don't know about a porch...but off the top of my head, these would improve your curb appeal:
get rid of the non-functional shutters, replace front door with a more modern one painted a bright color, and repaint siding and trim a neutral, perhaps a medium to dark gray. bigger modern house numbers next to the door. get rid of everything in that planting bed to the left, including the big hose reel. re-landscape with some low foundation plantings and a small tree/shrub in the spot where the house numbers are now. change the configuration of the walkway to be more of a 90 degree thing. think square and rectangle for your planting beds too.
i love ranches! and yours has such nice big windows. :)

Thanks for the great ideas Pamela! I definitely will get rid of the shutters, and I thought the same about the walkway.

Nice diamond windows. House might look bare without shutters. I like the color combo of the house below. Plant the same shrubs all along R & L fronts: India hawthorne or Azaelia or something similar. On right side of front door have a white trellis as on Laurie Liess' house (she's a Houzz designer), scroll down a bit http://purestylehome.blogspot.com/2010/04/just-year-ago.html

I agree with taking off the shutters. I think you have to add architecture somehow and the least expensive would be to make the curb appeal "artsy". Allow the structure of the house to become the backdrop to some pretty garden spaces, perhaps a large piece of garden sculpture that is colorful and tall in some rich and fun colors....choose tall and colorful plants for your gardens and be sure the borders are irregular...as well as a meandering walkway. I think in a situation like this, working to find the unusual in accents is important....find a very unique and colorful bench, door (or simply a handforged screen door with interesting metalwork on the bottom), mailbox, house numbers, sculpture...small bits of wow (don't overdo) that tell those arriving that there is something special here. Think of the house as a body-hugging white dress and think of how well it would show off great jewelry. Don't over-do...think modern yet eclectic....keep things in scale but take the time to accessorize with unusual pieces.

I think you will find many helpful ideas, along with drawings and detailed information, on the website for This Old House. If you google "this old house photoshop ranch" I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the great designs and ideas. Have fun!

Note the photos on this site that were referenced all have shutters! I would keep the shutters and just repaint them in a color to your liking. They frame an otherwise boring window edge. We added shutters to a large front window, and mounted a metal curly-que decor item across the top. Tons of compliments!

We also "framed" our front yard with single & double rows of retaining wall bricks, with roebellini palms and drought resistant, colorful lantana, using rustic red rubber mulch (no bugs/rotting like wood mulch). We couldn't afford to widen our front cement walk, so we added brick on either side, which expands the visual and usable space.

Along the front of the house (front door to side gate), we marked out a 5' depth area, edged with brick and filled in with rubber mulch, and used large, 18" stepping stones for walking access. Then we added 2 large pots, on either side of the front window with split leaf philodendrons and aparagus fern.

I would paint the front door in a coordinating paint color.

I! did a unsubscribe by mistake. I want to keep getting Houzz

We bought ours recently with a similar color scheme and shutters. Chalky peeling white paint, very oxidized chalky brown. It was awful. There were other problems that are in process, but we went first with paint and getting rid of the shutters. That made a huge difference. We also worked on the landscaping out front. Definitely pick three colors, trim to coordinate with the roof color, main color and accent color for the front door. Paint the garage door and the utility door the same as the main house color. Once you do that, there should be a block party to honor you for improving the look of that house so much.

I like your idea of a small porch across the front toward the garage, but I would make it a slightly raised terrace with stone or brick face rather than a wood structure. The edge could be plain or a slightly raised area, planter or platform for containers of plants. You need to make it wide enough to accommodate some seating AND a walkway. Our front porch is six feet from house to edge, not wide enough for chairs and a walkway, so at least 8 feet wide.

The planting and seating area to the left of the door is nice, and the hanging pots look good but a little overwhelmed, maybe use bigger pots in your accent color. The hose reel is more functional than decorative. We got a big earthenware pot at Home Depot to wrap our hose into. It is maybe a little more trouble than a reel but looks so much better sitting next to the front door.

