I like all the previous advice, so I limit my contributions to two.

1. When you install the walk from the street, aim it first at the left end of the house with the handsome tree and the bed which you will fill with low shrubs and groundcovers and bulbs.
   
   You can bring your groceries in through the kitchen door, which is where the kids and the neighbors enter as well. so you no longer need the walk from the drive to the front door, just widen your plant bed.
   
2. A few suggestions for plants to look at, when you head over to the garden center, after having your soil turned over and improved and tested as to it's pH acidity.
   
   Ajuga, Anemone, Campanula, Alyssum, Coreopsis, Hypericum, Dianthus, Liriope, Hemerocallis, Monarda, Primula, Sedum, Vinca minor and Pachysandra(under the tree), Phlox, Salvia, Verbena, Rosemarinus, Santolina, Teucrium, there are a ton to choose from, and most of them will do well under the tree as well.
   
   If you have preschoolers, be sure to involve them in the preparation and selection and planting, also.
   
   Tell your garden center adviser what the soil test has shown. If the plants you like the best are not of your soil type, change the soil by adding humus, sand, lime, whatever is appropriate that they recommend. If you are hesitant, ask them to do the work and guarantee their success. It is an important area to do right at the outset.
   
   While they are at it, you might have them increase the bed under the tree to reach out more toward the street, to bring a smile to your guests as they are heading back to their car.
   
   You might even place a couple chairs there to have coffee with your neighbor before the sun gets hot, or to wait for the school bus. Be better than sitting in the driveway, yes?
   
   Enjoy your great home!
   
   cascio.offsite@gmail.com

Thank you all for your creative ideas!!!

I love the idea of planter boxes and also the idea of adding a portico. I have no idea how much either one of those projects would run or who I could use to build them? I'm a single homeowner with no children. As far as installing a path from the left hand side, I am not sure how that would look... do you mean diagonally? If I choose (and can afford) that project, I was thinking of putting it straight to the side walk and removing the other existing path.

With landscaping, I will make sure I get the soil tested and go to a local nursery. I do not want to cover the windows up with a large plants, as I had to get two very large overgrown hedge bushes removed when the house was purchased. The bulbs and annuals sound great. I do need to remove that urn, you are right. I am looking into all of the types of plants you guys mentioned.

I think you need more presence of white on the front to balance the brick. The portico mentioned earlier would work but even simpler would be to add nice white handrails to the steps and anchor them with posts that are beefed up. It will add character to the front.

Then I would change the boundary of the left side front of the house "planting area" and instead of having it so square to the stoop, I would curve it out from the left corner to have it gracefully curve to meet the sidewalk partway down. This way you will have a graceful curvature to your front planting bed. Boxwoods are pretty hardy and I would plant a low bunch of them across the front of the house. You need lots more greenery there.

Another vote for window boxes! They would look wonderful against your house, changed seasonally.

Also seconding the recommendation to go to a quality local nursery for both plants and advice. The right plants (and soil assessment) will make a world of difference. Better to choose plants that suit what you have than try to amend to make the soil fit what you want...unless you want to spend years babying your garden.

You have a very sweet welcoming home!

Don't go with shutters. I think you need a portico that will not only protect your door but give visitors a real entrance experience. You definitely need to see your local nursery for advise.

Definitely a portico!

I think the portico is a great idea, but if it is out of your budget, I would consider putting shrubs along the front of the house that match the ones that are there and then putting annuals in front of them for a nice layering effect. You can deepen those beds if you need additional room. Over time, redoing the walk way and adding the portico would be projects I would put on my list.

Please do not run the new walk straight from your door to the street. Wait until you are planning or placing your new plants and beds, and work out how to approach your new outdoor room from the street. Make it a pleasant journey, not a racetrack to your welcoming area, the guests will only see your front door, and when departing, will only see their car. not the experience that will bring them back to your door. Make it a relaxing journey, with pleasant memories to remember between visits.

