Removal of all the overgrown shrubbery on the left end would be a start. A solid front door; you can see who's there through the sidelights. Larger, lower lantern light by the door, or maybe take the entry up into the area where the plate glass window is. I think it might be interesting to change that siding for a different style.

Dramatic entry and interesting siding.

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This color blue would look good on your house.

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Can your window trim be painted? If you can paint the window trim, then how about painting you house white with black (or super dark green) windows?

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If you are amenable consider three paint colors. One for body of home, one for window trim, and another for door and shutters. You're right about current color it is very flat and adds no dimension. I probably wouldn't recommend removing the shutters. Windows without shutters sometimes look a bit too stark.

Like another poster mentioned I'd lose the overgrown shrub or at least do a hard prune depending on the type of shrub. Also a small tree with multi seasonal interest would be good. If you're not one for gardening consider revving up things with hardscaping. Whatever you do consider using plants with textural interest and with different mature heights.

You have a great entry and color would be wonderful as well as a more substantial light fixture.

Ultimately this may mean you have to pick a style you'd like for your home.

I would paint the green areas a much lighter version of the body color. It would help if you knew which color they used.

Remove the shrubs on the left side.

I'd paint the door a different color. Maybe dark blue.

some modern updates would look great. think about adding some wood or stone work, update the colors to something more dramatic. Remove the shutters.

these are all updated split-levels. maybe they'll give you some ideas

this one is my fave:

Holy moly those are awesome inspiration pictures, Beth H.

After seeing those, I think the question is how big do you want to dream?

I like that last one, celerygirl. Can you play around and do something w/ wood ?

The roof is light gray, right? If that's staying or to be repeated, and you already have new/newer windows with white vinyl, I'm thinking a navy could look really nice on the body of the house, with white trim. A red, or a tangerine-colored door might be nice. Or a beige-gray even.

Some practical issues to think about with your updates...

Make good choices with your landscaping. I like celerygirl' mockup very much but that pyramidal evergreen could be a bad idea. Even if dwarf evergreen it has the potential to have a mature height that means it's placement that close to the foundation is not good. I know this because I bought a home that was just fine when I purchased it but a monster river birch planted too close to foundation caused some damage that was repaired but I could have used the time, $$, & distress over losing such a beautiful tree on other areas of my landscape.

Also for the garden beds be realistic about what you want to take care of on your own or if you can find a great crew to take care of it for you. Choose your plants wisely to match your lifestyle. A well tended garden takes time and effort but can be managed by choosing the right type of plants Or incorporating hardscaping.

Also understand how you may be able to get supplemental water to your new beds before they are installed. Initially they will need water to get them established but less so once that occurs.

Good luck with whatever you decide. I love some of these suggestions.

Yes, I can play with wood.

oh I love that celery. the darker one looks so cool.