Okay, I'm only saying it because you asked....I love that brick. It's as good as brick gets. I think the siding could go, but the brick is great! I wouldn't cover it up. Wouldn't a slate gray shingle work?

Sorry....

If you do go with stone, remember to do the chimney as well.

Anyway, if you don't get many suggestions here, try the home decorating forum--they don't limit their discussions to the interior and it's a pretty active forum.

Thanks for your honest opinion! Since I'm emotionally attached to the brick, I take it as a compliment. Now, if I do decide to keep the brick, do you have any suggestions on how to jazz up the front of the house a little?

Like I said, I'm thinking of bringing the roofline out to outline the brick with a gable. Maybe the brick wouldn't look as prominant if it was set back in the gable. What color trim would you do around the brick to match the siding and to introduce a new roof color?

Even though the house looks small from the front, I have a half dormer on the back, so the house is much higher in the back, which is what would make getting new siding costly and why I prefer to keep it. But maybe I can do something a little different in the front, maybe shakes? I think the house needs some depth and texture, which I thought the stone would do.

Would sandblasting the brick make it more attractive? Right now the brick looks brownish and I don't know if that was the original color or if it's old age. If I clean it, I'm afraid the original red color underneath might be too shocking.

I'm still very much up in the air about everything!!

Any and all suggestions are welcome . . . whether about cultured stone, brick, roof, siding, trim, etc.

Thanks again!

We're gonna need a bigger picture!

How's this size?

I can also take another picture of the side of the house including the retaining wall along the driveway.

These are just a few examples of cultured stone I was considering. Not sure which shaped stones and colors would go best in my situation:

Chardonnay Southern Ledge:

Walnut Country Ledge:

Bucks County Southern Ledge:

Chardonnay Dressed Fieldstone:

I guess I meant a picture showing more of the house as a whole. teehee!

You'd want a ledge, something skinny and stacked--the fieldstone is just too large for your smaller area I think. But I wouldn't touch that brick. I don't think you can replicate its classiness with a stone veneer. It's supposed to have brick. Reminds me of the homes from the 20s to 40s built in the upper midwest. The brick entry is what makes them special.

Ask me how I really feel. :)

Another LOVE the brick vote!! Move the house numbers, plant a pretty tree there, make the storm door frame less white, and when you dothe front walk, it will be gorgeous!

Be sure and post us pictures..... But I really think the rock veneer will be a mistake in the long run.

Thanks for the votes on the brick!! Now I know how you really feel :>)

But I'm going to try one more time to get a vote for the stone. I also posted this message in the Redecorating forum and someone was nice enough to do a mockup with a fieldstone that I chose. After seeing this picture, this is the first time I'm feeling 95% comfortable with the thought of covering the brick. But I'm still not sure. I value everyone's opinion, so what do you think of this . . . .

Oh, by the way, I know the white door frame is really standing out, but when the main door is closed it's much more attractive with a nice glass design with gold etching. But if I go with this, I think I will have to get a softer color for the storm door.

I'm just curious . . . are you all choosing the brick because you are just normally "brick people" and you despise cultured stone. Or is it because in this case the brick is better on MY house vs. the cultured stone.

Just wondering if cultured stone has a stigma since it's kind of "fake" vs. brick or if my house style is more suited for brick.

If I keep the brick, what color trim and gutters would you recommend to make it easier to match a roof color. I think the brownish/red brick and brown trim are making it difficult to find a matching roof so I need to make some kind of change in that area, but I just don't know what.

Are those cultured stone? They look good enough to not hit my faux stone button. :) There may be a stigma associated with fake stone, but not the veneer stuff that is real stone.

I'm a brick person, I'm a stone person. And there is certainly ugly brick out there. Yours might not be as nice in person as it looks in the photo but from here it looks like the good stuff, well laid out, in nice colors. A deep foresty or blackish green trim might blend the brick with roof colors, especially if you go with a darker grey. Some roof colors are off-limits in some climates
of course...
Brick is good with your house because it's such a classic style, the horizontal brick contrasting with the pointy gothic peak. It's just a very pleasing pattern, and if you do stone, I'd prefer it in your first two styles. But really, even they are almost too natural and unstructured. They'd be okay, but I personally would direct my efforts at something else. Okay, cuz I like it.

But we really need a wide shot from the street that shows more of the front of the house I think! As far as I know, you have a stone garage or pagoda wing or something. That might change my feelings about the brick.

When I was trying to pick out a trim color for a brick/stucco/wood trim house, I sort of enjoyed looking at the "historically appropriate" colors from the local historic commission.

You are proposing making completely random changes to your house based on nothing. This is not a recipe for success.

Before you make a single move Google for images of 1920s Tudors, English colonials and cottages. It's what you have and you should know what it is supposed to look like. Forget the stone and get rid of the vertical siding.

Thanks for the tip to look at pictures of 1920s Tudors, English Colonials and cottages. I see what you mean, but honestly those are not my style at all. They seem too dark and older looking for me. I guess that's why I went with the vertical siding years ago - I was trying to modernize it a bit and now the need for a new roof is not working with what I have.

The pictures I saw have a similar look to mine with the brick peak, but none of them have the situation I'm working with . . . brick and siding. Most are all brick. I have too many different areas to coordinate.

I'm getting closer to a decision and I have some mockups I will try to post later. It seems that changing the trim has helped some roof colors work that weren't working with the dark brown trim. And I'm still debating about the Fieldstone mockup picture I posted above. A lot of people I've shown that picture to like it. But it would involve changing the siding as well.

Here are two mock-ups I did at the GAF website. It won't let me save it any bigger than this and when I tried to enlarge it, it got way too blurry.

So from a distance, what do you think:

Grand Slate - Aged Oak

Timberline HD - Barkwood

{{!gwi}}

The trim and door colors have been changed

Here's a mockup of the Cultured Fieldstone with new roof and trim

Chardonnay Dressed Fieldstone and Weathered Wood Roof

Without seeing the whole front of the house, it's impossible to say.

We need a panoramic view of your house to get an idea of the whole structure and the scale. Stand across the street and take a picture.

With regards to the stone vs BRICK, there is no difference that I can see and the BRICK is already there and looks very nice. The BRICK also matches your chimney.

The only thing that I can imagine to change would be a repeat of the steep gabled roof line in some sort of dormer. The gable's eves look too short too.

I totally agree with Marcolo that this plan of yours is..."not a recipe for success".