Have fun with the process, it will show in the results.

cascio.offsite@gmail.com

You are right on! No shutters...they will never fit properly. Instead, trim out the windows and then paint the muntins black.

I would paint the muntins black. Maby put "Marcis sunshades" on the floorground windovs in black and white brick stripes. Then I would have long flowercontainers under the Windows. Lovely hanging grey,green and white flowers. Easy to replace after the seson. For the urn in front put round klipt buxbomtrees. If you are couradges have lots of grasstypes and lavenderplants oround the walkinpath. Strikt arranged. The can take the sun. Sorry for my spelling, i´m from Sweden. Love your hous.

You have a very classic house with nice proportions. You might want a less bright white and a brighter door, but other than that, the house looks nice. Stroll around your neighborhood, go to parks and see what shrubs they have. Pay attention to orientation. What works for your neighbors will work for you.

I like your house - it looks a lot like mine :)

I need much bigger light fixtures at the front door - on the wish list. But you can see that landscaping makes a difference.

Have you ever thought of" whitewashing" your brick facades, so the paint appears worn-off and the red brick peeks thru? I think that would look very unified with all of the other white trim that you have creating a large blank "canvas" which would allow other colors to "pop" such as your door color. It would also showcase any flowers and flowering shrubs that were in the light to deep pink range. I also love the idea of window boxes and creating a curved stone sidewalk. Some curves in the mulching and the curves in your sidewalk would help soften your curb appeal.

It looks like you may have a friendly, walkable neighborhood. Perhaps built in phases you may want to look at a front hardscape patio...like this http://houzz.com/photos/26590492 On a smaller scale it could make your front more inviting and make room for a fully potted front "garden" bypassing soil issues...

And I agree with the window boxes. Be brave with your front door color! A deep plum or emerald green could liven it up with the white trimmed windows. Getting simple pots (terra cotta, fiberglass or concrete) and painting them with the same bright lacquer as the door and planted with annual flowers could add another interesting layer

I think you need a more dominant entry feature (could be cast stone detailing like in the picture below). I would also consider a brick "slurry" or painting the brick to give it a fresh look. Some raised planters along the front would help break up the front facade. I would definitely use some ornamentals with some height to them on both sides of the front door. I have attached a couple pictures below.

Lovely home! I think the eye would travel well if you extended the bed around the tree with a mix of evergreen bushes of various sizes and white annuals to add definition and textual layers. (Think of the outline of the plantings you choose as a curving wave.) Extending this landscape bed from the tree to connect with the existing front bed would balance out the curb view. There is no need to develop the bed too much out toward the street. You're looking for your landscape plantings to balance with the scale of the house so if you build the beds out too far, the house will look smaller -- just make sure that the evergreen bush that you plant next at the end of the bed/next to the driveway, is larger than the round bushes that currently sit on either side of the front entrance. So ultimately you're looking the plantings to balance somewhat with the tree on the left. In my opinion, do this and you won't have to spend money at this time tearing up the existing walkway.

Some of the other comments advise you to amend the soil and working with a private garden centre to pick out plantings, which I believe is the way to move forward with this. I also think that punching up the color of your front door would complete the look! There are a few apps or sites that enable you to upload the photo and change the door color till you find a color you like. Later down the road you may want to invest in upgrading the hardscaping around the front door and walkway.

As much as I like the spiral evergreens, because they're a focal point they don't sit well where they are currently located, which is too close to the front entrance. It makes the entrance look even tighter than it is and not proportional to the size of the house. They could be moved somewhat out and over enough that they actuallly partially hide a bit of the round evergreens. Alternatively, once you build up the existing beds with bushes and annuals, the spirals could even be moved to the other side of the round bushes.

So all you need to do is take this photo to a recommended nursery and get ready to do some planting! Hope this helps. (p.s. I don't think flower boxes will complement the overall aesthetic look and style of your home)

About the soil in front of the house.

