It's funny but I really think your house wants to be what it wants to be, and it has settled into this nice dreamy hazy lazy look, baking under the sun, and I wouldn't mess with its earthy dry clay colors. Don't fix what ain't broke. Please please don't paint the stone.

Yours in one of the very few houses I've ever seen that I think would look nice with shutters in natural wood. Very plain shutters that would help lend a feeling of shadiness and comfort to the house.

Those are magnificent trees and it is worth to have them checked professionally every now and them to make sure they are healthy and happy and don't need any weak limbs trimmed away since they are so close to the house.

Do not paint the brick. Maybe a vertical board and baton in the gables. I would not do shutters are there are two wide windows and shutters just never look realistic on them.

You can get shutters that would not only look "realistic" but would actually be functional. You just need to --- wait for it -- make them as wide as the window you are covering! You might need to get them custom made, but they would look great (and be functional!)

Great house. I wouldn't bother doing any changes until I had to redo the roof (which I'd do a bit darker). A light tan/cream might be okay for the painted bits (but not the garage door). Don't paint the brick and don't cut the trees. :)

Decorative non-functional (and obviously so) shutters would be fine but you don't need them.

It would be helpful to hire a landscape designer locally to lay out suggestions for the yard so you get regionally appropriate and actual feasible ideas. People here can draw walkways and shrubs onto your photos but without being on site and seeing actual measurements and slopes, it's not something you can plant from; it's just inspiration. While you have them, ask about paint colors--they tend to have a good eye for color and balance.

Get on with the landscaping!

We are getting new gutters that will be in a darker bronze color

Generally, gutters should blend in and match the color of the fascia they are against.

We also have a gorgeous MCM new front door

I'm sure it's a great looking door, but there is mothing MCM about your house.

If you want a darker gutter, find a matching color and paint the fascia to match.

I agree the fascia and gutters should match. I wouldnt do much of anything to your house. It looks nice just the way it is. You do need landscaping, which, you already know. You also need color. A table and chairs under one of those trees, even would help, if it has some color.

Thanks, everyone! My issue with shutters is how the windows aren’t the same size and the fact that they aren’t centered also isn’t my fave. Thinking shutters may make that stand out. But I will play around with that idea in photoshop and see how it looks, thanks for the idea! Also, I’m sure I misspoke about the door being MCM, it’s really just a simple 5lite mahogany door, I like the look so much more than the previous 80s door.

We have had the trees limbed and an arborist is monitoring them. He said they are healthy and doing great! They are closer to the house than I would prefer, but I’m not cutting them down anytime soon! I love them. I am thinking of replacing the vinyl gables with more of a board and batten look? Still in a coordinating shade that compliments the brick, but the color now is too dark. Also, here are some more pics from my phone, the images I shared before are from when the house was listed when we purchased…we all know those have the saturation adjusted for the best images 😂😂 here are some with gutter swatches. Every piece of vinyl on the existing house is all a “similar” beige but nothing really coordinates or matches.

Also, disregard the downspouts, we are addressing a drainage issue all at once with the gutters and landscaping so these are temporary lol

I don't see any new colors that I like better than what you already have. Part of the charm of your house is how it rambles and sprawls a bit, and the eye travels to take it all in, so I would be wary of drawing sharp accentuating dark lines on it.

Definitely don't cut down those amazing trees, they make the house look modest, unpretentious and tied to nature, which another part of the charm of the house. Don't get shutters if you don't want them but if you ever feel they'd be an asset, functional ones would be the way to go. Yes, they would be irregular (on some of the windows I would only do one shutter on one side) but maybe you'd never, so....

I think the vast expanse of lawn is very nice for your house. I could see bluebells and wildflowers scattered throughout it, and a low key field of something at the right eide of the house, maybe something along the pathway to the garage (does that get any sun?) Ornmentals and foundation plants might compromise the relaxed simplicity of the scene and suburbanize the look You have a house under the trees in a lake of green....

Might be nice to define the driveway-end of the walk to the front door with a very simple lantern/post marker.

Carrie, we have a similar brick home but we had yellow trim on it when we bought it. Yours is very pretty as is but if you want a change, go for it. We added darker framed windows, new roof, siding, gutters, etc. Just work with the colors in the brick or mortar. We are surrounded by woods so we pulled in color with our front door, black chairs in front and bright red and orange yard furniture in the back.

Dark gutters will outline and draw attention to the roof - is that the effect you want?

I don't think that board and batten will suit the house. Stick with the linear lines of horizontal siding.

I know I sound like a broken record to the regular responders here, but once again I would say no shutters, but do look into beefing up the trim around the windows, so they don't have that "eyes without eyebrows" look.

I would like to see the siding and trims in a gray-green.

I had something to say but then @Fori said what I was going to say.

You are so wise, Mrs. S. 😁

But seriously, Carrie, I like all the colors on your fan better than what you have. You do have all the beiges! The only concern with the dark bronze gutters and window trim is that it might be too stark. Do some photoshopping before you commit. Some of the paint stores have decent online programs to test paint. Even if you're not testing the exact paint color, it'll help you figure out if a color is too intense. (Sherwin Williams has one I've used.)

^^ you will find the color visualizers at the paint companies' online sites. Upload a good photo of your house, then you can try out different colors on siding and accents.

Many of the siding and roof shingle manufacturers also offer this - although their colors will be limited to their products, I think theirs are the only ones that you can try out different roof colors.