Does your path end at the side of your steps? If so, bring it around to the front. I like the idea of some low maintenance shrubs and perennials in your bed. I'd bring the bed on the right side of the the photo out to include your tree and end it on the side of the house. It will make your beds look more natural and add some curves.

I agree with Tan. Also mulch around tree. Go to a Depot, buy a cedar post for extra large mailbox. Does the driveway need a power wash or is that a stain job fading?

I also agree, must lighten up all paintable surfaces, picking color from brick. Shutters might be a nice touch. Greenery and a vibrant front door are a must.

Hi Hayley: How much work are you up for or budgeted for?? My first suggestion is to paint the brick the same color as the house, easy really! Garage door the same. Paint all the trim light...white or such, front door a little pop of color. Yellow and grey work nice....Shrubs along the sidewalk and driveway, low size(liriopes)? and 3 tallish flowering trees in your flower bed, 1 by garage door, 1 between the 2 smaller windows and 1 at the end of the house with mid size shrubs leading down to that 2nd tree. I love shutters but the brickwork messes that up and shorter shutters make the house look chopped up. Enjoy all the suggestions, hope this helps...katywernerpaints.com "Colors from nature inspire"

Yeah, I'd be tempted to paint this busy brick -- it's always going to be hard to work around.

I do think it detracts from your home, I have a rancher, I get the dilemmas!

Yes, I agree that you should paint out that brick. And maybe one day you could build the front door a portico to give it some presence!

Paint the brick charcoal grey, siding lighter grey, limestone-beige trim and entry door lime green or orange. I will avoid planting against the house, you always want to keep moisture away from foundation. May be a low concrete wall with mortar wash finish on the front property line, including the mailbox (same color as entry door) with it... It will keep the kids in a safer yard. Do your planting between sidewalk and yard wall.
Or, cover your brick with corrugated metal, rusty finish or colored. Choices are endless. Then paint the cap brick same as trim...

This is a good color palette with a lime green door
http://houzz.com/photos/1069993

http://houzz.com/photos/35403

http://houzz.com/photos/438405

I agree with everyone else. Please paint the brick, make the door pop with color and do some landscaping. The right exterior lights will create a welcoming presence.

Ke

So I like the painted brick idea, and I like the top painted white. So maybe I paint the house and brick same color of brownish grey and all the trim around the windows and doors white?or a greenish white? Then the front door purple or green?
What would the garage door be? White or grey/brown?
There is about 7ft between the house and the trees
And there is another crab Apple tree next to the choke cherry tree on the right, maybe a bench around the base of the tree with matching grey/brown paint?

I have rhubarb and delphiniums in the right but they are so thin and only go up half of the brick, I could put raised concrete beds in to match the left side but I still have an exhaust pipe to conceal (exactly 1.5ft right of the porch and about the hight
Of the landing)
I would make sure the foundation is sealed before putting in another concrete planter.
Would it look bad to put planter boxes under the small windows only? Or would it need to be even and also under the big window!??

Thank you for all your responses!!

Hayley: Are you still searching for a good word or two, Here is another project or two or three for you and your other half to tackle? The kids should be involved in the work, too.

You have a wonderful play space in front of your garage for all those tricycles to race, and room to chalk in some hopscotch and artwork in chalk. I suggest putting some gates across the drive at the second expansion joint from the street, which would provide one parking space at the end, say 8-10 feet from the street. The gate contractor could provide for the gates to drop a foot when swung into the drive, and then up again when opened.

The gates could be swung from a post on each side, and that would look good when they are open as well, up at the two sides of the driveway. You could also extend the same fence design across the front of the yard, with a little gate and walk in the center of the yard or over by the tree on the right, allowing access to the mailbox, and for visitors parked at the street.

If you don't do the fence across the yard, toward the front property line, you might put a hedge across the front line (and maybe up along the inside of the drive) to catch the kids and their play balls etc. before they roll into the street.

Give the monsters some place to workout, so they are good and tired before their bath & bed.

You might consider a few more trees out there at the property line, so you don't have to stare at the neighbors' homes and cars, when you are looking out the windows at the playground.

