This is a picture from when we bought the home. We’ve definitely been making progress

White Trim and lose the shutters at the very least on the window to the right as they cannot appear correct as functional.

White trim, and unless you are someone who never opens their front door, to get light and air through the storm door, then I guess remove it. I could not live in a house without a storm door with a screen in it too. My doors are the first thing I open, in the morning, to let air in the screen, both summer and winter. I also think the railings on your before picture, added more curb appeal to your house. Its a cute house, and I like your sidewalk.

Thank you so much. I will keep the white trim. I will have to figure out how to fix the garage because I hate the way it currently looks with white tin, and creamy trim. Maybe when we repaint the trim to a bright white, it won’t look as bad on the garage.

I’ve attached some photos of where I was getting the blue idea for the shutters.
If I do keep the storm door, I will paint the door white to match. We honestly never use the storm door, but I’m afraid I’ll miss it! Lol

On the columns, I simply want to widen them by a few inches and have them square all the way to the top rather than the skinnier tops as they are now. Nothing bulky.

I hate the sidewalk lined with rock. That was my husband’s doing, and I will remove it. Thank you for taking the time to mock an example of landscaping. I absolutely love it. I plan to implement exactly what you said.

I will post more pictures as we update!

I would still paint the front door whatever color you want, just not the shutters to match.

Agree, I liked the railing too, it added some character,

When enlarging the columns, proportion is key and make sure there is some decorative trim top and bottom.

This is our house to which we just added this porch. You can see the columns are simple but they have a trim at the top and bottom to add some decorative elements.

Navy blue with brick:

Thank you for sharing! So paint the door, but keep the shutters black?

Awesome tips on the columns. We’re going to try the wrap route because a quote to replace them is well over $2,500. This isn’t our forever home, so I’m not wanting to spend that at this time.

I remember the post, and thought at that time, it looked better with the railings.

Once the posts are more substantial and attractive, the missing rail won’t be an issue, I believe.

The inspiration pictures (which look like a version of teal) appear vastly better than the word, "blue," evokes. Anna's picture of the grey and white entrance is a gorgeous color combination. Consider painting the garage a grey like that. The trim and fence could be white.

some ideas:

I think the white door at the end of the long walk looks much better along with a little wider white columns.

Oh my goodness Doug! That landscaping is a dream!! I love it so much