Shutters and door in a bright red would look fantastic. It would be distinctive and would pop but stays traditional so you don't have to go out of your comfort zone!

Door and shutters to match the darker color brick on your house.

I love a non-crayon red door. It would be great with the black shutters.

I'd consider changing the handrails, though, even if it's just painting them.

I too love the look of a bright red door and black shutters.

I love a yellow door. You could keep your windows as is. Here is an image of a more muted yellow, but you could go a bit richer and brighter.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/angorian/2235189266

Ooo, toughy. That looks like my family's first ranch house. I really miss that house. It was small but it had a great basement. My mom was very handy with a paintbrush, her green thumb and very little money. Our shutters were white and the door was black. That's doable but boring.
What about blue or turquoise shutters or tan/gold?
Why not do something *completely* different? Take off the shutters (they're too colonial/traditional) and paint the brick a lighter color (maybe horizontal two tones?). Put on a different style shutter. Change the door to include more glass or an asymmetrical geometrical pattern.
Get rid of the shrubbery. It's eating the house. A few years from now and everyone will think Boo Radley lives there.

As a P.S. here is a stream of yellow doors. The second one is more bold. Oh my gosh, I love them! I don't know the person who does this blog, I just google imaged yellow doors (which is heaven, by the way) and this was one link.
http://www.hollymathisinteriors.com/2011/04/yellow-door/

I also like the idea of a yellow door with black shutters. I think yellow, black and white look well together, and the brick would be a fine backdrop for those colors.

According to the principles of Feng Shui, a red door is supposed to create a welcoming energy in your home.

Red is really nice as an accent, but since the bricks are red I would go with something else to avoid red overkill or clashing. Yellow or Robins egg blue for the door maybe? Honestly, I think I like the shutters as they are if the door gets a makeover. They're very classic.

The classic look is black shutters and red door.

Just a note about the shutters - if they're those plastic jobbies, you can't paint them. At least not easily. They're easy enough to buy in some standard colors, either in a big box store or online. I wanted to paint ours but we'd have had to etch the plastic and then spray on paint, which our next door neighbor did, and then they peeled.

We just replaced our front door and painted it a glossy, vibrant red. (Behr's Bijou Red) We couldn't be happier, but then again, I'm a sucker for red doors. Our shutters are black. Here are the pics and details:

http://chrislovesjulia.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-can-i-say-im-sucker-for-red.html

Like the black shutters. I'd leave it white and paint the steps dark gray or black. The steps the same color of the house makes the door look like it's floating.

Honestly, I think your house looks nice. I'd like to see more color in the landscaping.

The shutters need to go. They're like unnecessary quotation marks. Then paint the front door a light shade of green or green/blue.

i think a mauvey-purple color would be nice :)

How about teal for the front door and leave shutters as they are?

I think the house looks nice, too. I think a red door, and landscaping. An abundance of flowers would look beautiful. Maybe a slate path & stairway with wrought iron rails?

My immediate thought was charcol grey shutters and vibrant yellow door. I'd paint the steps the same charcol grey (using glossy porch paint). You could paint the stair rails white, trim up the bushes and plant some monkey grass along the walk and the place would shine. If you have the budget though, painting or slurrying the brick would really up the look.

A glossy black would be appropriate for the door as it is located in the "Career" feng shui gua. Black represents water and both black and water activate/strengthen the Career feng shui in this home. Sounds boring but doesn't have to be if you add beautiful hardware/door knockers / numbers etc.

PS: The reason red would not be recommended here is because red= fire and fire element doesn't belong in the Career sector. Also, for a practical reason: you've got a lot of red in the bricks already unless you plan to paint them, too.

Charcoal grey shutters and slate blue or a grey-green for the door, then tile over the cement steps with slate (something with texture so you minimize slipping ). And I concur that the landscaping could use some love. The big shrubs look very 1960's. Finally, I would get some big bold house numbers, whatever style you like just BIG. It would add to the pop you are looking for. :) pictures of the after please!!

Red door with red bricks??? I think that is a no no. I think a dark gray/blue- navy would be beautiful on the door and shutters.

Muted olive green, it's different than hunter green and will give your place a softer look.

What about apple green for the door? Or a Tiffany blue? I would leave the shutters black, myself.

