I agree with your focus on replacing the porch posts, pathway, and retaining wall and doing some landscaping that will harmonize with the beautiful surroundings (others will have to make landscaping suggestions). But since blending with the landscape is a priority for you, I'd be tempted (in the long term) to paint your brick exterior, using a subtle, natural color (light khaki, taupe, gray green or other neutral shade) that would make your house echo its surroundings. I'd also be tempted to take off the shutters, and paint any remaining trim in a complementary natural accent color (rather than the current maroon). Here's a houzz photo of a painted brick (I think) ranch that seems in harmony with its surroundings:

Buys some fiberglass columns and remove the wrought iron lace ones. Loews has the fiberglass on sale from time to time for a bit over a hundred dollars each for 8 or 10 foot tall ones. I actually like the shutters and the storm door but not the front door. If you can invest in either painting the door all of the shutters. A green maybe? You can elect to put down a larger all weather rug to save money and put some pots out and hang 2 oversized lanterns on either side of the front door. Your lot is amazing. I would dig up those pavers and put down a slate walkway and then knock out the cement stairs and put up new ones covered in the same slate. The retaining wall seems to be made of lovely limestone rocks or some type ofstone. You need to invest in pulling it apart and rebuilding it properly using those same stones but adding to them. Then you can go nuts landscaping in front of the retaining wall I would use grasses. They can be hardy and they have wonderful movement when the wind blows and come in lovely reds and gold colors. Leave a little room in between them to throw in annuals for pops of color. I am not sure what bush that is near the house door but it shoud be moved to the edge of the house and groomed. I looks like a forsythia but I am not sure. Then you can put maybe small box wood hedges under each of those windows. Keep them low and tight because that other main window is large and you want uniformity. She's a looker with a little TLC she will stun. Good luck.

I like the above comment.

Another spin on it.
1. Put up cedar column post and make new cedar shutters for windows.
2. Add window boxes under the two smaller windows
3. I think I might leave the retaining wall alone (this will be a Big JOB) and plant grasses, etc in front of it. I think that may disguise the wall enough, but the stairs have to go. I agree with the slate as suggested above. I think that would be lovely.

I am going to post a picture of our second home, it is a 70's model and updates are being done in stages also. We replaced the shutters, painted the front door, and butched the shrubs ( they were way overgrown) Hoping when I get back this weekend they will look better. I transplanted some plants from here (home) to that home.
You may could find a garden swap club to get some freebies for your project. I have given away lots of plants, via Facebook.

I'd remove the shutters. They just don't look functional, especially on the large window and the louvered style is too busy for the brick.

When you replace the porch posts, think of two pairs of square posts for greater impact. You might think of replacing the front door, too. The one you have now feels very Colonial. I'd paint the storm door the same as the front door so it is less visible. I'd pick a dark brown for window sashes and the trim, a creamy white for the posts and a red like Benjamin Moore's Dinner Party for the front door.

We might be in for years of droughts, so considered shrubs that can withstand the feast or famine of rain. On the right side of the house, there is a plant that is overwhelming the porch area. If you could relocate it to between the two windows and not so close to the house it would look better. If not, take it out, but still look for an ornamental tree or vertical shrub for that spot. Think of window boxes under the two smaller windows. This will elongate them and provide some color. See, for a classic style box: Another opportunity for plant material is just above the retaining wall. A perennial bed would be nice. I'd replace the grass in front of the wall with a ground cover and add daffodils and daylilies.

I like the stones in the retaining wall. Are you going to reuse them? I would. But the steps should be replaced. They are not deep enough. A deeper tread will look more welcoming and feel like less of a hike.When you replace the windows, I think you should get casement windows for the smaller windows - a better compliment to the large one, which, by the way, I like and hope you don't have to replace it too.

Good luck!

Your house reminded me of the ranch house discussed in this "Fine Homebuilding" article.
http://www.finehomebuilding.com/design/departments/drawing-board/character-defining-windows.aspx?nterms=65826

The original ranch houses were Prairie style - all about the horizontal. The shutters are wrong for that style.

If you're truly on a budget, I would suggest using Round Up on the front walk bricks and spray about 6" along the outer edges. Maintain this regimen for a month, and you'll be grass/weed-free, then about 2-3 x a year to maintain.

Stain the front porch and outer concrete steps (about $50), or at least, lay a large outdoor carpet on the porch. Keep the design simple, and it's easy to sweep/vacuum.

Plant Martha Washington geraniums and colorful Lantana around the front porch, across the front of the home, and along the rock retaining wall. They are drought-resistant and only need to be cut back 1 x per year. Trim these gardens with matching used brick and fill with rubber mulch. Rubber mulch is recycled tires, comes in a variety of colors (I like rustic red), no bugs and rot like wood mulch, and color lasts up to 15 years.

On either side of the front walk, I would plant sage that has purple spikes and smells great - also drought-resistant.