And don't forget to get the kids working with you in the vegetable garden out back. Make sure they don't develop nature-deficit disorder, by spending their time on computers and TV.

Enjoy a safe front yard with your wonderful family, and let me know when you cook the rhubarb pie!

cascio.offsite@gmail.com

You could stain the offending white bricks and not have to loose the whole 'no maintenance' joy of brick.

Id stucco the house leave the bricks in change doors in windows

White washing the brick would soften the look and help it blend better with the chimney brick, then paint siding an off white (as suggested above) to match the resulting white tone of the brick.
Do your kids know the rhubarb leaves are poisonous? Be sure they do for safety. I would put low growing junipers in the planter to give some winter greenery. What are the sandbags for? Is there a drainage issue?
http://houzz.com/photos/2536808

No drainage issue, just bags of leaves

Hayley, I like your idea of painting the brick and siding the same color of brownish-gray, with white trim, with a contrasting door. I like Lavish's picture above.

One good way to choose colors that work well together, is to use the suggested colors on the manufacturers' websites. For example, on the Sherwin Williams site you would search for exterior greys, and maybe choose Spalding Grey. If you click on Coordinating Colors for it, you get Divine White and Plum Dandy. That avoids the whole issue of undertones and guessing - that work has been done for you by the pros. Then if you think Divine White has too much color, (in this example), you can get the paint store to "cut" it with white to make it lighter, but you still have the same undertones and can be sure it will look good. If you think Spalding Grey isn't right, you can click on Similar Colors and start again with a different grey/beige, maybe Essential Gray, and it will give you Ethereal White and Rookwood Blue Green to coordinate. You get the idea I am sure.

Your roof looks pretty neutral but you might want to bring a piece to the paint store to take that into consideration.

Once you think you have what you want, get samples and paint a good size board to be sure. But at least you have a good start.

Your house would look good with a base of evergreen shrubs across the whole front. You don't need the trouble and expense of replicating the concrete bed - just be sure they are the same width on both sides of the house.

Go to a local nursery and they will help you choose plants that, at maturity, will be the right size. Bring the measurements of your beds with you, and a picture of your house. Also measure the window locations. Find out know how many hours of sunlight each bed gets. It might be different on each side, because of the trees.

Window boxes are a lot of work and I don't recommend them.

I don't think your beds are deep enough to have both evergreens and flowers, although you may be able to plant some in between until the shrubs are mature. In my view, plants such as rhubarb are delphiniums aren't great for landscaping the house because they only look good for a few months in summer. Veggies are best in their own beds. Landscaping the house is its own objective.

That leads me to your front door entrance. It is a one-person entrance. A welcoming porch would be a great addition but that would involve moving the walkway as well to make the porch deeper. Maybe a job for another year! That would enable you to have deeper beds in front of the house, and plant annual flowers in front of your evergreens. It would be a welcoming place for your guests, and a place to put a few comfy chairs to watch your little ones playing in the front.

I believe the brick on the house is too high and looks overbearing, so I would recommend that you remove the brick and install siding that matches what you already have. Usually I do not care for taupe siding, but yours is a beautiful and warm color. I would recommend that you paint all the trim white and install shutters that match the roof. If you are replacing the roof, you might consider a white or off-white metal roof with matching shutters that will give a light and airy atmosphere to the house. By stove pipe do you mean what appears to be a chimney to the right of the garage door? I would recommend you paint the chimney brick white and paint the concrete band the taupe color of the siding. You might brighten the appearance of your home by installing white-painted window boxes and filling them with colorful blooms. Variegated shrubs (meaning white-tipped leaves) such as euonymus and weigela and ground cover like snow-on-the-mountain and variegated periwinkle will bring light and variety to the landscape.

I agree with other posters that the dark brown garage door looks a bit dismal, so I agree that it should match the siding. You might keep the dark entry door as sometimes a dark color makes a statement for an entry way. However, I agree a larger porch would look better, and I believe a rail on one side of the porch and steps is needed for safety. I would suggest you find a coordinating color for the porch floor and ceiling and treads of the steps, probably some shades of taupe. Then, paint the edge of the porch floor and the backs or risers of the steps white to match the suggested trim and make the entire porch area stand out.