I suggest that you go to a house plan site, such as “eplans.com” and look at houseplans to see what is in style that most closely corresponds to what you already have. You might find that craftsman style and farmhouse style can be easily adapted. That would help to determine your siding choice, and details such as columns and doors.

The shutters just seem to be too much. I would remove them and fatten up the trim around the windows. You could also remove the scalloped trim and beef up the posts. Then paint the screen door the same color as the yellow door so it shows as one cohesive unit. Finally, paint the downspout the same color as the house to help it disappear.

New landscaping will be a great help as well.

You have a very lovely home! Some simple changes will be fabulous! I would remove all of those shrubs first so that you can get a real feel for the features and scale of the house. I think that khaki or sage green would be good colors for the body of the house. It will be much more cheerful than the gray.

Ditto to katinparadise's comments about the house.I would go for a bolder colour than yellow for the front door.

Re. the shrubs, I wouldn't be in a huge hurry to remove them all as they may respond well to a hard pruning which will often rejuvenate an overgrown plant at considerable cost savings. Are the evergreen ones to the right Choisya? If so, they can be cut almost to the ground (in the spring) and will come back in a season to a nice healthy reasonable size. After a hard pruning is also a good time to improve the soil, add mulch, bulbs and edging as you can get in there without bushwhacking.

The row of shrubs to the left need a good pruning as well, and I think the little gazebo could be retired. A mortared stone wall is lower maintenance than a dry stone wall and presents a neater appearance.

A row of flagstone or bricks set at lawn level at the edge of your wall will allow one set of the lawn mower wheels to run along and save a lot of time and work as it will eliminate the need for edging or weed eating at the base of your rock wall. A similar strategy with pathways is also worth considering. See:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZmR4A0-1ZU

If you are keen on gardening (your lawn looks in great shape btw) a picket fence and garden along the street side could look really pretty with your very attractive traditional home. Here's an inspiration picture (a close examination of this photo shows that the edging plants are hardy, easy care perennials) Your local garden centre can make recommendations for your local climate.

What budget are you thinking? Residing the house would not be cheap but it would be a good time to change the window trim and improve the houses weather proofing.

If you repaint the House, painting the gutter downspout the house body color will make it much less noticeable.

I think a blue color like this would work. The house has the same color roof as your house.

Remove the shutters, the porch railing, and the scallop trim. Replace the posts with two beefier ones. Not quite as wide as the columns below, but paired as they are. Don't have any bushes hiding your porch. Get rid of the row of bushes that make the house seem squat.

The house color below is also attractive. Has more green in the blue. Like the way the porch is open, which is what I suggest to you.

No set budget right now.

Plants in the front of the porch are andromeda. The other row/hedge is barberry.

What color would you suggest that is bolder than yellow for the front door? My husband loves the rich fall colors.

I do like the idea of a blue exterior color.

Have you thought about painting the storm door the front door color? Or getting a new storm door with a smaller frame and more glass? The storm door really hides the yellow in the picture

The first thing my eye was drawn to was the shutters; they need to go. Also that row of barberry needs to go and be replaced with a mixture of plants. Remove the ones in front of the porch and replace with something low growing.

It depends on the colour of the blue, but I have seen burnt sienna (toned down orange) work well. You can download a photo of your house into a paint company's site to try on a selection of different colours or use sample boards. Here's a place to start collecting ideas. https://www.houzz.com/magazine/5-bright-palettes-for-front-doors-stsetivw-vs~3399560 Re Andromeda (pieris) overgrown plants like yours can be pruned hard in the fall although you will lose some of the flowers in the following spring. Once they are down to a manageable size, yearly pruning after they flower will keep them well behaved. Barberry can get out of hand as well and responds to a vigourous pruning. Old shoots can be pruned to the ground in the fall and then twice a year shaping to keep them in bounds,

Pale Yellow

or the same with black shutters

You will get a whole lot of ideas, so just sort through them and keep the ideas that appeal to you. I actually like your wider type shutters. I like a similar color to what you have now, only maybe a bit more blue in it. I dont like downspouts painted, then it becomes a regular maintenance type job. They already have a nice finish on them, that will hold up for years. Why turn them into a yearly maintenance thing. I dont like the scallop on the porch, and I do think the posts need to be beefier. I would keep the fence, or some type of railing. My porch has no front railing, and I really would love to have one. You could use a bit of landscaping. My main problem with the hedges in front of the porch is that they are all in a row like marching soldiers. A more random landscaping would improve the front considerably. You have a very attractive house. Please try to keep as many original features as you can, and just improve on some that arent as good as they should be.

I think you got an idea how it looks with light color and darker.

I like the yellow that celerygirl did; my grandparents house was pale yellow with black windows (1910 craftsmanish 4 square). You don’t see a lot of houses pale yellow and it works with your house

Unfortunately, the people across the street have the pale yellow with black shutters.

There are a whole range of colors that work with a gray roof, including red.

Why unfortunately? If you like pale yellow you can go still for it with different hue. You can go with yellow/tan instead of yellow. I would go with white with yellow hue.

Blue shutters will work too.

I still like the blue!

Remove the wavy trim.

Remove the rail.

The rocks would make better impact if you used fewer and partially buried them.

I am not suggesting a red door, it's just what I had on my computer. Same with the door style.

If the paint is not overdue then I would leave the house the current color. Spend the money on something else.

I am not punctilious about the shutters rule. For your house I would try removing only the bottom shutters.

I like the little gazebo. I assume it is there to cover a clean out and it is better than the pretend rock most people use.

How are you guys changing the exterior? I’m so new here, we have a 1960 exterior mess that I wish I knew how to load the pic and change/plan a new look

Start your own post, Kim Pruno.

You don't just tag onto a 4-year-old post and expect to get any valuable advice or assistance.

Post a larger image of the home.

I will warn you in advance that a split level is the hardest style of home to remodel successfully.