I'm in MI so the evergreens would be a beautiful and safe partner in this :) Thank you Barbara!

I know it's hard to wait, but for a first spring in a new house you might want to try dressing up the entry with container plantings and annuals to see how the season feels, how light hits etc and make more permanent choices (shrubs, perennials and so on) after having observed it once through. We are entering year two in a new house and I feel like I'm just settling in to what I really want. That said, I think the style (so sweet!) lends itself to a blue door and a cottage garden!

Sherwin Williams has squares 12" x 12" that you can paint and then stick to the wall or door to see how you like it. I would try a red door with the black shutters and leave the trim white. But you could try the black or blue with the squares and see what color works better. The idea of evergreens for our area is a good choice, even a mature hydrangea would be nice since it will bloom most of the summer, but you would have to make sure it symmetrical. I like the idea of having shrubs up the walkway but it could be a high maintenance item.

I would leave the black shutters, paint the front door black,and remove the storm door. Two pots with red flowers would look great on the front porch.

This advice makes me feel very supported! We don't know many people in our area yet and it leaves me feeling very appreciative for this community to talk design with!!

I say paint the door your favorite color in a shiny finish of course! Then landscape accordingly to accent. Hey I'm in FL and my house is coral cream and my front wrought iron screen door is tropical lagoon turquoise. Living in places like Key West and Miami opens your heart and mind to vibrant happy color! Celebrate diversity....I can imagine yellow, bright coral or blue...whatever makes YOU happy unless you have neighborhood restricts- go for it.

I guess one more question I might have for the more experienced renovator - I don't love the style of the front door with the single small window. I prefer craftsman (but they might be way too spendy) or the six window style front door. My question is - is it better to paint the steel core door we have in a shape that doesn't jazz my heart or buy a cheaper door made of less quality material in a shape I prefer more? This is a rookie question. I can feel it.

http://www.hometips.com/buying-guides/exterior-entry-doors.html

Not too rookie - this is just a budget timing and a bit of a style question. A craftsman door is not right for a cape cod house - this door is perfect. You could go to a door with half light glass with a simple division - like the door I show here. Not great in a winter climate unless you need a lot more light in your front room - then it may be worth it.

However, for now, as new homeowners .. if you paint the door you have a wonderful color then this door will grow on you and that is a $30 can of paint. There is no entry door available (even an inexpensive one) that is in that budget range. Since a door is something you can't take with you, and this is your first house, I'm going to suggest every time you covet a $1000 door, that you buy something half that much (when budget allows) that you could take with you - a beautiful real wool rug, a meaningful piece of art, a comfortable chair, and so on and so on. When you move, you can kiss the door that brought you all the things that can last forever with you. And - everytime you take a trip with your co-owner, buy a piece of art or sculpture to mark the trip. Some art can take the form of lighting, or rugs, or even some furniture. In this way, the things you see around your home will bring back fond memories.

Walkway is not appropriate for walking to and from, should not have a pond in the middle of the walkway, kind of dangerous.

There are many doors out that that will lend themselves to your cap cod style home. I say don't mess with a door you're not happy with. Buy a lovely front door, in a color that says welcome! You'll be happy overtime you drive up to your home.

Our first home looked very similar to yours, I love a cape! A fun color on your front door would really pop, I think any color you like will work, I'm partial to blues and greens myself. The shutters really don't bother me and I think will be less noticeable when the door is a showstopper! As far as plantings at the foundation I would look for some tall columnar evergreens for each outside edge of the front border. I also adore birch trees and think one would look great in your front yard. Congrats on your new home and have fun this spring!

I can visualize a mossy green door-maybe a dark rich olive color. That would seem to go well with the brick and the black shutters.

At the left corner of the house I would plant forsythias (don't know how to spell it). The happy sailor blue I saw here looked so great. I would do some plantings along the walk and remove and replant the shrubs at the front. The yellow flowers, some white and the blue door will make this sweet house sweeter. Container pots of flowers would also add to the "cute" factor.

Ponds by walkways can be REALLY dangerous. Our elderly Aunt fell in one and broke her hip a few years back.

I like the existing foundation plantings. What about a flowering crab further out, diagonally, to break up the corner and lead the eye toward the house? Definitely agree that, at least, the shutters need to be the correct size -- even if they don't close (expensive) they should look like they could close and cover the entire window. Also agree that the door should be a color that you love and could use in other places to tie it in. Your house is a beautiful example of a much-loved style, but it isn't a museum.

If you decide to go red on your front door Sherwin Williams Radish SW6861 is a great shade with just enough pink to make it yummy.

If that's red brick I see on your house, do NOT paint the door a bluey red. You won't like it. A true Chinese Red would be wonderful. In my opinion. Also, if you live in a cold part of the country plant evergreens. Flowers and flowering shrubs are nice but they die in the winter and then that's when the evergreens shine. You need both. I read that a beautiful garden must look beautiful all four seasons or it's not a beautiful garden.

grover nailed it with the "Cute house" pic.