Ohhh! Don't paint your lovely multi-hued brick unless you want to be doing this every x # of years for the remainder of the time you're in this home. I agree with the slate or a flagstone that complements your retaining wall for the pathway and stairs. The retaining wall is an interesting feature and you could landscape your way past any 'defects' you might think it has. The shutters aren't inappropriate for your home and probably not for your neighborhood, but I agree the color could complement your trim and stone path color choices better - I would lean toward the dark end of whatever the darkest grey in your brick is. I too would replace the front door but not the storm door - maybe something with the same proportions as your bank of windows to the left or just a single light door, and then frost the glass in the door if you want the privacy, paint the storm door the same as your main trim color. Decide on whatever metal you want for lighting, door hardware and house numbers - if you go with a grey for trim, I'd go with satin nickel. Yes, replace the wrought iron with columns and if they're graduated (larger at the bottom) keep the bottom the darker color and use your contrast trim color on the top. You'll be so glad to see the maroon go!

There are a couple of major problems here. 1. The house is not connected to the landscaping. 2. All you see of the front porch is the roof where is the rest?, and 3 The walkway is getting lost in the grass. Now what can you do to correct? Get some decent shrubs that will grow into the wall spaces on the house. This will break up the square wall. Small trees (8 to 10 foot tall tops) at the corners could do very well. Rethink the shutters. Shutters that are not 1/2 the window width look strange. Shutters had the purpose of being able to cover the windows when needed. they should look like they still can. Then, bring some identity to the front porch. Add some substantial columns and a railing. You could use a round painted column, painted the color of the trim, or some rough cut cedar posts 8x8s. Bring the railing around the front just a bit to create front porch space. Lastly, clean out all the grass out of the brick walkway. To be inviting, it should be clean of grass, then define its ends near the porch and the retaining wall with some plantings. Caution with painting the brick, yes it could look good, but why create something you have to maintain that is maintenance free?

the shutters are not doing the house any good. neither are the wrought iron columns - wrong style for the house. the front door is Colonial. but the flat grass lawn supported by the retaining wall is a quite nice formal space.

as "tbb123" says, the ranch style of your house comes from Wright's Prairie style - long and low and horizontal and clean (not fussy). the brick soldier course detailing at the top of the walls is a bit more formal, yet the Chicago brick look (the multi colored brick) stops it from being too formal - gives it a more regional look. so you have the opportunity to mix-and-match Prairie, modern, and formal styles with your facade remodel. any of them will work, bringing the home more "appealing and up to date" because you won't be fighting the original architecture of the house, which is what's going on now.

if you can, re-use the walkway bricks on top of a new retaining wall. save some of the bricks to use on the new concrete walkway. instead of edging the walk with bricks (a traditional look), consider inserting the bricks between 4 ft by 4 ft concrete squares (modern). you could also put grass or gravel between the squares - replace some of the grass lawn with a gravel area for seating (if there's a nice view or you have enough privacy). the steps are an opportunity to go all brick (match the house's multi-color look), or keep it clean with new concrete steps.

definitely go drought-tolerant and native plants for your landscape. you can always enjoy annual color at the front of the beds. i love all types of plants, but your house likes clean straight lines and a more formal attitude - think plants that are shaped. so i would plant the fussy cottage-y natural-setting plants closer to the retaining wall.

finally, the front porch has a great overhang. you might paint the front door a brighter color (maybe replace it with a more formal or modern one, like a full pane of glass). you can bleach or stain the concrete for a newer look, try the color of the mortar in the brick. replace the columns with solid-looking ones, same width as the metal ones, either wood or fiberglass. your don't need the trim top and bottom on the columns - just go with straight up and down. consider a built-in bench for seating on each side of the porch. and build some large square-ish planters, too.

(attached: Wright's Adams House, Wright's Robie House, and 2 walkway photos)

Add columns to support your front porch, add a raised flower bed to each side of the front door, and change the front walkway with pavers. That alone would make a world of difference.

I agree. Going with the Frank Lloyd Wright design elements would be great. Replace the ironwork columns. Remove the shutters and trim out the windows with heavy wood. Of course a landscaping redo will do wonders. Have fun .

Here's an idea if you like a more traditional look. I think it would suit the front of your home well given where your windows are located and the brick would work well.

without hesitation... PAINT THE BRICK.. I look at the comments on here about not doing it and its about not having to do maintenance.. well.. thats part of the gig of owning a house and why so many houses look bad is lack of maintenance! littlemissk's pic is beautiful with the painted brick and the nice crisp white columns.. I couldn't have found a better example of what to do. a new wider front door with side lite's would really add to your home.

This may be a bit off topic but I often wonder why people buy an ugly home before they have figured out what they could do to fix it and what it might end up costing. The majority of these houzz discussions are some variation of "Help me , I bought an ugly house and I don't know what to do with it"

Replacing the door might be a good idea, but a coat of paint is cheaper. Think twice before you replace it with a door and sidelight. That is a major change as brick will have to be removed and the header replaced. Yes it could look good, but that will cost money and most likely will not be worth it on a limited budget.

there's a difference between an ugly non-functional house and one that has good bones underneath. this house has good bones. we just need to emphasize them, with whatever colors or style or materials make it work.

