Difficult to give you style suggestions when we really can't see the style of the house. Can you take pix in daylight from the street so we can get a feeling for what your house needs at the entry?

Will do! Photos forthcoming.

Looking forward to daytime pics! My initial reaction is some tall, skinny planters, but it looks like you might not have enough space for them? How wide are the openings on either side of the door?

Maybe 6 inches or so, maybe a foot...but not more.

Here is a photo of the entire frontage of the house. In addition to wanting styling advice for the entrance, I am also curious if you think I should remove the two trees to the left and right of the door--I don't like them but I want to be thoughtful about how I deal with them. Also, I desperately need advice on how to cover the eyesore of the pipes there to the side of the door that stick up a foot or two. Do we disguise them with tall Florida grasses, or perhaps build something out of wood and put our street number on it? Also, any other advice is warmly welcomed. I have only lived in apartments, condos, military barracks and other types of housing that didn't involve any landscaping or yard responsibilities. Thank you so much for your feedback. My husband and I are newlyweds and definitely look forward to making our house a home!

One more...

Looking at the house in a photo...I am almost wondering if we should put up a white picket fence, or similar? What do you think? This may give the front more "oomph" while also helping disguise some of the eyesores I mentioned, plus allow our dogs to run around. Would have to get one they would escape from! LOL

p.s. I saw this in Southern Living...but I don't know what "style" our house is! Can anyone help?

"A basic guide: picket fences complement Neo-Colonial, Georgian, Victorian, and Cape Cod-style houses; stone, brick, and stuccoed garden walls work well with English Tudor and Craftsman abodes; and metal railings look good with styles such as Mediterranean, Spanish/Mission, and urban brownstone. Horizontal-board, vertical-board, or metal fences suit a ranch-style house."

I would not put a picket fence up. Since you like contemporary/modern, I would keep the lines simple with more of a mid century modern look. Don't waste money on outdoor "decor", other than a simple, large mat at your entrance. Save for an updated front door, and take photos of your house to a local nursery so they can help you with landscaping. Ideally the trees would be over the brick, not the windows, but you may be able to prune them so you can keep the height, and fill in with other lower plantings. You can spray paint the pipes brown, and then plant shrubs in front of them. Landscaping will make a huge difference.

No picket fence. Your house is some version of a ranch. I wouldn't do a fence at all. The front landscaping isn't too bad with the exception of the unfortunate placement of the trees.

Remove the trees and don't feel guilty. The irrigation handles can be lowered below window height, call any irrigation service. Paint all the pipes and the downspouts a color to blend with the brick. groveraxle's rendition of white flowering plants is beautiful (he's SO good at this!)...I would suggest you add the same plantings to the left side. Replace the ornate glass in the door with a pane of tempered glass, add a "film" to the glass if privacy is desired. Very nice house, take your time and enjoy the process.

Oh I see now. You need a landscaping overhaul. Maybe a local nursery can help you out. You'll need to be careful about digging around those pipes though. Here's a nice article about building up a front of house landscape design.

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/best-foundation-plants-stellar-curb-appeal

Thanks for the ideas, y'all! They are a great place to start, which is what I was lacking!

I would paint the door...current or new...white to help pull it out of the shadows.

You could change out the door, a contemporary version. Leaded glass isn't the right style.

I'd put down a mat that fits the entire front stoop, from overhang to door and wall to wall so the area is an entry room.

The row of brick at the door seems off to me too. One must step over that plus the actual threshold to enter as a single row of brick is too shallow for an outside step. Perhaps somebody has some insight, add another row so it's a functional step or remove it completely?

No bitsy and fussy plants at the door. Put a good sized pot at the corner of the entry area instead to sort of make a door to the entry 'room'. You could hang a succulent wreath or other durable living decoration[s] on the wall as well as amping up the width and height but not depth of the entry lantern. Don't take this as THE perfect piece [although it's nice] as I'm no shopper but a shape like this.

Too bad about the trees. If you were rich then it would be great to pull them away from the house and between windows as they are a nice size but they cannot stay where they are now. Love the idea of a split rail fence for your style house but you really don't have the room unless you want to go full out perennial/native/edible hobby garden and lose all the turf.

These are all such great ideas and feedback...thank you. I think the idea of an outdoor "room" in that area is a good one, and can see incorporating some of the ideas that you guys mentioned. I also like the idea of lightening the door with a coat of white. Good question about the one row of brick, it IS a bit akward. There are lots of akward situations around the house as we bought a short sale that has outdated features. But the purchase price made it a steal so we thought we could fix up this and then that as time and budget allows. Couldn't get this kind of square footage any other way, lol. Thanks again for all the ideas so far!

Being an avid gardener, I would explore moving the trees....there's a real cost benefit analysis that you should do depending on climate, species, rate of growth, etc, etc.

It is something you can DIY, call Dig Safe first! The secret is a big enough root ball and lots of water after.

Thank you!

PS--I like Groveraxle's white flowering plants, also, along with the suggestion of the potted pieces (because they extend the entrance and make the entrance more prounounced!).