We would like to do less as opposed to a major project. Budget will be approx $4-6K. Would like a small to medium size porch. Looking to change color as well to med/dark grays??

Grey would be nice, I think it would give nice curb appeal. How about transforming the landscaping with some new sizes and colors? Looks like you have alot of room to work with. Maybe incorporating rocks like below?

We are adding rock and new plants as you suggest. It is a large blank canvas for sure. I am just not very creative and do not know here to start. It is a little overwhelming.

hi mark, what zone are you in and which direction is your house facing?

ne ohio - house faces east

Congrats on the home. Here's a great article for a reference Before and After: Home Exterior Makeovers - Better Homes and Gardens and this video link. Paint, portico and porch... those three items will add a lot of character to your home. Personally I love the idea of a navy home with white trim, and a bright yellow door. You could create a new entry way with steps leading to the front door and a porch covered by a pergola to the left.

What part of Northeast Ohio? I live in Dayton and I'm in your zone! Your house is not ugly--just a little boring looking (mine was boring before we had it painted and landscaped). Your house will really perk up with a fresh coat of paint, especially a more interesting color than white, along with new landscaping! Here is before and after photos of my house:

Before and After:

I'd add a portico over the front door. With the rest of the money, I'd get a landscape design and have someone do some of the work, and plan on doing the rest myself, or have the landscaping done in phases.

Remove the faux shutters and add interest with a big usable porch. I would follow the pattern set by your roof. Add this type of open gable porch/patio where your gable already juts out some. It will add a lot of personality to your Pain Jane home. Make it private with the right landscaping to hide behind.

Planting for privacy

If we put a porch on the front of the house does it have to match the current roof line? We were thinking about Replacing windows and adding grids. Also thinking about making window on the left of the door a double to match the right.

Hi Mark. I'm not adding anything here, just hoping to confirm that the lines on which you are thinking would definitely create a well-balanced frontage.

What room is behind the small window left of the door? If thinking about the porch idea I suggested, consider installing a pair of French doors onto the new porch there. If you don't have room for them to swing inside, you can use sliding French doors. I would keep the roof line the same as the house. That's why I posted that photo and suggested you use the current protrusion of your existing roof line as the location for the new installation. It would cover the front door, a new set of French doors and would end just where your end windows have their inside shutter now. Grids in the French doors and others would unite the look. Expand the photo I posted and see the details of what they did.

This French door is in a kitchen, which might be what's behind the little window. They are pretty large individually, but you can match the size to your two sets of windows.

Mark, by the way, I made your shutters bigger -- they need to look as though they could be functional.

Don't know about your budget ( or how it would affect the inside) but here are a few ideas.
1. Porch all along the house
2. Replace aluminum screen door with wood or
Put in French doors (you'll get lots of light and charm)
3. Landscape
4. Paint it medium gray, white trim, yellow door

A somewhat larger covered porch and a new paint colors on the body and trim of the house, plus new landscaping (a tree or three and some evergreens) will give you a new and appealing front. Include some plants along the walkway.

decoenthusiaste s photo of porch across front of house is spot on. would look really nice in yours.

Can we get someone to illustrate that porch fitted between the left and right double windows and under the protruding portion of the gable roof? I think it might help the OP to see it sized for the home. Where's grover?

Deco, I think I could do it but it's a Houzz pic. I looked at the website it came from but can't find that picture there. Houzz won't allow pics to be copied, only embedded on another site, so I can't pick it up to play with it. Sorry!

Rina I like what you did!!! I'd love to see this house in SW Grizzle Gray & then a bright yellow door. Then in the future id love to see a metal roof, which could start with the porch roof.

I don't know how to photoshop but I scribbled a few images. I like a front door to be in the center of a porch. So I tried that. I do not think it looks good as it will leave one window partly on and partly off the porch. Even if you can only afford to do the porch now you should consider the possibility of giving it a roof one day. Plan ahead. Here is number one.

So then I tried a centered porch. The door is off to one side, unfortunately. I like that is centered but this design seems to be missing something also. Landscaping will make a big difference but don't do that until you resolve the porch issue. I gave you one step right in front of the door. Otherwise it will look like a deck and I do not like decks on house fronts. Remember to build the porch sturdy enough that it can accommodate posts and a roof one day in the distant future. Likewise, if you cannot put a path in now at least consider the possibility and landscape appropriately now. As in, do not plant a tree where you may one day want a path. The shutters are wrong but I did not bother to scribble them out. This is more about the porch. Take heart, if the thread stays active one of the designers will be bound to show up with a real plan. Oh, I did not mean to imply Rina is not a real designer, she is. I like what she did.

Thanks, Emmarene, that's sweet. You shamed me into trying to draw a big porch along the lines of the one Deco posted. (Made rubbish of the shadows, but then just as I'm really not a real designer, I'm not a real artist, either.)

Thanks, Oasis.

Adding a portico will help with the curb appeal. I like your idea of painting the house gray. Then I would paint the shutters and front door, maybe a nice shade of red. Do your own landscaping. Fresh mulch and plantings will also help with the curb appeal. Good luck!

Played with Photoshop and came up with this. A little portico for your front door. Maybe make the roofline of the portico angle more to match the house roofline.

I like that. We were thinking about making the roof line more to match the house and flare out over the windows on the right and left of door. Need to make sure we have enough room with the existing roof. How far out would you bring the porch roof?

I'm not a professional, so I really can't say how far out to have your porch. I measured my front stoop and it is about 6' from the door to top of first step. I like your idea of matching the roof lines. I recommend finding a contractor that can draw up some design choices for you. Good luck!

Thanks, Rina. Good job! I'm still sold on that style of porch for this house to give it some eye candy, practicality, enjoyment for owners and increase the value.

Most of these suggestions are well beyond the budget of the OP. On that budget, removing the shutters and having the home painted would max out the budget.

If some DIY labor was involved, addressing the landscape minimally could be started.

Porticoes, a new deck, new windows, or any of the rest of the suggestions would be well beyond a 5K budget to accomplish. That would be the next phase, with 10-20K.