The first thing I saw in your picture was the shrubbery. I would start by removing the two large ones. Maybe change out the chairs. Can you replace the wooden step rail to a metal one.

Marlene's suggestions are my thoughts exactly. Start there and see what a big difference it will make. Nice house.

Actually, I think that is quite a cute house. In addition to the above, you might consider a bright color for the door (it is hard to see what is there due to the storm door). Is there a landing halfway up those steps? If so, a couple of large pots of colorful annuals would look nice.

In addition to the excellent ideas given you might consider painting the exterior as seen in this ref. pic
heftier posts would add weight to the porch area
added benches and hanging plants would benefit this area.
A snazzy door colour would add a wow factor.

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You could turn this into a very attractive house if you take your inspiration from the typical Craftsman Bungalow. Many books have lots of examples.

Here are some quick and easy ideas:
1) Box out the posts so they look substantial. Anne dee's picture shows this very well.
2) Paint the porch rail white to match the columns and give more of a "porch" look.
3) The lattice under the porch attracts the eye too much. Paint it to match the brick.
4) Take out the big bushes.
5) Create some sort of a "stopping spot" (patio) between the garden stairs and the house stairs.
4) Plant foundation planting (bushes) all around the house so it looks more attached to the ground.

Too many paint colors. Pick one for the structure and steps and another one for the door. Keep porch furniture to a minimum and before you get rid of the shrubbery, see how the AC units in the front windows could be camouflaged otherwise.

I think my first order of business would be to plant ground cover type bushes along the slope at the top of that retaining wall. For one, it would absorb any water to help maintain the integrity of the wall and for two, it would make mowing the slope obsolete. Then, if I ever had any more money to devote to the other landscaping, it would come second to the slope. Hope that helps!

Paint the top steps a color from the rock wall as well as the triangle above the porch. Box out the columns and paint a trim color. For now, paint the hand railing by the steps the same color as the steps. I agree with the slope fix. You do not want to be mowing a slope! Plant perennial flowers if you plant any beds. Great investment for years to come!

Cut down front bushes, paint steps to match, add flowers on either side

Need inexpensive landscaping that you can evenutally add to? Here are my suggestions: first, remove the two large bushes, second remove the sod starting at the front of the house and go all the way down to the retaining wall and end with a curve. You could use a perrenial flower like coreospis, you do not need a lot of them they spread, quickly! If you don't like flowers, use a plant like liriope (plant about every 3 feet) using landscaping screen to help block weeds and mulch to retain moisture.....if your soil is poor use newspaperinstead of the screen and mushroom compost instead of mulch. (just not too close around the base of the plants) Then add a couple hanging baskets and some flowers in pots to the porch. You might also consider painting the front door :-)

Agree, remove the dead shrubs, paint lattice or plant something in front of it, detracts from house. Paint front door, if you like yellow, go for it and paint the chairs the same color and add colorful pillows. Plant cascading flowers/shrubs at edge of stone wall to soften the edges. Above and between front posts add large house numbers. Consider adding a lamppost between the set of stairs. If you can replace the metal work with wood and beef up the posts on porch, it will change look of house significantly, then add window boxes to railing and fill this colorful plants, add American flag to post. Good luck, cute house, just needs tweaking.

It looks like you have wooden steps that lead directly on to the porch; and then a couple sets of cement steps that lead across the yard and down to the sidewalk/front.

I agree with painting all the steps the same color with a few specific recommendations:

1. If you are going to be repainting the house itself, as well as the wooden steps, wait until you have decided on your new housepaint color to do the steps.

2. When you repaint the wooden steps, be sure to use sand on the treads - that part of the stairs you step on.

3. You can create a fun, visual "flow" by painting just the risers (the vertical part) of the concrete steps the same color you paint the wooden steps. Don't paint the "treads" of the concrete steps - it would get too slippery and the color could get overwhelming. From the street/sidewalk it will look like an inviting and welcoming ribbon of color leading up to the (newly painted) front door.

4. You should invest in a safe handrail for the concrete steps section. I suggest white for now to go with the existing handrail near the porch and the white lattice on the front of the house. Handrail should also be on the same side of the stairs as the porch handrail. If you change your mind later, it is easy to paint and change the color.

Agree with removing the 2 large, tired shrubs. But you will probably want to wait a bit on more landscaping while you finish your basement project. I don't know where you live, but just observing how the weather affects that front yard area - especially during winter - will help you decide how you want to landscape that front yard. In the Spring, you will have a better idea of what you might want to do, and the nurseries will be full of all kinds of inspiration.

Very cute house - Congratulations!

Here is a quick mock up

Paint the red brick, white lattice and steps a dark grey green. Remove the huge shrubs. Plant low growing plants from the red bricks out past the corners of the house. Build square columns around the metal uprights and increase the size of the porch railings.

1. Replace the wrought iron with post and beam & wood railing.

It would be great if you could remove the concrete steps and create a meandering stone walkway up to the house and flank it with low plantings. The porch needs real columns and a more impressive front door. Remove the shrubs.

You would be surprised how much you can do with plants. Take out the two overgrown shrubs. Choose some smaller shrubs instead to plant across the front of the porch. Flowering shrubs and perennials will give you color with less maintenance. Depending on sun exposure, try weigela, hydrangea, barberry (if you don't mind thorns), peonies, azaleas, or any number of others. A couple of pots of annuals on either side of the landing will add a pop of color. You can fill in with day lilies, irises, daffodils and tulips, too. And you don't have to do it all at once. And give the yard a boost of fertilizer periodically.

Cute house, Congratulations! Pardon the scratchyness of this sketch. May I suggest fun paint colors, clearing out shrubs, planting evergreen foundations plants, new light fixture and large planters (or tables/garden seats) as your initial effort. Best, Diane

Very nice bones. Agree with most of previous comments. The lattice and red brick foundation keep drawing my eye. Paint the brick, disguise the lattice. Or cover both with low plantings. Great potential for appealing facade!

I like most of the suggestions already. Meatier square columns. Paint the red brick to match the house color. Take out the 2 shrubs. Put in evergreen shrubs in front of the lattice. Be sure to check the "mature height" at your local nursery. Keep mature height down to 3 feet or less. I think the reason the steps leading up to the house are a different color is that they are painted wood whereas the steps in the foreground are cement. Is that right ? If so, I would paint the steps a lighter shade of grey and power wash the cement steps to brighten them up.

I like the comments on bushes in particular. You could soften the lines with some low ornamental grasses that are full and lush. Very easy up keep as well. Cute house though.