Is your roof in good condition? It's difficult to tell from the photo. When it is time to replace it a textured shingle in perhaps a wood color might be nice. Pick colors for the house itself thinking of the roof color for the future is not ready now to replace it.) I like the shutters and I painted mine the same color as the front door, a light aqua. With a white house you can try any color with your accents and change them as often as you like! A forest green is always pretty and clean looking with white. I would leave the walkway going to the driveway, widen it and perhaps let it curve and widen in an unusual shape. (You can put hoses down on the ground in positions and look at them...then cut along the design if you like it.)The small area to the right of the walk at the house facing the house (as your photo does) could be enlarged when you do the walk. How about wild flowers there? Back them with a tall evergreen under the house numbers (and do make them larger) or a low red maple or small dogwood. A few low lying bushes put 3' from the foundation on the other side (so they have room to grow) and a pretty planter to hide the hose. If you like the hanging baskets I would put them equa-distant each side of your front door. The chain link fence could be prettily replaced with a picket fence and gate or lattice topped board on board fence section. (That's also a nice way to hide garbage cans when not in the garage.) If you don't like the wildflower thought, then you could consider a bench that wraps around the trunk of a tree you plant there or put periwinkle in that entire section under a small tree. Have fun! There wasn't anything evergreen here when I purchased my ranch and now it looks like a landscaped wonderland that attracts all kinds of nature. When you can afford to I would replace the garage door with a non-maintenance white one with shaped windows of your liking. In the meantime I would paint this one white.

I say keep the shutters. I would place the porch in front of the bedroom windows up to the door. Maybe place a planter box under the living room window. Or a narrow pergola across the living room section. This would create a little shade for that window and add character. Change the pathway from the drive-way to the front door. Maybe more of an L. Definitely paint, but that would be your choice to your taste. Good luck!

STAIRS/DECK FROM YOUR DRIVEWAY LEADING TO YOUR FRONT DOOR WITH A PERGOLA OVER TOP. NO SHUTTERS.

The trees behind your house seem to dwarf it. I don't know if cutting any of them is an option, but it would make a tremendous difference. Especially the one directly behind the chimney. It adds visual weight at the wrong side of the house. We read left to right. Visually our eyes are accustomed to the 'heavier' end being to the left and the 'lighter' end being to the right.

If cutting a few of the trees is not an option you should plant a tree to the left hand side of the front. You should do this anyway to add balance. Plant it out from the house the same distance as the facade (of the house) is tall. For instance if the house is 10 feet tall from bottom of foundation to the bottom of the roof the tree should be out 10 feet. Ultimately the tree should only grow a couple of feet taller than the house. You don't want another tree dwarfing it.

The chimney should be painted the same color as the the body of the house to add some visual weight to that side of the house without over powering it.

Paint the entire facade (body) of the house the same color...including the garage doors. They are not a feature to show off by using a different color. Minimize them and make the house itself appear larger.

If the roof is in good shape paint your house a soft gray to play up the windows while harmonizing with the roof. White trim will make it appear fresh and clean. Get rid of the shutters. A new front door would go a long way in adding curb appeal. Paint it red. Along with the white trim your house will be cheerful and inviting.

Window treatments have a huge impact on curb appeal. Use the same style blinds at each window. Drapes in similar colors or at least the linings on all the draperies should be the same. There is harmony in repetition.

A wooden slat fence running horizonally would be more appropriate and better suited to the house.

New light fixtures, house numbers and new planting beds will make a tremendous difference.

Have the driveway resurfaced when you are having the sidewalk redone.

Take a look at this for more ideas:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20346181,00.html

And last but not least, if you decide to add a more substantial entrance you might add a portico like the one pictured.

To me, the trees in back are a backdrop for your house. Rather than dwarfing it, they set it off. I would not touch them. A nice size tree, or one that will become larger, would be wonderful in front. If your area is right for it, Hop Hornbeam has a nice shape and gets house height fairly quickly. It will grow happily in Zones 5-9, right down to the mid-south. It is medium size, up to 40 feet tall at full height. Think about where the shade will fall to get the best shade for the front of your house.

