I would ditch the shutters and work on the landscaping.

Landscaping will give you the most improvement but you could make a few changes to the house.

Paint the garage door the color of the roof or the color of the grout.

Remove shutters from the long window bank.

Shutters don't really belong on the other windows either but I will leave that choice up to you.

Paint the front door black or a color you like.

I like the white siding and would leave it in the gable.

If you are ready to spend some money you could widen the walk or enhance the entrance area by adding a wrap around step and a landing area.

Please take photographs from sidewalk facing the house directly.

I agree on removing the shutters and landscaping, which will make such a difference. How about some window boxes and an ornamental tree in the space between the sets of windows? A complimentary front door color as well to draw your eye to that side. If you do tire of the brick, there's many examples online of updated painted ranches. Also, I would not put craftsman details on your home to try and make it something it's not. Better to stick to what the home is.

I agree with painting the garage doors a color to blend with the brick, or the mortor color of the brick. I would also paint the white in the gable to match the garage doors. I dont mind your shutters. I think they do add a bit of interest. I know many recommend painting the downspouts, but, I would never do that. Why take something maintenance free and add to your maintenance. If they do bother you, then see if you can just install new downspouts, since you can get them in color. A nice bright color on the door would look nice, and lots and lots of landscaping. You might want a nursery to come take a look, and make you a design plan for landscaping that you can do little by little. Your yard could certainly use some smaller type trees too. It looks like there is absolutely nothing.

Is the garage door/floor really slanted like that, or is that some optical illusion?

David Jensen...

This is one of the photos from the listing and they used a wide angle lens which gives it the impression something is off, but it is definitely flat. Since moving in last month it’s been rainy and snowy and I have not had a chance to get a better photo.