Have you thought about Painting it white with a black roof. Using black outdoors sconces to flank the garage overhead door? Some Annas Magic Balls, Hydrangeas and black mondo grass would be nice on the perimeter.

Thank you, mstih, that would be nice, I'm leaning towards off-white. Not stark white. I fyou have any soft white paint color recommendations, please let me know.

• Get the roof washed
• The triangle areas are known as 'gables'
• You could paint them white or yellow with white shutters
• The yard needs LANDSCAPING

Thank you, great ideas!

I found this article that may be helpful. Ive seen Swiss Coffee and White Dove in person.Both are nice. Use some samples and see how each look during the mornig and aternoon as the amount of sunlight you receive will detemine how the colors will work on your exterior

https://www.brickandbatten.com/best-warm-white-paint-colors-home-2021/

Thank you!

I like the all yellow look. You don't need shutters; the windows aren't for them anyway. Consider getting the roof cleaned, if it is in good shape.

Remove the shutters

Get a full glass storm door

Remove the grills in garage windows

Refinish the front door

Put a walkway from the driveway to front door incorporated with the one to the side door

New mailbox and post

New location for barrels - not seen from front of house

Light to right of front door

A light sage for the siding

IMO a MCM type house so do not paint the brick but maybe go a dark color for the rest like a dark gray if you want to play up the mCM if you are less into that I would choose agrayed green or sgae for the siding NO shutters for either choice . A new garage door with some glass and a new front door get a steel one no starom door and if you want a screen get a Phantom. This is my fave if the MCM look is something you would like . Even the landscaping would be grat with that yard. This house does not have the brick but you get the idea

I love MCM and Japandi homes, but the front facing triangular gables make it look more traditional cottage or country cape, don't you think?

I love slate blue with brick. You can do the triangles a lighter shade of the same blue.

Definitely get that roof washed. Like Sigrid I was thinking a slate blue would be lovely with the brick. I would go with a darker color like slate blue, navy blue, dark gray, etc so that the house feels more cohesive and less chopped up.

The yard also desperately needs landscaping. Landscaping can really bring a house to life with color, texture, depth, etc. You might consider paying someone to create a landscape design for you. Or maybe you'll be lucky and one of the excellent contributors here will photoshop a design for you.

Yes, I hope so! Thank you. It does need gardening, and we can't wait for the warmer weather. We're beginning to look at ideas for landscaping :-)

Patricia Colwell, what dark grey (a bit taupe) exterior paint is in that MCM photo, if you can suggest it? It's GORGEOUS!

Here's a house with Iron Gray Hardie Board and red brick. Looks good! Take a good photo of your roof then go to paint store and look for paints in same gray shade only a few shades lighter. It'll still be plenty dark and harmonize with the roof.

Transitional Exterior · More Info

Note dark garage doors. Go that route:

But first things first:

--Remove shutters

--Power wash house and roof particularly.

--Get a full-glass storm front door and paint front door yellow or cobalt blue. Paint garage door same as siding.

Landscaping and hardscaping:

--Create a gray and reddish wide stone patio/walkway from the driveway to the front door, this idea where you can enjoy your front yard. Look how good this looks with red brick house in the back and red brick edging.

Evanston Residence - Eclectic Colonial · More Info

--After you lay out the hardscaping, then create deep garden beds well into the lawn with a mix of high and low perennial plants and shrubs for a little privacy--some in with reddish foliage like a Japanese Maple (if you're in a good zone for that) to echo red brick. If you go to a small garden center they can help you plan your landscaping. Have a plan for the garden so it's not just a rectangle but has some curves to balance out the house angles.

Wonderful ideas, thank you!

You have a ranch home with “colonial” features. Very common in the 1960s. Although built in mid century, it does not have characteristics of those homes labeled MMC. Its gables, fenestration, siding, etc. are, as you say, more cottage style. If you like yellow, try a softer yellow like BM “Hawthorne” yellow. Crisp white trim. Blue shutters where appropriate. And invest in landscaping, including a cottage garden, to enhance your lively home!

Yes, thank you!I think you're right, there are a large gorgeous fireplace, other ornate trim and colonial touches, and arches. I love the BM Historic paint colours, and this does look to be Hawthorne. We plan to finish parts of the full height attic as a playroom and another guest bedroom, although the wide footprint of this custom built house + basement are enough for our needs. To my vision, it would best have a vintage English country cottage look with traditional paint colour, new shutters, and definitely gardening, as everyone suggested.

Someone mentioned pale yellow, white trim with your red brick. That's a possibility. Yellow's one of the trickiest paint colors--go more pale yellow than you think. Here the white birches connect to white trim. Before you put on shutters, see how the house looks. This is a clean, no shutter look.