I had to dig mine fairly deeply and mix in soil conditioner.(Soil conditioner comes in bags from Lowes.)

I also have to keep an eye on soil moisture close to the front of the house.

Even though it has rained, it gets very dry in the foundation beds.

Also, a couple of big pots of flowering annuals can give color, but are easier to care for than trying to plant a lot in the ground. Smaller pots dry out too quickly, so make sure that they are big and use soil with the moisture retaining additive.

The evergreens you have look good, but they really need to be on the corners too.

Another thought is day lilies.

I added gables to mine

If you can't afford a portico, look into a pretty canvas awning over the front door, if only to protect visitors in bad weather. Bigger lights for sure. Enlarge the front bed to the left of the door. Put something that blooms and spreads, maybe small azaleas depending on where you live. Think big spaces, rather than small formal spaces, to balance the house. Paint the downspouts to blend with the brick, not white. White window boxes would really add interest, although probably not on every single window. I would consider someday replacing the front stoop with something wider and softer looking.

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Was the front door surround recently painted? It seems unnaturally white in comparison to the other trim. This could simply be an effect of the light. If it was recently painted I would either tone it down or repaint the other trim. The other option would be to beef-up the trim on the windows. The white storm door helps make the heavy white surround stand out too much. I think another door with no storm or storm and door the same color, possibly black would be attractive.
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The colonial is very traditional and I think a traditional looking landscape makes sense. Continue with the shrubs you have, adding some more. As another person commented, I don't think the spiral topiaries add much here and I would replace them with large, possibly footed, planters with flowers. (This would be the one high maintenance item in your landscape.)

I think a brick veneer on the steps and walk would be era appropriate. If you could afford to have the front stoop widened and the steps curved that would be even better...but expensive. An iron railing on both sides. Curved out on the bottom if it's within your budget. A wider curved walkway always feels gracious. Larger brass or black light fixtures to the sides of the door.

The shape of the crape myrtle (?) at the left of the house makes the house appear narrower. If your zone permits it I would plant a large-growing holly instead and plant one or two crape myrtles out, away from the house in the front lawn area.

You can plant low flowers in beds in front of the rounded shrubs (little leafed Japanese Holly or Boxwoods?) if you would like more color.

Wonderful ideas offered up in this discussion board. Almost every suggestion I was going to make had been made by the time I read each contribution. I'll offer a few I don't think have been made and champion a few which have.

1. No shutters. Aside from the fact there is no room they would not necessairly have been historically correct on your home. Don't sweat it.

2. Do put in a walk way to the front door and do cover the front steps with the same material. I would also recommend, if budget allows, tearing up the existing walk from the drive to the door and repaving in whatever material you choose for the other path. Make the new pathe curvilinear. It will soften the very straight lines of your home and yard.

Moving On:

1. Paint the front door a beautiful color. I don't want to suggest anything because from the picture I can't really tell the true color of the brick and don't have access to the software of ebc3 above who has offered wonderful suggestions. The blue door rudy4dawgs is showing is a great example of the use of color on a front door. I live in a wooden colonial painted a light yellow with a purple front door. Color on the house can act like color in a garden when you're in shade or don't have much planting space OR don't have time to garden OR don't like wasting money and water resources on annuals.

shading and the fact I'm a horrible photographer makes the yellow look brighter than it really is. We're in the process of reworking our front yard beds. They took a hit over the winter in 2013, this picture is 2014. Picture taken as we are moving into fall. The path to the front door runs from the side walk and the drive way. The trellis on the left has a Sweet Autumn clematis growing on it which is thriving this year, 2015

2. Most importantly I would suggest putting resources into finding out what's going on with the soil in the front of your home. Check the Ph.! Also if you're planting close to a stone or concrete foundation the foundation may be leaching nutrients from the plants. This is always going to be the case you'll just know you need to amend your soil. I might also ask myself what if anything was planted in the area before you began planting your shrubs. If roses were once planted there and died of disease you can't replant roses. Try as you might planting roses where diseased roses once were planted rarely seems to work out.

