I totally agree with this first comment here by Mark Wright and I'd also suggest buying cedar or timber blinds (louvres) for all you windows and you'll be surprised what a difference it will make.

I like this house a lot. The biggest problem I see is that unfortunate pyramid roof on the garage. It ruins the lines of the house. First thing I'd do is look into changing it into a flat or simple pitched roof.

A simple but effective change would be to cut back the eaves (we call in Australia) to the porch and garage, lift the wall to create a facade to the porch and garage. This will give you clean and contemporary lines to the home. You are very lucky that your home has bulk and square lines which leans to a modern facade. If you are unsure of my description please message me and I can sketch for you

Thanks all for your valuable inputs.

Mark - Can you point me to any specific example of grey to gunmetal stacked stones so that I can visualize it?

The Virtual Designer - Aren't the timber blinds for the interior? Do they make such a visual difference from the exterior too? BTW, I am in love with those rich timber blinds too :-)

Groveraxle - I agree the roof kind of spoils the look, but it is only 5 years old, and I hate to tear down something that new :-(

The design Mill - I kind of get what you are describing, but would you be able to send me a rough sketch of the proposed facade? Thanks!

Hello again- I was thinking of interior blinds and yes, you will notice a big difference.....at least I hope you will after paying for them. Look at any great house and you will notice that the window treatments are uniform and blending into the exterior elements.

Sure, here is a close up of the stone and a long shot of. Color palate to work with, (note the garage door and window trims) might be worth looking at a techniques for changing the roof tiles a shade or two towards a grey stone to pull it together.

http://houzz.com/photos/38963

http://houzz.com/photos/409045

I like the stacked stone idea to replace the current stone. Move the large plant away from the front window. Keep the paint light and bright under the porch eaves so that it doesn't look cave-like. The biggest change you can make to the appearance of the house is to park your cars in the garage, not in the driveway.

Mark - This is some beautiful stack of stones! I am definitely going to use these. Do you know where I can get this from? Is there a particular manufacturer I should go with? I might use this for my fireplace too!

Apple_pie : Haha ...I would not park my car in the driveway :-) This photo was taken during home inspection, and the previous owners had their cars parked outside. I agree with you about the dark porch - I might add a few bright lights in that area along with bright paint.

Unfortunately I'm a Singapore based Australian, so I'm not familiar with any suppliers in the US. Try a tile shop to start with then get the number of a stone supplier.
Good luck.

Can you email me your picture and I will sketch on the thoughts for you. Enquiries@thedesignmill.com.au