I think my last sentence got cut off. Should say neighbors are traditional colonials, Capes, farm houses. So the New Hampshire location. Thanks !

At first glance , your driveway and entrance towards the house is lovely ...but facing the house what sticks out to me are those small windows, placed without a sense of design towards the house and that do not make sense in the overall look . Your side view of the house is beautiful ,,windows are nice ..large and coherent ..but if anything I would hire an architect and make more sense of the Windows , the sizes and their proportion to the house . I think if you change that look ..all will be ok .
Many houses that have small windows , make it a row of small windows all across to make it more coherent . Please have a professional see the inside and then figure out how to improve the light needed and Windows to make the house look more attractive ..it's not the porch ..it's not the garages ...you do have two garages ? They are painted blue ? Why ? They should blend in and only the front door should have a color ...how about red or black ..
I see your dilemma but I think it's easily fixed by placing better sizes of Windows to tie it all together .

The front door is obscured by the lawn and shrubs in front of it. A landscape architect could help you open that up, to transform and give presence to the true front of the house. Regarding “tired” looking, I believe that is due to the brown siding and roof. If it’s in your budget, change the color scheme of both roof and siding, for example, to light gray with a dark gray roof.

I was thinking of pulling out the front door to be flush and not an alcove but then I would likely need an overhang / roof? above the door to get out of the elements. Any suggestions? Also I will be replacing the windows and am wondering what style and color. i like modern black windows but I have heard there's ongoing maintenance involved . Casements? Divided lights?

I would really appreciate any further advice or recommendations

Anybody ?

I would put a large deck on the house. Start with the existing one and extend it across the side of the house over the garages. That would be more welcoming and cheerful with furniture and color. Replace the front landscaping. Have stone steps put in - from driveway cutting up to the front door - make an entrance with texture and life.

You have a lovely aspect and beautiful landscaping going on. What about cutting through the berm with some more stonework, and spurring off the driveway towards your front door? It would be interesting to see a lot plan for your house to see if you could do some kind of loop back.

I think your house is very pretty.

Here’s the lot plan !

Regarding the windows should I keep the slider type and replace some of the fogged glass (more budget friendly) or replace the windows and if so what color and type? They are bronze aluminum slider type and fixed glass

McCarthy367: I I am intrigued with the idea of expanding the deck to wrap around and over the garage(s). Are you thinking of eliminating the atrium/solarium glass bump out area or to go around it?

Amber, I would replace it with contemporary French doors or sliding doors, prefer French.

Also, I'm not a fan of sliding windows for the rest of the house. I had them in a house a while back and thought they made the house look cheap. I'd rather see casing windows or some other new option.

I think you have gotten some great advice, so I am not sure what you are still looking for.

To summarize several good suggestions from upthread, with a few additions of my own:

Paint - Paint the house and garage doors the same color. Also, currently the photos make it look like the roof and wall colors don’t work together, so unless the roof is ready for replacement, try out different colors on a paint company website where you can load a photo of your home. Then try out actual large swatches on site to help make a final decision.

Front entry- Widen your walkway to the front door (6’ wide) and add a generous landing at the bottom of the front steps And another landing where the walkway meets the drive. Redo landscaping so that it draws attention to the walk and front door rather than blocking the sight lines to them and add coordinated lighting that is appropriately sized to both the end of the path and alongside the door. I would probably add a parking pad on the left side of the drive opposite the end of the front walkway for guest parking, so visitors don’t have to park by the garage and then walk back.

Your landscaping as a whole looks somewhat neglected and doesn’t really complement the house, so IMO you would benefit from having someone on site to evaluate what you have that might still be useful and help you come up with a plan that will help access to the door you want visitors entering, add to your home’s appearance, and fit with the level of maintenance you are willing to do. It is difficult on a website like this to plan effective siting of the walk and plantings with the elevation changes you have. Actually implementing the planting part of the plan should come last, after any work on the house and all the hardscape is finished so that plants and soil aren’t damaged by work being done.

I don’t see that extending the deck across the front of the garage would be a plus either aesthetically or functionally. Instead, look to paint and plantings to help draw attention away from the garage doors and to help ground your current deck.

Mccarthy367: would you go with white vinyl casements or the bronze?

I am a bit confused. Is your issue with how people enter your home from the back? Do you want them to enter from the front? If so....you need to focus on the front entrance. And this will mean talking with a landscape professional. They will develop an entrance with plants, hardscape, and lighting that will welcome people to the front of your home.

Yes the front. The entrance next to the garage doors bro ya them through the garage and up a never full flight of stairs to the kitchen. The entire trip is less than desirable. Entering from the deck side is another full flight of wooden stairs on the exterior which can be very slippery during New Hampshire snowy winters. I am trying to redirect all visitors and guests to go to the front entrance.

Make the pathway to the front door wide, smooth, well-lit and obvious to your guests. Perhaps you can frame the beginning of the walkway with a pair of nicely-planted areas with lightposts, and low walkway lights leading to the door.

Seconding other comments: add a landscaped, attractive parking area in the front for guests. Prune back the overgrown shrubs in the front. Choose a striking new paint color combination such as white, barn red, or silver gray with black windows. Experiment with the online paint visualizers from Sherwin Williams or your favorite company.

Thanks so much everyone! I will post pics of progress!

Window trim color depends on other house colors. I like black trimmed windows. Only go white if you are going to have white trim (consider inside also).

Look at a new article "see 3 homes dramatically transformed by decks" posted today or yesterday.