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crispysgirl33 black or charcoal gray shutters and paint the door CHERRY red! : ) cute!

Carolina Photo To Go LLC Drive through neighborhoods until you find a combo you really, really like on another house. Browse pics on HOUZZ. I just saw one with aqua shutters that looked nice. Some people are really liking burnt orange doors recently and black shutters. But it is all about YOU!

Jayme Hobbs Your bricks are light grey, corrrect?

juliesayre Yes between a light gray and light tan.

pollyannagal I'd do shutter the same colour as the roof, and an emerald green door.

Jayme Hobbs There are so many colors u could do...front door doesn't have to match shutters/our home is a light grey and we have an orangish front door like in one of the pics

Jean Tuck Smaller more homey, and I like the reno color, for this little bungalow, if it was to be mine Im hoping it had a clothesline and the new style tub that you walk in and sit down and close the door , I like bungalows with gingerbread trim and picket fences around back yard.
A nice counter island in kitchen area adjouned to open concept dining rm and living area.

Aja Mazin Landscaping.

Stone & Land, LLC juliesayre, I think the emerald is just a little saturated. I did a quick photoshop for the shutters and left the door emerald green. I don't know where you live, looks like maybe farther south than me. Anyway I think a nice little ornamental tree like a Cercis cancadensis - Redbud or a Saucer magnolia might look great in the spring and make a nice impact off the corner of the house, just don't get it too close. A local designer could probably help you better with plant selections, have a bed that sweeps in and out from the house will give it some more dimension than just foundation plants. Good Luck

Sweet Caroline Garden Design I think a abrown tone against the beige brick would be better than the green. I've made a rough draft of a landscape design that I think would provide lots of curb appeal. I can't see what the rest of the yard in front looks like - need a photo taken of the house in the center instead of the side shot you made.

Sweet Caroline Garden Design Thank you Aja. I have a daughter with the same name which means " Love " in Korean .

Aja Mazin Sweet Caroline Garden Design,

Andrew and Winston-Salem, here, with a cousin who teaches at UNC-CH.

It is truly heaven in the spring when the trees are in bloom!!

Presently, mildewing in Florida....

houssaon I like the idea that Stone & Land, LLC suggested to keep the green of the front door and go a shade or two lighter for the shutters. I think it is subtle, interesting and out of the ordinary. If the front door were Benjanin Moore's Emerald Isle, do teal blast or cabana green on the shutters.

The aspect that is most lacking is the landscape. The plan that Sweet Caroline Garden Design provided is a really good start. I like the walkway, the planters, the positioning of the shrubs and the trees out in the yard.

Really a great looking house. Good luck!

Aja Mazin Shutters tend to chop up the elevation of your house and makes it look smaller.

I would de- emphasize them by painting them in a colour a bit darker than the brick.

A brown tone would lend elegance to your lovely, new home

[Since they are non functional, you could also remove them for a sleeker exterior.]

For maximum curb appeal, landscaping is your best investment.

Sweet Caroline Garden Design It may sound drastic but if you were my client I would advise you to paint the brick a nice brown , the shutters a sage green and miscellaneous trim a mustard yellow. The single post supporting the roof looks odd so I'd revise the entrance by adding a post on the other side and beefing them both up to emphasize it .

Aja Mazin huh?

Stone & Land, LLC Sorry I didn't get the colors for the shutters right. I took Aja's suggestion and lightened them up even more to a blue grey in this revision, added the landscape beds and a few larger shrubs. Your local plant nursery should be able to fill in the varieties. You'll get to evaluate them first hand. I didn't do anything too drastic since you have pretty good curb appeal as it is. I clipped a Knockout Rose that looks a little too bright in the photo, but just there to get the scale of plantings

Jayme Hobbs I like the blue-grey shutters and agree some landscaping would be a great idea!

Aja Mazin Upon more thought, I would remove the shutters.

suite168 The house looks very plain. To add to the curb appeal I would build a veranda with a wooden railing, chairs, plants and flowers and make the whole appearance more welcoming. There are many beautiful shades if green for your door. Emerald sounds lovely because it is bold and will compliment the plants. White shutters against the emerald will look very fresh.

laurieeas I think you could change ALOT with landscaping. My first thought is to tear out the concrete walkway and put a meandering stone walkway coming toward the area where you shot this picture. Then line that new path with a perennial bed about 18 inches wide on each side. Your beds under the window can also be made in irregular shapes and nice foundation plantings in back of colorful annuals will help tremendously in grounding the house. Some gorgeous house numbers on the column by the front door as well as a piece of wall art on the left wall by the door will make for a welcoming entrance.