Curlygirl I LOVE you for saying that...too many people Leap before they look!! or they see something done on HGTV and the host says " look how great this is and our budget was only 2,000! .. but they fail to mention the 25,000 in free labor they provided... and then the client thinks you can do the same thing for 2 grand. Completely unrealistic!

My question for clients is always " what is expensive to you?" or " what does a limited budget mean to you" because what is limited or expensive to me is likely not the same to everyone... I might be shocked that their limited budget is more than my idea of a limited budget.. but it hasn't happened yet :-)

Okay guys, this is the second time I've had to warn people the perils of painting their exterior brick. It's not only a question of maintenance, there is a pretty good chance you'll permanently damage your brick. I live in a loft conversion that was completed 20 years ago. The developer PAINTED the brick...well due to our wonderful four seasons, moisture got trapped in the bricks, froze, expanded the brick, no place for the moisture to go resulting in snap, crackle, and pop! After very expensive repairs, we're still trying to repair and restore the original brick. Maybe there were other factors in play such as the age of the brick, or the craptacular painting technique the developer used...who knows, but is it REALLY work the risk???

You have to use paint designed for brick, because of the problems listed above.

Thank you all for such inspirational ideas, I will ponder on them for weeks to come! The many different opinions about keeping/removing the shutters and painting the bricks make my head swim a little. I didn't realize that we had so many different styles thrown into our house, but I see it now. We bought the house over 20 years ago and thought that it would be perfect with just a little fixing up here and there. The main reason that we haven't sold is that it sits on 10 beautiful acres on Lake Eufaula. We have no neighbors within a half mile, and we live on a dead-end road, so there's no traffic to contend with. We didn't buy the house on impulse. With four children and teachers' salaries, it was all that we could afford, and we were happy with it at the time. I'm not looking to restore it to the original ranch style. I'm just hoping to add a little modern charm and disguise some things that scream 80's ranch. Again, thank you all for taking time to respond, and I loved the pictures you provided. They helped me understand and visualize what you were explaining.

Hi JaneKa6,
I have a couple of suggestions, and maybe you've heard them already. There are a couple of site that may be of help : Better Homes and Gardens, the site has a section on remodeling ideas and contacting designers too ( I think). Another site: HGTV - on that site, you can find some pretty amazing ideas and suggestions for remodeling. But, Houzz has sections too. Checkout the professionals, they might have a few real good tips and ideas. try picking a specific portion of your house, like your door/entry, you'll be surprised at the ideas . Don't forget to look at some photos of tradional ranch style homes, but don't forget- ultimately the choice of how you want your house to appear, is your choice, the ideas help, but remember what you want most.

Paint the brick - I have four seasons too and mine's great. But heed Jamison's warning...You could consider using a "Marine" paint, it's the stuff they use on boats if you are concerned about weathering and moisture in your climate. Go with a contemporary brownish / grey colour and trim everything in black and it will look amazing. Your window profile will fit this. You can always remove the shutters later (if there's no brick behind them), but that's a cheap fix that will get you started. The brick unfortunately is not worth saving. Put some great looking wood posts and get a really cool wood door.

Thanks, gigibaby and janlynne! If I repainted the door, should I keep the storm door?

If the storm door is in good shape and you use it, I would keep it since it is a full-view door. If you don't use it, get rid of it. I would get rid of the shutters on either side of the front door (at least that is what I think I'm seeing in the pictures). I like doing things in steps (since I'm not a designer who can figure out what it will look like in the end) and I would start working on the door and see where that leads. I would do something about replacing the porch supports with something more tailored. If I had a great lake location, I would only spend big money on renovations that enhance the feeling of outdoor living, such as adding windows to take advantage of a great view, or landscaping around spaces I really intended to spend time in. If you don't spend time in the front, fix it up a little and focus your energies and monies where you spend the time. Enjoy your home and don't feel that you have to justify owning an "ugly house". Fashion is fickle and what is considered "ugly" now might have been the latest and greatest when it was built. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so behold your beautiful surroundings and enjoy your home.

Thank you, edhall!

Here are some suggestions that may give the house a more updated look:
1.shutters should go
2.replace wrought iron posts with new posts. I see either round columns simple and unadorned or rectangular and substantial.
3. Paint your trim black and the columns. It would look nice to make the door look larger by using vertical wood surrounding the door or large 18"X18" solid gray tiles that continue on the floor up the wall. Replace door with contemporary style. Add contemporary lights on each side of the door
4. for the retaining wall just add one more row of stone or cap it with the solid gray stone used by the door.
5. Replace the steps and make them wider and more inviting with a new sidewalk.

Thanks, Eckert! All of your suggestions sound interesting. Since I first posted, we have added a sidewalk and are in the process of repairing the rock wall and putting in wider stone steps. We are also taking out the wrought iron posts and replacing them with 6 inch rectangular, wooden ones.

Good luck!

We'd love to see some new pictures.