Paint siding Dark rich brown! Use color on shutters. Roof could use an update too!
New stained Front door to bring your eye to entry.

One word: Paint!

Needs an upscale roof. Looks like it has vinyl siding so hard to paint. I would tear it off and install shakes on the dormer and possibly the complete front. Look at a dark 6" insulated vinyl siding for the remainder. Will look like wood if done properly. Landscaping will do wonders. New front door. Would have to spend a lot to put a porch on it? Do you have a budget? Good luck, looks like it has good bones.

Mission - can you paint vinyl siding? I'm not a fan of the white. Thought also about painting the brick. Thanks for the comments! Roof is getting a bath. Think it is light gray. They had a huge tree that was taken down that caused the discoloration.

I'm not sure, Wayne how much but the home sits across from a huge national park. Gorgeous. I picture white rocking chairs!

You can paint, it would concern me depending on the age. If budget allowed would replace. Look at Certainteed shakes. Nice product and looks like real wood. It would really make the front pop!

Here's the neighbor's house (same exact house) with a 300k addition/refacing.

Depending on your budget, I would start with some landscaping and new shutters.

Looks like the neighborhood that you can afford to invest in your home.

Don't like the neighbor's house-too tall. If budget permits I think the best thing you can do is remove current siding and have the entire facade bricked to match the existing. Painting out all the white trim to either a medium shade of gray or black would add a lot of character. And of course landscaping would really help. Here's a doodle of my ideas - don't pay attention to the colors on the house - I only have a limited palette so they are just for getting rid of the white.

See how great the gray looks against the red brick :

It strikes me that what you need out front there, that would not interfere with your lovely bay window, is the structure of a pergola that would really make a great approach to your house. It would give you space to have a great view looking out from your bay window, give a nice welcome to visitors, plus give a place for the type of posts that say CRAFTSMAN. For low maintenance, some of the construction could be the new plastic materials that have no rot. Pave it with brick or nice cobblestones. Add a swing, flower pots with roses to climb there. Maybe a shade cloth in a spot which might get too hot in the summer. Not knowing how you house is oriented, and what sort of sunlight you get across the front, you don't want to shoot yourself in the foot and wind up suffering with NO light or with NO shade! So always always, show us where NORTH IS on your house.

I'd also extend a walkway across the front of the house toward the drive. There is no path for a visitor to take to your front door. SHOW them how to get there. You have a very large front yard area, so take advantage of it with a broad walkway indicating where they are to come. It might even be possible to make this a covered walkway, by extending the pergola over it and that is another opportunity to instill some CRAFTSMAN style into the place.

Consider what you can do to the dormer and the gable to enhance details like rafter tails sticking out. And find a softer color to paint those two elements, the white dormer, the white gable, so they don't project so rawly into your dream space. I'd try paint first, since it is easily reversible, and does not require any structural changes.

I hope you are very happy there for many years to come. I also wish to submit that you should name your house. Think about it carefully, and then it will tell you what it should be called. We all try to live up to our names, one way or another. Let your house have an identity. My first little cottage where I lived so happily for 17 years, I named MoccasinLanding.....and I remade it into my dream.

Oops. Forgot one thing. You have a nice enough entry, but I think what you really need to make this say CRAFTSMAN, is a new leaded glass door with two side lights. Put a door you like over a photo of your house, and see what a difference it makes. Those two doors look nice and wide, but they are not anyway stylish. More mid-century modern, in fact. So lose the old doors. It might be $1,000 or so, but a very simple solution, also allowing light into the middle of your house.

Sweet Caroline, I like the doodle

Also.....how about changing the light fixture beside your entry door? It needs to be something very large that has CRAFTSMAN STYLE written all over it. Similar fixtures which are low voltage can light and accent the pathway to the front door, and softly light the pergola posts.

Overall, along that walkway, some low growing shrubs to create a dark green horizontal line would help to anchor the house to its yard. It would be visually pleasing year round, and any seasonal flowering plants could be between the shrubs and the house, so it would always be dressed when viewed from the roadway. I always consider the maintenance load with the garden.

Caroline - wow!!!!! I was stunned. That little bit you did was amazing. I might take a peek under the siding to see if the brick is there. In regards to the directionals in looking at this pic - west is to the right and east is to the left. Thank you so much for your picture. It was truly gorgeous and gave me hope that my house can be exciting! Maybe I could even find siding that color but I love the dark gray! Thank you!

Moccasin - that's funny that you mention the pergola. I was going to add that above the garage. There is an existing brick path from the front door to the driveway. I'm attaching a pic of that as well. I think that would be smart to have some sort of craftsman inspired theme including the doors. I will post later what I find!

I have a pinterest board called "Pimp my Split"--I've been looking for ways to change the front of our modified split too. I like the pergola idea too. I attached few pictures here and here is my board in case you're interested: http://pinterest.com/shelly_garrity/pimp-my-split/
I also found this pdf a while back--there a couple ideas you might like in there: http://www.dakotacda.org/pdf/splitvisions.pdf

Beautiful location, Brandie! I see what you mean about a split on your dream property now.

And, strange you should mention over the garage.....because that is what this homeowner up in PA wanted as well, and I suggested he sort of extend it visually to the front of his house and to the entry. His front facing large gable was REALLY huge and needed bringing into proportion.

Yes, be sure to bring the results of your front door investigation back to the HOUZZ spot so we can discover how it all ends. I love stories with happy endings. :) I think a new sparkly front door would make your house shine.

Thanks, Brandie. Not saying that the brick is under the siding -I doubt it. You'd need a contractor to remove the siding, add underlayment if necessary and new brick to match existing. Since the areas are not large it may be the most economical way to update your house.

To get started moving in that direction, remove the shutters & add wider trim to the windows. New craftsman style door. A craftsman style entry would also help. I attached a photo of a beautiful porch in crafts man style and an example of an entry. Note the simple wood trim around the windows and doors although the trim can also be painted. The entry that Shelly posted would also look great.

The pic on the left is a straight ahead shot of what could be a strong pergola. Since the split house has the walk coming from the gable end of the house, the orientation is not the same. And, the approach would be from almost the same level and not up a lot of steps.

In the split we are seeking to remedy, the gable might have two separate rooms (like bedrooms) facing forward, above the double (triple?) garage beneath. So wrapping the house in a framed pergola, would BELT two sides of the house and help diminish its bulk along those two exposures, front and garage elevations, both of which are the ONLY TWO sides of the house visible to arriving guests or passersby on the roadway.

It needs an approach which comes from the side, not the front, and lets the house turn to greet its residents and guests.

Dar's picture on the right is gorgeous of course but can you imagine how much it would cost ? Just my opinion but that landscape doesn't go with the home's architecture - it looks like a typical developers landscape .

Sweet Caroline - I love, love, love Dar's pic on the left! My budget is currently your sketch. Looking for a solution with red brick coloring. Gorgeous! Mocassin - is what you are describing the left pic? I was wondering how much that cost - gorgeous but looks like a 100K addition.