3. We also don't know what your light considerations are. When, where and how much sun do you get. You need to know about soil and light before you plant anything. If you're planting sun loving shrubs in shade they're going to decline, shade loving plants and shrubs will burn and die out.

4. Water requirements need the same attention paid. You don't want to plant thirsty water loving plants next to a home foundation with compacted soil leaching nutrients. Of course soil can be ammended but not suitably for all plants and if you have to really work the soil you're going to have to keep after it year after year. Do you compost, how do you feel about chemical fertilizer, do you have access to cow or horse manure for a compost pile?

* If you've put good money into plants which have died off I'd put ample consideraton into the three questions above before doing any further planting near the house.

Other Plants to Consider:

1. Crype Myrtle: You're in planting zone 6a or 6b so Crype Myrtle will grow you may, however, need to pay attention to hard frost warnings in early winter and late spring.

2. Any number of macrophyllia hydrangea. The suggestion to use a local mom and pop nursery made earlier is a good one. They would be able to recommend a hydrangea which does well in your area. I'd also suggest planting one you don't see in every other yard. In the event of a blight going through the neighborhood, could be weather related, (last year a 90 degree day in April caused fungus to kill of many hydrangea and peone) your variety stands a better chance of survival. Bottom line go with what you like

CHECK YOUR SOIL BEFORE DOING ANYTHING WITH PLANTS. You can make a big impact with hard scape before doing anything with plants.

Tri-color Beech is a beautiful under story tree which looks like a bouquet throught the entire growing season. Check with an arborist to see if this wonderful little tree does well in your area and what the best planting and growing conditions are.

A shrub I love which will give you a pop of color against your brick and is hearty but needs sun is False Cypress. It has a looser growing habit than traditional boxwood and may have a place in softening some hard lines.

This is a picture I took in a commercial setting. My False Cypress are fenced off so my three dogs don't trample them. Field dogs, the don't know about going around, they go through.

I'm including this picture so you can see the texture of the leaf. It's a wonderful year round shrub.

Finally I'd mention azalea. Wonderful spring color, reliable no muss, no fuss plant but wants acidic loamy soil. There are many varieties early season blooming, late season blooming. You could plant a mix to make the spring season last. But again I wouldn't plant a thing until you know what soil you're you're dealing with. That's my best advise. Good luck you've got a beautiful home to work with. I can feel your excitement, or is it my excitement wanting to rip everything out of my yard and start over.

p.s. meant to add keep the scale of your house in mind as you plant and choose hardscape material. When choosing trees speak to an arborist, The U of T school of Ag has wonderful online service or you can call the school where you can get information on the growing habit of various trees. If your front yard is a shallow as it appears in the picture you wouldn't want to plant to trees which grow 50 to 60 feet. The root systems would choke each other off and interfere with your plumbing. You may not want to plant a 60 footer and an under story tree with in a certain proximity of each other the taller may over shade the smaller.

Scale is also a consideration when choosing size of stepping stone, planters, etc.

I do hope I'm not condescending. Your note doesn't speak to your experience level. When I started landscaping my first home what I liked didn't quite meet the proportional requirements of my eye and thank God for generous return policies and the fact I had storage space for bad choices big and small.

I vote for a portico if affordable, followed by gables. Forgive my bluntness, but the home appears monotone and formal in the photo, and I'm presuming you want to soften it up some? Are you comfortable with the symmetry or are you bound by the HOA rules?

Most HOAs discourage individuality and creativity, so I would suggest starting slowly by altering the landscape.

I would work on the area to the left in the photo, around the tree, with some bright flowers and shrubs recommended by those in your area. Container plantings can be disguised with grasses and require little maintenance.

I agree with the landscape architect above who asked that you not consider a straight walk up to the house from the sidewalk. To reduce the rigid approach, I would suggest a "circular and meandering" path with a few decorative pieces, if allowed by the HOA. Why look like everyone else? Have the house they all envy :-)

Best wishes to you.

