Is it possible to take a better photo -- landscape orientation so we can get a sense of scale, and hopefully with the sunlight shining on the front so we can see the brick color better? The current photo is a little fuzzy and shadowy, and the house is squeezed into a vertical orientation -- beside the fact that it's sideways :)

I would suggest the following to freshen the house:
Remove the shutters and leave them off;
Can't make out what the foundation plants are, but maybe cut them back or remove them, and enlarge the bed area;
Paint the downspouts black or gray or a color similar to what they are in front of (the brick)
Clean the roof.

It would help to have a clearer picture to work from, taken face on without the trees obscuring the house.

If you can provide a better straight on photo for the posters here, along with some detail pics up close to the home, you're more likely to get back better suggestions from this group.

Thanks! For the moment (since I'm not up there in MN) this is what I have. In a week I can send a better photo and try again. There will be a new roof this summer--I shouldn't choose shingles until I've thought about the paint, I suppose.....

Foundation plantings are literally half a century old and that's another project.

Is your house going to stay in the family or are you getting it ready to sell?

I bought it from my sibs and am going to give everyone a key--that kind of thing. I won't sell it, probably, for a long time, so can do any outrageous thing I'd like (like my red living room!)