Stone & Land, LLC On Aja's suggestion, here is a revision with no shutters for your evaluation.

Aja Mazin A suggestion for xeriscape landscaping:

Sweet Caroline Garden Design Love the garden, don't like the overgrown evergreen yew hugging the foundation nor the red mulch. Is that faux stone on the facade ?

Sweet Caroline Garden Design Choosing the right perennials and mixing with evergreens and ornamental grasses are far less boring than just evergreens, especially the clipped, formal ones and the green "bubblegum " shrubs that are pruned to death.

laurieeas I love the suggestion above from Sweet Caroline. I have always used a mix of three for my front yard....foundation plantings, perennials that stay green and have lovely architecture, even when not blooming, and a nice sprinking of annuals to add pops of color in the off season of your perennials. You want your plan to be one that may cost more on the outset but be economical to keep gorgeous by fooling the eye to think you are always lushly planted but actually, annuals are just well placed. I also have a few lovely planters at my entrance that hold tall ornametal evergreens and I surround them with annuals of the season.
Stone and Land did a terrific job removing the shutters, but my gut feeling is that they actually tie the side windows to the front window with a little more unity. I like the shutters and feel they seem more welcoming.

Aja Mazin Sweet Caroline Garden Design,

Mulch comes in many colours.

Stone & Land, LLC me too with the shutters @ laurieeas.

Sweet Caroline Garden Design Yuk, to all except those that look like the good rich dirt, Aja.

Aja Mazin 1. Shutters [non functional] are an inexpensive, unimaginative, exterior decoration with has become cliched.

2. Many people are no longer willing to paint houses non neutral colors, because they tire of it in a few years.Stay with neutrals and add color in the landscaping and other spots.

Aja Mazin I think we will be seeing more of the Hill Country style architecture in neutral stone and brick elevations in upscale home design.

Shutters, like gingerbread trims of the past, have seen their day

Sweet Caroline Garden Design When it comes to architecture, Aja , somethings never go out of style like my century-old American Foursquare .

Aja Mazin Sweet Caroline Garden Design,

When it comes to architecture, some styles are timeless and many styles will be with us for generations to come.

Stone & Land, LLC Understood, about the shutters but it doesn't look like the home warrants a bunch of improvement; however the facade doesn't have a ton of detail to it either. It’s not a big hill country style house interesting roof lines and stone. Why delete shutters when you could just paint.

I like this concept for a front entry, with a seat wall, planter boxes and shutters, nice low water landscape and bluestone walk. Don't think it'd be budget friendly either to try to suggest they make this nice grey brick house into a French Country style abode.

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Aja Mazin Stone & Land, LLC,

On the contrary, it is a beautiful home that deserves close attention to detail.

Aja Mazin Stone & Land, LLC,

So you live Chicago, Il.?

Sweet Caroline Garden Design I did for 45 years, Aja. Still own my home there but I've been here in N.C. for 2 years now.

Jayme Hobbs Well, I am glad not everyone has the same taste, or things could get to looking a bit "Stepford".

Sweet Caroline Garden Design LOL Jayme Hobbs :-) And that's what makes the world go 'round.

laurieeas I think the shutter issue does merit thought. Yes, shutters can look dated, if they are paired with plantings and exterior ornaments that are too "cutesy"...i.e. little garden flags, trolls...which are all very dated as well. (Sorry if I am stepping on toes here.) I think this house could edge toward tired and cutesy but luckily we have entered an age in outdoor presentation where there are truly stunning and affordable planters available, metal sculptures, solar lighting, unusual plants, stunning house numbers...etc.... This house is plain but with a selective eye and an avoidance of cutesy, I think the shutters (painted a more muted color) could add to the welcoming experience which the owner is hoping to attain. I'd keep them.

laurieeas I'm also in favor of one more column.

Sweet Caroline Garden Design I agree, laurieas, the entrance needs more emphasis and balance.

Aja Mazin I agree that the shutters should be painted a more muted color.