However, your house is nicely done. The details are subtle, they add interest. If you remove some of them, like the window headers, you'll still have the columns at the corner of the rightmost wing. Modern windows and a modern door will fight with the columns and the fundamental style of your house. You won't get a modern look, you'll get a mishmash.

Those headers and the columns, when badly done are a McMansion cliche. But yours are nice and cohesive. One of the hallmarks of a McMansion is style incoherence. That's what you'll be creating by trying to "modernize".

That hedge is doing nothing for your landscape. I'd transplant them to the lot line, where a hedge makes sense and invest in a better landscaping plan. Keep the house as is. As the old saying goes: if you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with.

Don't try to make it into something it's not.

Wow, for a 90s build your home is really nice, not McMansion-ish, quite beautiful. But I'm with you, those stucco window headers are tacky and cheapen the look of your home. They are the only "on steroids" element of your house. Without them, the home would look much more balanced.

If you are looking to save money, I'd test out on one window by painting the entire window surround the same color as the stucco walls and seeing if you can simply make them disappear. If not, I would have either wood or stone replacement that are more proportional to the window, but I would paint the wood. For me it is not a texture or depth issue but rather a size issue.

I love the two over two look that your interior shutters have created. I would get mullions for all of your windows that have those same proportions. They make your house look so handsome! And yes, goodbye prarie style garage windows.

And I kind of like the gigantic hedge in the front. It adds depth and a slight bit of mystery!

Dorothy, I’m certainly not a pro but have seen many houses similar to yours. (Yours truly is a very nice example of this style home.) I like less contrast and in fact like what you’ve got. Or, stay in those color ranges. One thing I hated in my old neighborhood was the trim around the windows on the stucco homes . Many used brown or black or navy lately. It just looked silly to highlight the window like that. I think tone-on-tone is an elegant look for your elegant home.