I would start with removing the shutters and painting the door glossy black

Shutters, door, beef up the columns and perhaps add a false vent adornment in the white gable area?

I think I would keep the shutters but change their color. Take your favorite color swatch and use colors in that spectrum. Make sure that there are several shades of separation for each color you choose to make a deffinate distinction. I would paint the porch covering a darker shade than the shutters. Then choose your favorite bold color to use on the front door. The garage color should be considered in this scheme. I would plant larger trees in the front yard. I know cost is prohibitive however. I would mention color but I cannot get a good color read on my tablet. Good luck.

It is a very cute house! If it is in your budget, I would paint the brick to match the vinyl and paint or stain the shutters a dark color. If a total make over is not in your budget, put a large piece of iron work in the gable area.

I would remove shutters and paint front door black or mustard. Is it possible to put woods shingles or wood siding over entrance?

Wow what a great house! It really has a ton of curb appeal. The porch is a bit dark due to the overhang- what direction does it face? Box in the pillars, and keep the shrubs low low low so they don’t further darken the porch. Can you add some lighting? Upgrade the shutters - a bit wider board and batten would be nice, and choose a better color scheme. Your brick color is good, go to the paint store or tool around here to find a color scheme that complements your brick.

Agree. Please no scroll metal art.

Can you do something like this? Using cedar for the posts as well. Then either paint the shutters black or possibly also go cedar. The front door would be painted a color, preferably a fun one that doesn't clash with the brick tone.

I love post and beam construction like Junk Salvation showed but it absolutely doesn't go with your brick ranch style home. The first two suggestions, removing the shutters (they aren't appropriately sized for the double windows) and painting the front door are simple, inexpensive changes. What bothers me is the vertical siding on the gable. If your budget allows I would look at changing it to a horizontal siding to match what is on the garage. Again, if budget allows I might look at changing the color of the siding too.

I think your column size is appropriate for your porch. If you're interested in seeing some virtual makeovers of your house check my web site, Creative Visual Concepts

Everything tatts said. Tatts wins the Internet today.

I agree with Blythe K Paint the shutters, paint the door, and definitely increase the column size and/or taper, and add detail to the white gable area maybe a shake or decorative mill work feature and returns back on each corner.

Garage Gable Detail

Garage Gable Detail

Front Porch Gable Detail

The overhang of the gable is so low you don’t want to add anything else to the bottom of it and make it lower. You need to lighten and brighten the porch. Tatts idea to add a beam Does not account for proportion and will further close off the porch.

I would incorporate Board and Batton in the gabel, add accents on the top, and you can also do James Hardie Plank siding over the brick if you'd really like to update the front of the home. If you would like professional design help we could assist further. We do online design consolations and 3D renderings like this one for homeowners to see their design before construction begins. You have plenty of great options with your home to update it. The shapes of your home are a great base to work with!

Before modifying the house it’s important to understand what it is. The style is mid 20th century “Minimal Traditional”. You should research this style and look for other examples in the neighborhood. I renovated one and had to get approval from the city Historic Commission.
Ask if the building dept has the original drawings to see if its been modified.

And take photos of it from different angles. Be very careful what you do with the pediment. Make it the best version of the style. It’s never going to be a Colonial or a Craftsman.

This house is similar to the house across the street from me, except that the one across from me doesn't have the large white gable. when I move there, the house had all the trim in white and looked very bland. When the new couple moved in, they changed out the white house and garage lights to black, they painted the white shutters black, and painted the front door black. The black accents look much better. They also added a couple of planters in black which have flowers in them in the summer. the black door might be a little bit much, but it looks fine with a wreath on it in light colors that provide contrast.

IMO you should avoid black. Traditional houses that appear to have black accents are often a very very dark green; black can be dull. But before choosing high contrasting colors consider warm gray for the cladding.
Vinyl siding may have been added so look at it carefully. Some paint manufacturers sell paint for vinyl siding. Good luck with it.
It might be possible to convert the style to a cottage but it would require a skilled designer who could test ideas quickly and accurately.

I would simply paint the white area a color closer to the brick color or taken from the brick area, along with painting the light area of the garage - or at least darken those areas. Choose your shutter color and a front door color that are lighter, so the whole house doesn't look too dark; if they are in good shape I'd probably just leave them as is. If those are white downspouts I see, paint them to match the house so they don't stand out.

What is that "hiccup" along the bottom of the porch above the entry door?

It a spliced photo probably from Google earth. Photos from an angle would be helpful. This is designing in a vacuum.

If paint and shutter modification are not enough I recommend buying another house. Many of the proposed changes would ruin the house IMO. Let someone who loves it buy it.