Not an expert here, but just a few of my thoughts. I definitely would remove the shutters, replace the porch columns with something more substantial (no gingerbread!), hard to tell what's around front door, but new light & place a bench under the shorter windows adjacent to the front door. And I would paint siding & trim a darker color complimenting the brick. A few larger potted plants would be nice flanking the front door. I would enclose the cement area (parking?) on the side with either fencing or hedges.

Bailey R. hit the nail on the head.