Black or yellow. My first thought was marigold yellow, but that may be too bold for your neighbors.

Blue & I'd paint the steps & do a lil gardening.

I'd go with peacock blue for the door and a darker blue for the shutters. (just as a directional examples - ...Benjamin Moore Casco Bay for the door Lucerne.)

Soo many great ideas! Thanks so much everybody! I'm going to think it over and get to work. I'll be sure to post pictures of the after!

I like the white door and black shutters, but if you want to change... I see a fresh foliage English green for the door, and a welcoming wreath, decorated according to seasons. Satisfies your need for change without breaking the bank. Black shutters are fine and they fit with the overall style of the house. And... I would change the light fixture for a larger, traditional black lantern. Send us the after pics please!

I agree that a Red door and red bricks is a No-No...
...I'd paint the door black to match the shutters.

just a word of advice on red- it's very very hard to get right just like on walls. we briefly had a mauve door (not barn red as hoped, even after primer and multiple coats) before we ended up having to replace the whole door (long story- old house- no doorknob and very drafty!) some neighbors of some good friends of ours tried to do red, and it's a horrible pink- mauve streaky color- and they have multiple coats. every time we drive by we shudder.
also take into account what landscaping you have, or would like to have- taking the bushes out and replacing with some colorful things- I'm thinking limelight (pink/ lime) hydrangeas, or maybe blue ones, with black eyed susans would look good- add some pop of color that will come back every year. oh and tiger liles add a wonderful orange. that being said, I think the black door with turquoise shutters or vice versa could look really nice.

I agree on yellow for the front door. A soft, sunny yellow, not a neon or mustard yellow.

I'd leave the shutters alone. They look great, and personally I think dark green looks better than black against red brick.

(Way off topic, I think traditionally, a red front door has meant the house has no debt.)

Too many red suggestions! I am facing a similar dilemma with my chocolate brick house that already has red doors and shutters (as do three other house near me, one diagonal from mine). So boring on my street.

I am considering an antique purple and slate gray combo. I'd love a turqoise/slate/yellow front door on my own place but my architecture is more Asian 50s than your traditional.

All that to say, I'd do turqoise shutters/slate trim/vibrant, retro yellow front door.

http://caughtinthecrowd.wordpress.com

I vote to take down the shutters, paint the windows, door, and railing black, and add color in the landscape. Devil's Walking Stick (http://bit.ly/mID7Uy), Firethorn (http://bit.ly/lCLPMG), and Holly (http://bit.ly/lLNq5c) are all plants that have beautiful foliage and colorful berries. You could replace a couple of your foundation plantings with any of these three. Red Clivia (http://bit.ly/k1Ekwf) is gorgeous and would go in front of the current foundation plants or new ones.

Hmmm, I just noticed that the fascia board running horizontally along the edge of the roof is white. If you paint the doors/shutters/windows, you'll need to address that, too. If you don't want to paint all that, then you might want to take the shutters down and just paint the door and railing glossy black.

I'm partial to yellow because that's what I have. It is nice a bright and cheery. Hope this picture works....

<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/zv66tw.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">

I would go navy door and black shutters.

I'd go apple green. Or a soft, warm light grey. Or black, if I was feeling very tame and easily intimidated, but a light happy green or pale grey would be my pick. I would match the door to the shutters.

Yellow is all right for the door, but I would do the shutters grey to go with it.

I would NOT do red with red brick, nor try to match the dark bricks.

I'm with the read or peacock. Just choose a shade of red that does NOT match any of the red in the bricks, or it will lose its impact.

I don't like the yellow idea with the black shutters. It's like a giant bumble bee went splat on your house.

This may sound silly, but I suggest printing out the photo above in a large size -- 8x10 or so -- and then cutting out little doors from paint chips so that you can "try on" the various colors. You can even make little shutters and try them on too. So many of the suggestions above sound great but it's really hard for me to visualize them.

Good luck!

PS: If you do go with a red door, make sure you use a *tinted* primer or else it will be pink.

I also think that adding some flowering perennials and painting the railing black will be nice and hopefully not too expensive additions.

A red door is good luck or something, and I also love the look of a kelly green door. I'd leave the shutters as is. Royal/cobalt blue would also be very pretty.

French blue door, medium charcoal shutters and steps.