You have a charming home. I love a red front door, but I believe in this case red would not pop as much as choosing the opposite color...blue! Look at EVERY possible shade of Medium - dark blue (stay clear of light blue in this case) and make a statement. Paint the shutters the same color.

For the landscaping, 1st pull out what looks like juniper shrubs. Have you considered adding a porch feature at the front door? The width of the steps leading up to the front door looks like a good one for a small & welcoming porch. Something large would be out of proportion to the home. Contact a landscape architect for ideas to also update the straight through sidewalk (it can make a home look stiff & deters from the charm of it). Get all the free advise you can...friends, neighbors, local plant nursery. Drive around your area & take pics/make a note of the plants & designs you like best. Then check with an arborist or landscape architect to ask if those plants would work in your yard. Better to know before you spend a bunch on plants that are not suitable in your soil.

What ever your plan, take it one step at a time. Enjoy the process!

Have fun in your new home.

Love your new house!! I think a deep navy, rich red, inky green or black would be great door colors. Buy a few small pots and try out a few. Don't get rid of the shutters!!!

Oh...and boxwood under the windows!

I agree with uniquleyom. Give the door a splash of whatever accent color you like and be brave about your choice. If you love aqua or yellow or mossy green - choose that. Personally I think red or black or dark green while classic, is a bit too safe and boring. you have a lovely classic cape but unless you want to 'go historical' theres no need, IMHO. Note: if you do a great job of prep and paint now, it will be easy to repaint if you want a change later. the shutters would look certainly better larger and'/or functional. But , unless they are really bugging you, I think they can wait. as can replacing the door with something you like better..

spend the money and time on landscape instead. way more fun!

we had a 'meet the neighbors and design our landscape' party when we moved in to our new/old house. BBQ , some margaritas, and 4 big posters of our yard layout with erasable colored pencils available. great party! we got several creative ideas and lots of plants donated also! of our neighbors turned out to be a contractor. He brought his laptop over near the end of the day and digitized all the ideas for us with his design software.

Remove your non-functioning, too-small shutters please. Design features should always be authentic! My recommendation for your front door color (keep the steel door) is either red (SW-6866 Heartthrob) or black (SW-6258 Tricorn Black). Both are excellent Feng Shui colors for the front door. Please also remove the storm door and let your front door shine. Speaking of shine... go with a satin finish. Gloss is too much! Add a new coir welcome mat and two potted plants and you're curb appeal is transformed! I don't mind your shrubs at all. That could be next year's project! You have a beautiful home. Good luck!

Paint the door the color that pleases you! However, I would consider the direction the front door faces and if sunlight would cause your chosen color to fade.

For planting ideas I would walk around the neighborhood and get a feel for what for the plants that are common to the area and what you think are very interesting and would like in your yard. This could be a nice opportunity to meet a neighbor and ask them about a tree, shrub, flowers that they have in their yard that you admire! Take your time you are making a house your home!

Lots of people have mentioned' authentic' especially with regard to the shutters. this isn't an 1800 cape though. It looks to be a 1940s or 50s or so version ? just guessing... if so, authentic would mean a turquoise or maroon and pink bathroom on the inside and a tiny closed off kitchen :) and this size shutter probably is also (unfortunately) authentic to the house. I do think larger shutters would balance the windows though they might not be 40's authentic. But certainly don't need to be expensive functional ones. just need to look functional and substantial.

It is an adorable house.

I like the foundation plantings.

It looks lovely just as it is actually.

Just some advice about changing things out in a house that DH and I learned long ago when we bought a charming little house and the advice is to be careful to learn what you have before replacing anything.

When we moved into our charming older house we thought that we should change out the locks. Fortunately the locksmith clued us in the we had very nice brass locks and that the cylinders could be reset inexpensively.

We also had a light fixture that had paint slopped on it and I wanted for a long time to replace it. When we finally took it down and cleaned it we discovered that it was high quality and solid brass.

So the whole idea is do not change out high quality for trendy. At least until you discover what you actually have. The fixtures in an older home are often better than what you can get at the hardware store. It is the kind of thing that you learn through time. :)

Also, with an established garden do not be too quick to pull plants out. At least until you identify the plants. Watch for emerging perennials.

I went to an estate sale in an old home that had an overgrown, but fabulous garden. I would have loved to have had permission to remove some divisions from that garden. It also had boxwoods that were at least 80 years old. That old box grows slowly. Yes they were a bit too big along the walkway, but I would have very carefully cut them back.

The new owners removed everything. The garden was scraped clear, every tree, every bush, every perennial. Just like a new house built on bulldozed land. It made me sick, but they probably thought that they were improving the place.

Such a cute Cape. I would buy black paint for the door and see how you like it. Paint is such an inexpensive way to change a look while also improving it. If it doesn't work, it's only paint. Even the cheapest paint works, although many people believe only Ben.Moore can be used. Over the years I have painted everything using all brands and honestly, they are all the same.

I happen to love the facade of your house and would not change the shutters or paint the door. Painting steel doors is a PIA and can look like a drippy mess for a novice.