Warning about planting crepe myrtles. Keep them well away from the driveway or your car will be a mess the entire blooming season.

Have you considered attaching flowerbeds to the windows? These will immediately boost your exterior appeal and they will give life to the rooms especially in the upper floor.

I love the idea of larger light fixtures and a meandering front path, if the latter is allowed. You said that the sun beats down on your front garden. I live up north, but I'm certain that your local nurseries have the perfect plants for you. So much better than the big boxes: they grow locally and know what works.

I agree with everybody who calls for white! All-white gardens are spectacular and would complement your house beautifully. I'm not sure hydrangeas would work in the front of your house (even around here they require shade part of the day). A combination of flowering shrubs and white annuals and perennials could keep white blossoms in front of your house all summer long.

And, I agree that an adventurous color on the front door could be stunning. I also liked the suggestion of black for the front door. Lots of talent here!

Your house suffers from a common problem; what few planting there are, are crowded up against the foundation, with none out in the open space. Foundation plantings are an early 20th-century innovation when high blank cement foundations were introduced, not appropriate for your neo-colonial/federal house.

Consider a pair (or quartet of trees) that stay small -- crepe myrtle, red-bud, dogwood -- across the front edge of the property, pruned up to keep them out of the faces of people on the sidewalk. The house will feel further from the street, yet not feel claustrophic during heat spells. Cough up the dough for large crated trees and hire the trees delivered and planted for you, so the job will be done correctly; it will spare you the lost time and expense of plantings that die (plant in the autumn, so roots have time to settle in during winter dormancy).

Alternatively, consider a fence along the sidewalk, with gate or arched arbor at the center for instant impact. Place flowering shrubs behind it where you can enjoy them from the house. 18th- and 19th-century houses on a street (as opposed to rural properties) usually had an arrow-straight path from street to door, so feel okay with that, but don't make it too narrow.

The other suggestions (urns, planters, window boxes, larger lanterns [hung much lower]) are great ways to soften the house itself).

Bring any planters off the porch and down on either side of the steps. The person who used your pictures and added flowers. ebc3, did a really nice job and it would give you a great deal of curb appeal without breaking the bank. A new color on the door, new hardware and maybe new lamps on either side would update the look.

Your house reminds me very much of The Cedars bed and breakfast in Williamsburg, Virginia. Maybe you might be inspired by some of the pictures:

Here you can see that the benches in front that flank either side of the front door are just set on concrete squares that can be found at any home improvement store. I would put pillows on the benches for even more color. They add so much architectural interest!

The portico idea looks old and heavy. I think it dates the house. I would however enlarge the steps into a 1/2 circle, and put bright colorful plants on every step. Finally, paint the door bright red, with a large gold door knob. and lock.

There are so many great suggestions listed above.
A landscape designer can make any of the ideas listed above into an orderly plan that you can plant one season at a time.
A thought came to me when you said you get western sun. What about awnings on the lower floor windows for shade control and relief In the public rooms which look like they might be LR DR?
Just s thought

Maybe it's the photo but the front door colour does not appeal to me with the brick colour. The tones jut don't work for one another. You need to put something over the doorway ... a small porch or an awning of sorts.

The symmetry of the front of your house is very pleasing. I would install a brick pathway from the sidewalk to the front door to accentuate it. Flowers could be added to the sides of the walkway, but would need watering due to the sun. I would also paint the front door a bright color, perhaps a cobalt blue or red. Even a glossy black would look good. I agree there is no room for shutters, except perhaps the top center one. A miniature flowing tree would add a nice touch also.

P.S. I'd also get rid of the tree to the left and the other small bushes. The topiary should stay and be repeated on each side. Your house does not need a lot of bushes. It stands well alone.

