First of all, what is the siding on the back of the house? Is that vinyl or metal?

Vinyl... I think

Hardie plank is a great option. Look into the shakes style for that part of your home. You could even do shakes on top and the lower have some type of stone that would cover the brick. Taking it up a little higher. Hardie plank is so durable a there are so many options. Wood peckers move on.

http://www.jameshardie.com/homeowner/products_siding_hardieplankLapSiding.py ;D

Well if it is vinyl, you might be able to match it. If it were metal, it can be painted to match vinyl if you use vinyl on the front.

However, since the part of the house you are doing is the front of your house, you might want to consider putting some nice stacked stone facing below the windows. (They sell all kinds of new stuff you can do yourself.) You could take it down to the ground, or just to the brick and paint the brick to coordinate with the stone. Then, use vinyl at top if you can match the rest of the house, or a new vertical running kind of covering that can be painted to match the rest of the house.

I would suggest changing out the windows by the door to be the same size as the front ones for continuity. Later on, you may want to upgrade your door, and eventually change your front steps to some more stacked stone with bluestone tops. Just a thought.

I think you can find a decent siding at Lowe's. Since the house looks like it has an Almond or Beige siding, you can put pure white corners and also cut one special for where the house joins the porch, or even just try to match up by removing the siding in between the windows of the porch and home...it should be a decent fit. I would take an old piece to the store to get a color match. Also, if I may add, if you really do a good washing on the existing vinyl, the color will probably be lighter due to UV sun rays, but it looks like you only have about 2 square to re-do the entire existing side that is showing in the picture above, so you might leave the rest of the house but redo the whole sides. Leave the trim, just replace the actual siding boards. I know it seems daunting, but if you want it to look neat and natural, the few extra hundred bucks would pay off for you in curb appeal. Also, you might look into some bigger steps.....those brick ones are pretty but they look very small and slightly dangerous.
Good luck, I hope you have fun with it!

Great options! Any color ideas?