Instead, I would invest in landscaping. If you like the evergreens (they are functional in a MI winter), keep them, but plant other things in front of them....like spring bulbs (tulips, daffodils), line your path with allysums. Add some late summer and fall flowering plants to complete the season.

Maybe you need a tree or two in the yard.

I would like to do a thin brick veneer on the steps with blue stone treads and on top of landing ,and build a blue stone walk at least 4' wide

I have the same house. mines is an expanded cape. we painted the door brick red. The fixtures on the door is gold it instantly changed the curb appeal. we also have shutters and spray painted them black. we added a beautiful welcome mat and 2 big bright beautiful flower pot (yellow with blue) . Few bucks and the exterior looks different. p.s we plan on power washing the house when it gets a little warmer

My house is pretty similar but unfortunately shutters won't fit. I think your house would look naked without shutters so I would keep them! We also have the boring, heavy boxwoods on either side of the front door. We trimmed them back a bit to lighten them up, then dug out about 5 more feet of flower bed in front of them in a curving shape. We put in roses, blue plumbago, salvia, a lemon tree, and some snapdragons. I think you just need some variety and color in your beds. I also like the rendering someone did of plants along your front walkway.

If you are on a budget...I would keep the shutters for now, but would get a new door...with 3 window pains at top, or a solid door with 'lights' on the surround, around the door...you should paint your garage door BLACK...it will look so much nicer. You could paint your Front door black, with the surround white. The door could also be white or a French Blue...nothing Key West. Your foundations plantings are fine...what you need is a fore-planting of a different texture and lighter or darker color. To 'ground' your house...I would add a sidewalk planting or a fence gate. The idea of adding a serpentine planting of annuals will look ridiculous 8 months of the year. You can add touches of low growing annuals or perennials for touches of color. Keep the front more formal...experiment with looser plantings in your back yard.
D2 Design Studio

Barbara Alverez had great suggestions!!

I'd do a bright yellow front door... keep the shutters and add wrought iron planter boxes on 2nd floor Windows.

someone posted, "gone are the days when we actually use the shutters." Not really...and if you have functional storm shutters, you can get a discount on your homeowners insurance. I'm shopping it now and I've been asked by 3 agencies so far. And if you live on the East coast, and Southeast coast, I'm sure that goes double!

My thoughts on plantings is to keep things formal do to the style of house. Symmetry is great with cape cod houses.

Formal does not have to be expensive I might add.

I do agree that right sized, functioning shutters would look wonderful. I have had mine for 20 years and I do love them so. I do look fortified when hurricanes threaten. Your cost will not be great as you only have the two front facing windows.

johsmi, what material are your shutters made from? Still functional after 20 years sounds good.

I ordered my shutters and hinges from a company in New England. They are raised wooden panels, I think pine. I bought the shutter dogs from Colonial Williamsburg. I maintain my shutters with paint every 3 or 4 years. There is no reason they should not last 50-100 years if taken care of.

I am having a hard time finding the "pond" that is supposed to be part of the front walkway. Was that an April Fool's Day prank?

johsmi, I would have thought so, but with the wood they are using now it is not a sure thing. We have problems with our door trim rotting. Even the ones we replaced with molding that is treated to not rot.

And the door facing that is way off the ground and under a wide overhang rotted too.

My sister worked for a mill work company and said that the old lead paint preserved wood better. I think that it was higher quality wood back then.

I have heard that about wood today, perhaps I have just been lucky. Mine don't seem any different than when they were first installed.

If you replace your shutters, I would keep them black. I like the style in JudyG's picture, as well as the door style. I would either keep the door that you have or go with something like this. Remove the storm door, and paint your door either black or red. Put potted flowers on each side of your top step. Keep your shrubbery and gradually add what you like.

Paint the shutters a shiny black or tuxedo gray (match roof) and the door a pomegranate (Sherwin Williams). Dig out the shrubs and cut in flower beds on both sides of the porch. Visit 2-3 garden centers to see what you like, look online at red brick homes with painted doors and select a color. Look through garden books at your local book store - take phone pics of those you like. Research and then select plants you like in colors that will enhance your home. Add a bird bath. Gardens are always evolving - some things survive, others don't. Plants need to be divided and shared. Ask your family/friends if they have plants to share with you. There are no mistakes in gardening; it's what you like and the Lord has provided much to pick from. (Check bloom time on the plants you purchase to insure you have color for each season; put in a few annuals to spruce up the garden with continuous color too.) HAVE FUN!

Farrow & ball drawing room blue , have Home Depot make it in Behr paint

move the house numbers to the side of the door you can bearly see it. A larger lantern. If painting is too time consuming a wreath would be nice. Red mulch and yes larger shutters. Impatients are inexpensive flowers u can add to a pot or just in front of the green shrubs. Still a very cute place

oh plant some grass on the front lawn. weed and feed. Dont break your bank. live in the house for a while before changing too much. Every house has its own feel and 6 months from now u may decide on something else. No rush