I don’t think it’s a modern house so I wouldn’t be a fan of modern landscaping nor of a modern metal awning. I think the shutters are the right proportions for the windows so I’m not a fan of removing them.. The walkway could be widened by adding brick edging that matches the house, the beds in front of the windows could be expanded quite a bit since you have such a large lawn. It’s a very attractive house, focus on enhancing what you have instead of trying to make it into something it’s not.

Thank You, I really like everything you said, it really makes sense to me now! Maybe that's why I've been stymied, trying to drastically change something that doesn't need to be drastically changed. I really like the idea of adding brick edging!

My neighbor has gorgeous huge hydrangeas along the side of their house, wondering if I should put them out front of my house?

The house is just so plain. Hmmmm.

I like what Kent said, too. Your house is not speaking modern to me either. I can't say I love every detail of the porch but it seems a lot more fitting to me than a modern metal awning.

Can you show us what is to right and left of your above picture? ... from the same point of view as first picture.

Here's another photo

In my opinion, anything can be made modern if its modern that you like.
I do, so i would.
If this was my house, i would start searching craigslist, salvage stores, and discount building material stores. I do not know what area you live in but here in central Minnesota, we have several stores that make projects like this one very affordable. I just bought my dream front door for $50 at a building material outlet store.
Black front doors are very striking, classy & easy to care for. However, if black was not available, white would be just as lovely.
I would replace the windows only if needed and stick with white to keep some brightness to the front of the house.
A new light fixture by the front door can go a long way to freshening up the face of a house. So can fabulous house address numbers.
Its hard to see,on my screen, exactly what the posts on the porch have going on. Could they possibly be wrapped in cedar to give them more modern lines?
As far as landscaping goes, i would not do rocks, for no other reason than that i do not like them, and little kids do. I would plunk some greenery in there and use a dark colored mulch, dark brown or black. If you like rocks, do rocks.
I would not do anything to widen the sidewalk. I would buy concrete patch and repair it. Probably give a skimcoat to the whole thing.

But - most people are very traditional in their home appearance preferences. If i was trying to appeal to other people, i would probably skip modern.
Then i would certainly keep the shutters.
I would still do mulch instead of rocks and probably add a cluster of shrubbery things in the middle of the front yard.
I would still change the light fixture and still do a black or white door.
Maybe add a potted plant or two the porch or alongside the steps.
Your project sounds fun. Good luck to you.

Seems to me one, possibly two, small ornamental trees, carefully placed, on that big empty lawn would provide shade and interest. And one of them at least near the house. (That doesn't mean 2 feet from it.)

Have you replaced the roof already? I wouldn't go for a gray roof with your red brick. The charcoal color works well with red brick.

Keep your window grids white and not black.

Are the purple and white "shutters" on the left side of your rental home placeholders for new shutters? You don't need shutters all around the house.

Landscaping and landscaping maintenance will be the very best thing you can do for curb appeal. Don't put in flower boxes for tenants. They are unlikely to be maintained well.

I also agree with the consensus above, enhance what you have rather than trying to change the style to modern. Tenants are looking for clean, attractive, well maintained homes. If your home meets that criteria and is priced at the right rental rate, you will attract good tenants.

For the front door you can go with an attractive fiberglass door (for easy maintenance) painted black with a white trim.

Is that your drive to the right of the first photo? If so, you want a walkway across the front of the house from the drive to the front walkway. Place it at least 8’-10’ from the house and make it at least 4’ wide. Widen your front walk to the same width.

Plan on planting a few shrubs and ground cover across the front of the house to fill the new walkway and the house. What specific plants would work will depend on where you are, but gravel will not work in an area that has as much rain as looks to be in your area. It really only is practical in low water parts of the world.

I agree with others that your home is a relatively traditional structure and modern landscaping will look out of place. I am another vote for charcoal dimensional shingles.

Thanks all for the comments, I think I was "complicating" things and posting this was the reality check I needed. It will be a rental and I'm over-thinking it. Sometimes I can't see the forest for the trees.

The new roof in CHARCOAL is going to make a world of difference to begin with.

RE: landscaping, low maintenance is right, window boxes are OUT. I have a rental one block down and the new tenants completely re-did the landscaping out front. There were rock beds out front LOL and they scooped them all up, saved them for me, put down mulch and shrubs and flowers. It really looks nice although a little "crowded" for my taste. I will run by and do a "before + after" photo of that place, the transformation is remarkable. So here, I think I'm going to do dark mulch and just put some hostas in the ground, they are inexpensive, hearty (I'm in Shen Valley VA), my mom has a ton of really large ones at her house I could grab some of those. And then put two pots of geraniums on the front porch. There's a post light at end of sidewalk by the street, I could do a climbing plant on that.

New door in white, black or maybe even a dark red.

New porch light.

You all just saved me a ton of money HA HA!

TGIF - Happy Friday Everyone!

Glad we were able to help. One more tip: don't paint your new door red. It won't work well with the red brick. Black or white or even Navy will work well. You want your front door to be a focal point and to welcome people to the house. Red will just blend or clash depending on the red you choose.

Red, what was I thinking with all that red brick?! Thank you, Denita!

Hostas need a fair amount of shade, so unless the area is shady except for perhaps some early morning sun before it gets too hot, you don’t want hostas. You also want something evergreen, either a groundcover or some low shrubs or else it will look quite stark for the cold months. If hostas are happy because it is full shade, consider something less sin-loving for your pots than geraniums such as coleus. If you give us info on the amount of sun and shade, you may get some specific suggestions for your area.

i agree with Laceyvail that a small flowering tree or two would dress up the look of the large empty lawn.

I’m with NHBabs about a walkway from the parking area to the house. I’d rather park there than on the street.

Great ideas here! The driveway does go with the house. Behind the house there is an alley that is used for access to the houses on this side of the street. This house has paved parking around back for 3 cars, it's shaped like an "L" by the shed. The top of the "L" goes to one of two patio doors (an addition was added previously) and the bottom of the "L" accommodates 2 cars, I'm currently using it and the shed for the pick up truck and storage. Most people come to the house through the alley (nice and open thoroughfare), I have to specifically tell guests to come to front door unless they are strangers and don't know about the alley. The back of the house, yard, shed, parking has lots of potential - that's a post for another day!

The hedge at the right looks a bit messy. You might be able to sort through it and clean it up and find something within it that could grow into a small tree form in the vicinity of the house corner, while the rest of the hedge is trimmed clean and shapely. There might could be a similar form to be had at the left of the house, but we can't see that area.

I second Babs concern about the Hosta. I wouldn't add any unless you can develop some shade somewhere.

The rest of my suggestions are self explanatory (I think): a couple of shrubs, some annuals, a perennial and some groundcover. I'm not picking the specific plants ... just suggesting relative shapes, sizes and organization. A walk connecting the parking space seems like it would be nice, but it's not that far of a walk if someone uses the street either.

Pic edited. I saw in another picture there is room for a small tree at left.

Thank You Yardvaark + Doug for the renderings, they are both so good!

Being able to actually "see" what it could look like is very
helpful . . . and encouraging!

I think I'm going to print both and take them to the
nursery for specific suggestions re: what will work.

Could you possibly just replace the front door with a black one, and save the rest of your money for a front porch extension? Maybe something that is the same shape but several feet higher, wider, and has more depth? This would do more for curb appeal that any landscaping could IMHO.

Actually, landscaping does more for curb appeal than a front porch.