Here is a slide show of 21 small trees, a lot with beautiful flowers, and suited to different planting zones. http://www.bhg.com/gardening/trees-shrubs-vines/trees/popular-small-trees/#page=1

ikwewe: good tree slideshow. My 3 favorites are dogwood, Japanese maple & crepe myrtle.

Nice responses! The first one seems most affordable while updating and complementing the existing design of the house.

Wow!! So many wonderful ideas! Thank you! Will post updated pictures for sure. I live near Vancouver, BC Canada. Pacific Northwest. Not sure of my zones though. The house is facing east. The big trees at the rear of the house are 125 ft cedar trees, and not really able to trim them. We were thinking of re claiming the garage as living space, and moving the driveway to the left of the house, as there is rear access for an RV or extra parking. Then maybe building a free standing garage/shop at the rear. Also replacing the windows, as they are single pane, and a few are damaged.

j222b, those are also my faves, especially dogwood. It has a form like a Japanese painting.

Tonya, Vancouver, BC is wonderful for growing, and it is Zone 8. Lucky you!

Ugh! Other than the recessed front door, your house looks just exactly like mine did! I also live in the Pac NW :) and my house faces East. As to what I did...

I replaced the large living room picture window with a bay for more light (Pac NW! :) as well as the feeling of more space in my small living room. If a bay is not an option, then at least remove the shutters from your living room window. With them removed, your (fushia?) basket will look centered.

Found a new fantastic front door with leaded windows at a garage sale for $15 :)

Keep the shutters on the two bedroom windows and add either window boxes or a plant shelf with pot sized holes to drop potted plants into.

I also added a deck starting about 2' to the left of the front door and continuing to the edge of the garage (which I've added onto; bringing it forward with the idea of eventually turning it into a family room)... you could end it at the driveway. Incidentally, I removed my deck railing (code doesn't require one any way since my deck is barely 6-8" off the ground and 6' deep). This creates an unobstructed view of the garden from my living room and makes the deck feel more open.

I curved my path to make it soft... there are no hard edges in nature! I then created within the whole of that curve, a garden bed in front of the deck, ending at the garage and driveway. I planted ferns, bleeding hearts, prim roses and a vine maple... beautiful fall colors, bare in winter (lets in light) and leafy during the summer for shade and privacy when sitting out there with my morning coffee (I placed a bench in front of the window).

Small plantings run from the left side of the deck to the other end of the house and under the 2 bedroom windows. Ofcourse I have planting beds running along the front, along side the road as well.

My house is currently gray, which with the 2 150' cedars in my front yard, is waaay too dark, so I'm re-painting my house a soft pale yellow-white with white trim and deep dark moss green shutters. Front door is a deep purple as is the bench on my deck... think pansys, not eggplant! (I have a lot of yellow and purple flowers).

By the way, your garage door is cute; don't replace it but do paint it the same color as the body of the house; you want your focus to be on your front door, deck and plantings; not the garage!

I assume that like mine, your outside faucet is between the 2 bedroom windows... I suggest moving the hose reel there. I got one that sits on the ground isn't as in your face. It sits on a small exposed agragate cement "pad" with scalloped edgers (you can use brick) to keep it in place. The ferns and other plantings on either side help to distract the eye from it. Oh and keep the cedars out back! Our cedars here in the Pac NW are beautiful and can be wind-sailed if that's a worry.

Hope this helps!

Yes, You need some type porch to be able to get in out out of your house with a covering and if you can make it larger you will enjoy it so much. Sitting on my porch is one of my favorite things to do. Then you will be inspired to make flower beds and things will look lovely.
Do not cut the trees unless they are hanging over your home and are a hazard.
You just need more trees in the front yard.

In addition to the porch/walk changes, a more appealing paint combination (less contrast than the current), wider shutters, and new and repositioned house numbers would go a long way. This is a low-budget or possible DIY option, or it could be the first step in a more grand plan. Not a fan of window boxes unless can be kept up year round.