Hi Diana, I think some shutters and some garden boxes could be nice additions to the front exterior of your home.

In terms of landscaping, if you're wanting to stick with something lower maintenance, then I'd consider planting some cacti. What part of the country is this home located in? I always like incorporating native greenery whenever possible. I'd also suggest posting your question on http://stuccco.com to get more design advice. Good luck!

As for shutters then would not possible to get right side, not enough space on a right and left sides of house.

I would go with shrubs, easy to care.

You have to let people know where you're located in order to get reasonable plant suggestions, if people wish to give them.

Maybe you mean "update" instead of "modernize." With the details, it isn't what I would call modern architecture per se. I'd keep the planting very simple unless you are looking to spend a lot of time in the yard taking care of the landscape & gardens.

I like the white trim, but to my thinking there is not enough contrast between it and the house body color. The body should be a couple of shades darker. In the picture it looks leaning beige. I'd send it more in a taupe direction. Not too dark. Just medium.

No shutters. They'll look ridiculously undersized and fake.

If the front wall looks too plain to you, plant some ornamental trees in the font yard, pulled away from the wall so that they have room to breathe as they grow.

To bring out all the craftsman details, you need more contrast in the field. Maybe a light warm grey (and in the peak too) and crisp white trim.

some ideas:

"No shutters. They'll look ridiculously undersized and fake." Tatts, do not call these things shutters. They are WINDOW TRIM PANELS ... a new concept that does away with those old fashioned shutters used in prior centuries ... since we don't need or use them anymore.

Yardvaark: Ah. Well, a skunk by any other name.

I'm not against all shutters. I live in center city Philadelphia and many/most houses like mine have shutters and look great. And most of them are functional even if they are never used any more. My house has the original 100-year old mounting parts of the shutter hinges still embedded in the original brick. But the shutter dogs are gone, sadly.

I'm against shutters that: don't fit the windows, don't fit the style of the house, and look fake.

Diana: Do what Yardvaark did in his last example. I'm not sold on the palms, but the crape myrtle on the left is spot-on.

Tatts, I get that if one lives in an older home that uses authentic shutters, they have pride about it. But really, real shutters that work are nearly non-existent in today's houses. Yet the fake "shutters" do serve a visual purpose, just like eye make-up or a frame around a picture does. Even if purists think it is an abomination, there are innumerable others who think it add interest and charm. Most of the time I agree with them. Like any trim it needs to be proportional and sized right, but I think the measure the purists use applies to authentic shutters only, not to generic trim panels, so I have to discount the advice.

I wanted to add that I live in Santa Barbara, CA about 2 blocks from the beach

Again--and I think I made myself clear--I never said the shutters had to be real functioning shutters (although that's ideal when appropriate, as on an old house). I said that they have to be the right size (hers cannot be), fit the style, and not LOOK fake (which any shutters on these windows would because they'd be so skinny).