How to Modernize a 1990s Brick House Exterior Without Painting the Brick
Every 1990s brick colonial has the same look. Red brick, white trim, shutters, builder-grade garage door. It's not ugly. It's just stuck in 1996.
A homeowner on r/ExteriorDesign asked what 222 people were thinking: "How to modernize a traditional 1990s brick home?" The one constraint: no painting the brick.
That's the right constraint. Painted brick is a maintenance sentence. Once you paint it, you're repainting every 5-7 years. The brick isn't the problem. Everything around it is.
I ran three different directions through Renovate AI to show how much changes when you leave the brick alone and update everything else.
What a Typical 1990s Brick House Looks Like
Classic 1990s colonial. Mature trees, symmetrical facade, columns on the front porch. Good bones. The shutters, white trim, and basic garage door are what make it read as dated.
Direction 1: Black Accents — Bold Contrast
What we told RAI:
"Charcoal shutters. Black carriage garage doors. Black front door. Matte black gutters. Crisp white trim."
Free · No account needed · 10 seconds
The carriage-style garage doors do most of the work. That single swap takes the facade from "builder spec" to "intentional." Black gutters and downspouts disappear instead of drawing a white line down the brick. The shutters going dark creates depth instead of flat contrast.
This is the safest direction. Every element is a standard product you can order today. A contractor sees this image and knows exactly what to do.
Direction 2: Warm Navy — Transitional Update
What we told RAI:
"Navy shutters. Cedar-tone garage doors. Navy front door. Warm greige trim."
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The cedar garage doors are the standout here. Wood tone against red brick is a warmer look than the all-black direction. Navy works on brick the way it works on everything — adds depth without fighting. The greige trim instead of bright white softens the whole facade.
This direction leans transitional. If the all-black feels too stark, this is the middle ground.
Direction 3: Minimal Modern — Remove the Shutters
What we told RAI:
"Remove shutters. Forest green door. Matte black gutters. Clean modern landscaping."
Free · No account needed · 10 seconds
This was the one I posted to Reddit. Removing the shutters is the most dramatic change with zero cost. The moment they come off, the windows breathe. The brick reads as a material choice, not a leftover from the 90s.
The forest green door against red brick is a color theory win. Complementary colors. It pops without screaming. The clipped hedges finish the look.
The top comment on the original thread nailed it: "For the love of God, just don't paint it white with contrasting trim." This direction takes that advice seriously.
The Pattern
Three directions, one rule: don't touch the brick. Every version updated the same four things:
1. Garage door — biggest visual impact per dollar. Carriage-style or flush-panel. Either way, the builder-grade door is what dates the house most.
2. Front door color — black, navy, or forest green. The door is the accent that tells people the rest was intentional.
3. Gutters and downspouts — white gutters draw lines on brick that break the facade. Matte black disappears.
4. Shutters — darken them or remove them. White shutters on red brick is the 1990s starter pack.
The brick is your best feature. It just needs everything else to stop competing with it. That's the whole brick house update playbook in four moves.
How I Made These
I opened the exterior photo in Renovate AI and told RAI what to change. A few words each time. Each image came back in about 10 seconds.
Three directions, three short descriptions. "Charcoal shutters, black door." "Navy and cedar." "Remove shutters, green door." That's enough. RAI filled in the details.
You can get more specific if you want — down to exact paint colors, hardware finishes, specific landscaping plants. But you don't have to.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I modernize a 1990s brick house without painting?
Update everything around the brick. Replace the garage door, repaint the front door and trim, swap the gutters to black. These four changes add serious curb appeal without touching the brick itself. All three directions in this post follow that rule.
Should I remove shutters from a brick house?
If they're decorative (don't actually close), removing them often looks better than keeping them. Direction 3 shows the difference. The windows look bigger and the brick reads as the feature, not the shutters. If you want to keep them, go dark — charcoal or black.
What color front door looks best on red brick?
Black is the safest choice. Forest green and navy both work because they complement red brick without matching it. Avoid matching the trim color to the door — contrast between door and frame is what makes the entry pop.
What is the best garage door style for a brick colonial?
Carriage-style with dark finish (Direction 1) reads traditional but updated. Flush-panel in cedar tone (Direction 2) leans more modern. Either is a big upgrade from a flat white or beige builder-grade door. This is usually the highest-impact single change.
See What Your House Could Look Like
Got a brick house that's stuck in its decade? Open your exterior photo in Renovate AI. Tell RAI what to keep and what to change. See it in seconds. Free to try.
Your brick is probably your best feature. The rest just needs to catch up.
Real conversation from r/ExteriorDesign (222 comments). Made with Renovate AI.
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Sid Sarasvati · Founder, Renovate AI
Sid Sarasvati is the founder of Renovate AI, featured in the Wall Street Journal and Morning Brew's The Playbook. He studied architectural philosophy at Harvard GSD and has tested AI design tools on 200+ real homes.