Hi! I lived in Brentwood (just south of Nashville) for 7 years, before moving internationally 5 years ago, and your house reminds me of home! I am just a mom, lots of trial and error gardening but no real "official" expertise. There are some wonderful ideas above, but many of them are big projects, and expensive. Doesn't mean you can't do them- a covered portico would be awesome, but in the meantime:

If you want to work with what you have, and stay lower budget, (maybe doing a lot of the work yourself?) I would tackle the yard in projects... First, I'd get the "bones" in there- a few more bushes, evergreen, boxwood, across the back of the bed. If you don't have any sprinkler lines built into the ground, you could rent a tiller from Home Depot or Lowe's and get the beds tilled and in shape, mix in peat moss, compost, stay away from the roots of that Crepe Myrtle and the existing bushes. (Or pay someone to do it). By tilling the whole thing rather than just digging individual holes, you can amend the soil and make future planting easier. Also, the house is cute and clean with a nice boxy shape. I am not a fan of EVERYTHING being squared off, formal, and with straight lines, so I would soften that by rounding bed edges. Laying out a garden hose on the ground to be your pretend edge works well, and you can move it a bit and see how it looks. I would round out bigger (someone else said that too) in front of the Crepe Myrtle tree on the left, and curve back in near the front- not too big, just soften the edges. Then (and this could be a later step, if it's too much work at once or there isn't time/ budget now) put a bed in front of the sidewalk that leads to the driveway, basically running along it but also with rounded edges. You can connect it into the left side so there is now a bed all along the front. If you do that, maybe put a small (going to be slow growing so it doesn't get too big) evergreen bush right by the drive, in the new bed, to anchor it in the winter. Consider a few more, but I would let color rule this bed in the summer, and just have enough bushes for something to look at in the winter. It's hard to know a person's style, if you like symmetry you might want a matching row of lollypop round bushes parading across the front. I don't like that, because if one dies then it looks stupid. I also am not a huge fan of the spiral trees, but you have them and they add a bit of formal near the door, so why not? If one dies then you can pull them then... Fortunately it looks like your Crepe Myrtle tree is in good shape - no "crepe murder"- if it is getting too big don't let someone hack it way back! You might also make this front new bed be a later stage, so you don't have to do so much at once.

So now you have (maybe) a nice, rounded edge bed, and a few bushes along the house to hide the downspouts and those black vent squares. And empty beds (maybe even one along the front of the sidewalk.) Put pine straw on top, mulch will wash away too easily, and you are on a bit of a hill. It will be an easy spruce up to re-do them maybe each Fall, don't bother in spring as the summer sun will bleach them all out- do it in Fall and it looks nice all winter when it's bare... At this point you have done a lot of work, but not changed much visually. Don't get disappointed, the fun is about to begin!

Flowers: Don't buy too many at one time, as next year you will only have blooms in THAT month. Pick a color scheme, and theme. Tropical- Red and orange and yellow, with a pop of bright lime green. OR Pastel, blue, silver, pink, white...(you can do this with yellow as well, but don't add red or orange to it). Or Red white and blue (not my first choice, but everyone is different!) Don't just throw every color in there. I like patches of the same plant, in odd numbers, repeated but NOT in evenly spaced rows. For you I would recommend Perennials, they cost more but come back each year. Keep the tags in case you like one and want to add more of the same kind next year! Shasta Daisies, (white with yellow middles, really hardy, need cut back every year, stay as a patch or evergreen once established.) Also black eyed susans. (Bright yellow daisy shape with a brown center), put a patch in 3 different spots- they make babies around them from seed- and the goldfinches love the dead seed cones in the winter- so don't cut them back!). Lamb's ear. (silver fuzzy leaves, easy). Liatris -(tall hot pink spiky flowers) Montana blues cornflower (desert looking spiky thistle looking with cute blue flowers, spread by seeds, droop when dry but bounce back well.) Do some day lilies, but not the orange ones unless you went with a tropical color scheme- wait to plant those in the fall, and here's a hack- get daffodil bulbs and put some under the day lilies. They flower at different times, and when the daffodils are turning brown the lily leaves hide them. Blue Salvia is sold as an annual there, but it will often come back the next year. (Blue medium height spiky) Try to put different shapes near each other, and you can add as you go! Taller in the back, shorter in the front, but mess up a little bit on purpose! Keep an eye out for friends and neighbors dividing something, or giving away plants (iris are big, and do well too!) If you have an urn on the porch now, and you like it, fill it with annuals that match the beds' color scheme. If it looks odd alone (it might) then put it out on the corner of the bed by the driveway until you fill the area with plants. Just remember to water it!