The house above has red brick path to connect to red brick chimney. Any hardscaping/landscaping should have some red touches to enhance the red brick.

Here's a cottage look in great pale yellow. Here the landscaping includes a white picket fence between the house and the rest of the front yard--something to consider.

Great ideas and thank you. Love how it all comes together!

I'm not tied to yellow as it is existing, although these examples are very attractive! I am leaning towards off-white, a warm darker tan/beige or a light sage or a warm greige or grey (with the white trim remaining for now). The house is eastern exposure. If you like any particular paint colours, please do suggest some!

@World3I Group: You can take a digital photo of your house a do a paint visualizer. The important things to factor in: roof, red brick, garage doors. Sage usually looks best with brown/tan roofs, not as often with gray. Since the left side juts out, and garage is approx. same side on the right, both should be the same color as your siding so you don't break up the colors. The house will look bigger with both right and left side the same color. Good luck!

Housegal200, that is a great idea. i think there are websites you can upload a photi and it does it for you. let me look

#1 priority is to get the roof clean! I agree your house leans more toward cottage than MCM, but both the butter yellow and the blue gray color options would compliment your brick and go with cottage style. It looks much better with the gables painted the same color as the body of the house, and I would paint the garage door the same body color as well, to make it less noticeable and to make it easier to emphasize the front door. Maybe cobalt blue for the door? The shutters on the area to the left of the garage are too small and cramped, so they need to be removed. The shutters on the left side of the house, by contrast, aren't big enough, they should look like they are able to cover the window when they are closed. And finally, it would look really nice to repeat the brick somewhere, such as an edging for your new front entry path.

There are some great suggestions for dark colors and yellows in this thread. What about greens or taupes?

This is a color similar to Benjamin Moore’s Nicolson Green.

or a darker green:

Couple of options that may work (amd brick can be tricky to match. If you can, get a designer to visit your house and suggest a color, your painter may be able to suggest someone they’ve worked with).

I wouldn't use taupe, tan, or green unless you also plan on replacing the gray roof with a warmer color.

I have a red brick home too. I had used white and grey for the first paint job years ago. The first paint was two shades of olive greens. This is what I recently settled on and I love it.

Still an evolving work…

What a mismatched mess someone created! Remove the shutters as they do not conform to the rule of being 1/2 the width of the windows. If you cannot replace the roof, all the colors of the brick need to blend with black/grey. If you can change roof to dark brown, paint the yellow parts to tan or green to blend with the red/orange brick. Somehow make all the parts match. Lots of flowers across the front would be nice - choose colors to blend with the new paint and still with a color group - like all oranges & yellows, or if you go with black/grey - pinks & purples with white would be great.

It sounds like you have wonderful ideas to start out with, and many of them. I agree with the need for landscaping, but since you have so much going on, you might want to just start with some trees which will mature as you have such a nice big yard. Then add beds with shrubs and perennials as time goes on. You are lucky to have a blank slate for landscaping..don't rush. And consider native trees, as it's the beginning to attract birds and other creatures to visit your home.

deb - I agree. Start with trees and include one or two that bloom. The rest of the landscaping can be done in stages - a good nursery can draw up a plan taking the stages into account. Maybe a couple of large pots with flowers on either side of the garage door and the right side of front door. A really nice statement light to the right of the front door and maybe smaller matching ones on either side of garage. Shutters have to go or at least be replaced with the proper size.

I personally would paint the brick - I grew up in a saltbox style house in the Chicago area with painted brick which is almost 100 years old and has always been painted without problems. I also lived in a house in New Orleans which had painted brick for at least 30 years, again with no problems. Don't discount the idea.

Clearly, the front door needs to be replaced or at least painted in an accent color. Paint the downspouts to match the house, not contrast - please!

I loveeee this

Think about adding a porch along the front of home. I do like what many others wrote like painting whole home for a cohesive look. Also like starting off front landscape with 3 trees and a curved walkway from driveway for visitors. I think this will get you immediate curb appeal and a big bang for your buck.

I visualize a classic look for your house and suggest you remove the shutters and enlarge the window frames. Then work on landscaping which includes a walkway to the driveway. Large black sconces and address numbers complete the look.

I love this colour, and I was looking to sample a deep grey taupe with a hint of sage in it!

Please would you tell me the colour? I love how it makes the L recede a bit and brings out the red brick. I also like the white gables to tie the white trimtogether and then the house isn't so dark! Your mock up -- well, it's absolutely wonderul!

Thank you so much! Enlarging window frames (& elongating the windows on the L)) is a great idea!

I showed what looks like BM Kendall Charcoal. What ever you decide, keep in mind that the colour you choose will look lighter outdoor because of all the exterior light. Also test before starting your project.

For the white I show 2 options, Chantilly Lace is a perfect match for a crisp bright white and White Dove for a softer look.