Does it have to be vinyl? I like Hardie siding (or similar products) because it doesn't have the plastic look.

No, I'm open to all suggestions. I have never heard of hardie siding so I'll google. Thank you!

Rachael, I did not know much about it either until one of my friends did her entire house exterior with it. Most of the other houses on her street have vinyl, and hers is definitely standing out in a good way. She even had shakes done on the gables. It looks very nice on her style of house.

Just a note on Hardie siding. We used it on our new build and love it. Our contractor recommended that we not get it pre-painted since, in his experience, once it's installed, there are so many chips from the installation process that many areas need repainting. And, using unpainted material, we could choose any paint color. Very happy with the results.

Thank you, everyone, for the recommendations for Hardie siding. However, I'm still clueless as to what colors. Help!

https://www.jameshardie.com/Color-and-Design/Home-Color-Tool

I see some taupe/gray in the brick also. You could play that up. A dark rust door could also look good, even though you're trying to go away from the orange. Sometimes featuring that color makes the rest of it not as noticeable.

Don't forget to pressure wash or replace the walk and plant up the beds flanking it!

This is probably more than you want to do, but have you considered opening up the porch gable?

Oh yes we will definitely be pressure washing and replanting the beds. The bushes on the left side are now gone as well. I have not considered opening up the gable. That's more than we considered. Maybe one day...