Watering- everything I just named will do well in your climate. When buds are forming, make sure they get some water or the flowers will be stunted. I would use a soaker hose, if you have tilled the whole bed it's easy to snake it around your plants, buried in the dirt. Costs a lot up front, and you will need more than you think, but lasts forever and saves on watering- plus you can drag it out and move it with you! I would also consider a rain barrel- the downspout behind the crepe myrtle could hide one maybe. I had one, it cost about 200 bucks, get a mosquito net with it to keep them out, and it needs to be mounted up high, so you can use it to provide pressure to the soaker hoses. (and also fill watering cans) I didn't buy the expensive base, instead got a double stack of cinder-blocks and spray painted them to match (close) to my brick. A handyman could put the barrel in if that's not your thing- you have to adapt the downspout. Free water!

Path to the front- another project, do at any time, but it would look nice after the beds have flowers in them-you could go buy individual rocks (natural) stepping stones, and place them in a path to the front, in the grass. There is a stone place down in Grassland, not sure where you are... Cut the ground out just in the shape of each, burying them almost flush with the ground. A pain, but nice. Make sure they are almost flush with the ground, they will sink a bit, so you can mow over them without catching the blade. (bad) Make the stones a bit random, use a big one and then 2 little ones, so they go straight, but not concrete squared off straight, just meander straight. And put 2 in the bed (if you make one) that is in front of the side walk, so you literally step in the bed- low alpines, or ajuga around those... Kind of invites people to stroll up without making the front yard look like a landing strip. And you have to keep the other one, so more concrete would look odd...

I think that's enough-Good luck!

The portico idea suggested by AK Complete Home renovations is brilliant. If you cannot swing that budget-wise, how about just full length shutters on the front door alone, or the door and the one window above the door? Another idea would be to add a triangular pediment over the door. You might also paint the window frames an unexpected color like a rich blue or green or even black, with the shutters being that same color. Flowering shrubs and trees can do a heck of alot for a home's curb appeal. Nice house, it won't take much to give it a lift.

I suggest visiting a lighting company and do so light sculpturing with tree, additional shrubs, and annuals. I vote for a slate slab pathway from the front door curving gracefully to the driveway so it makes a statement but does not create too small a grass island.

Hello

I would add shutters to the windows in groups or you can have a narrow set of custom shutters made.

Also some great "lipstick" for windows is to trim out the tops with varying pieces of crown moulding. This does a lot in dressing the window.

I like the crown idea. The windows are too close for shutters in my opinion. Would rather seen window boxes or striped awnings.

I can see a green living wall nicely framing the windows of your home.

Be careful if you want to do the living wall, most climbing plants, such as ivy or wisteria, will tear up the surface of your house, and are hell to remove.

I agree, mtr1mtr2. I forget sometimes that most people think of a living wall in the traditional ways of 100 years ago, and while that will complement the history of the home, this is more what I'm thinking:

http://www.habitathorticulture.com/

That is beautiful! And would work well with that facade.

You might consider white 2" window shutters on inside of windows to add the white but not deal with the narrow dimension. Just a thought. Pat

I would put an awning over the front door to give it more character and maybe instead of shutters put flower boxes under the top level windows. you could always use Fake flowers ,they look real from that distance.

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Why not a cluster of 3 miniature weeping trees surrounded by a variety of evergreens, a few rocks, surrounded by iris bulbs and various perennials