Royal blue looks fantastic with red brick walls! It's a very popular southwestern color theme that looks great. Do the door and the shutters and maybe get some hanging baskets with blue flowers, too.

High gloss black for the door. Not a fan of shutters that are not functional. Even if they could close they would not cover all the window.

I vote a blue. A bright aqua or Tiffany's blue... i also liked the idea of peacock colors...blue or dark green. Red is over done...do something different and fun!

jillelizabeth had a great idea of taking the picture and putting in paint chips. It may help give you a better picture of what your house would look like.

I absolutely hate little, useless, impotent shutters.

Personally, if it was my home, I would get rid of the shutters and paint the door and some of the trim work a powder blue, or a seafoam-ey green.

I probably would replace the door to one that doesn't have such a traditional fan window to something a little sleeker- but that's me.

and landscaping with some colorful flowers too.

Good luck and I would love to see what you've chosen to do.

Lose the shutters. They're too small for the windows.
A rich oriental red (just like everyone else suggests) would look good against that brick.

Kathryn-
I have a few suggestions:

1) I'm with everyone who suggests removing the shutters. You're house is a rambler, low slung, not a "traditional" colonial that would actually have had shutters, and the proportions of your windows are much too wide for the skinny shutters you've got anyway. Removing them around the picture window will actually make the corner of your house read more solid and in better proportion to the whole facade.

2) Paint the door a cerulean (bright, medium tone) or royal (deep, red toned) blue. The bricks on your home are too dark to do a red door justice. Yellow could be fun and modern though ... just harder to pull off. Green will only blend in with the bushes.

3) Paint your porch a dark grey, or as others have suggested tile it. It will ground the entry door and make it pop on the facade. And maybe a few colorful pots marching down the sides of the steps?

4) Chop those bushes down so at least 18" of brick is visible below the windows. You're house will look bigger and not feel overgrown.

5) If you remove the shutters, consider getting some big house numbers and installing them vertically on the wall at the left corner of your house.

Good luck!

I have a red brick house as well, and I didn't like the idea of a red door. Our shutters are white as well as the trim. So we decided to paint our door blue. We wanted a more muted greyish blue like this http://www.homecurbappeal.com/what-does-a-blue-front-door-mean-feng-shui-for-your-homes-curb-appeal/ But we got more of a American flag blue going on. Kinda like this http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://proserveproperties.com/images/blue-front-door.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.thefancypants.com/2011/03/so-tempting-painted-front-doors.html&usg=__TuQ8GwHEwlcuCc4F1g4uxMwKKv0=&h=317&w=150&sz=39&hl=en&start=0&sig2=HPzrDo4VW5uXOcZCvQcHsg&zoom=1&tbnid=axRU4_tFxWUA1M:&tbnh=153&tbnw=71&ei=dsgETszUN-iy0AHytcSFCw&prev=/search%3Fq%3DBlue%2Bfront%2Bdoors%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1344%26bih%3D642%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=250&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0&tx=51&ty=63 We too did the oil rubbed bronze door handle and brass accessories. We love it! Good luck!

I'd paint the door glossy black, and dump the shutters, but that's me.

I think either yellow or red would look terrible with that brick. Get some swatch cards for the colors you are thinking of and hold them against the brick to see what feels right, especially since it's hard to be sure in a photo whether we are getting the right sense of the existing colors.

Since blue-green is the complement of red-orange, I'd consider that if black is too stark for you. (Which could mean teal, turquoise, aqua -- anything in that range that appeals to you and looks good with the brick.)

I'd go for a really glossy black for the door... or else get rid of the shutters and go for a bright blue for the door.

Go for a bright saturated blue- either glossy cobalt or a flatter turquoise if you want something to pop. Glossy Black is more traditional-- with brass hardware. A red door on a red brick house is tough unless you have a substantial amount of trim around the door (paint it white if using red door). I'd keep the shutters, otherwise you'll lose the only "architectural" interest you have. Note you should work the trim into your color scheme-- as well as your roof.

The house would look amazing with a dark gold door & chocolate brown shutters!

Do you have an after shot of what you've done to the house?

The black shutters look great. You need to check out the somewhat recent post of the house that had the railings painted to match the door. (within~6ish months) The post is on AP and is orange with matching orange rails. I think the home is slightly similar in look to yours. It looks great.