I should add that our home is located in a quiet lakeside town in Ontario, Canada. This type of home tends uncommon in our area. Looking for ideas to possibly modernize our homes exterior.

If you remove the pillars, how do you support the portico roof?

I would get rid of the piece over the door.

You could change the ornate top trim over the front door to a straight top door frame /trim.

Then remove the pillars and the roof they're supporting.

Then rebuild your portico with a single story flat roof that is also a Juilet balcony as you

Replace the upstairs center window with patio doors.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/419468152776588519/

OK the columns are gone and the gable is moved back......not much difference IMO.

You could change the color on the house so it wasn't so very traditional.

You have a beautiful home!

Update to what??

Your house is a fairly well-proportioned American Colonial Revival, not unknown in Ontario.

The "piece" over the door is a characteristic colonial broken pediment.

The shutters on the bay windows are inappropriate, as indeed are those in the house pictured below. Shutters must look like they would cover the windows if closed, even if they are fixed to the house. Also anachronistic are your ganged central casement windows. The bay windows are another out of era choice. (But the cost of changing those out would be prohibitive.)

American Colonial Revival Home, Waterford, Ontario

Peel away the colonial embellishments, you're left with a characterless rectangular box.

Turn it into an elaborate southern Colonial Revival as suggested above? Now, that's really out of character for the area!

Strengthening and reinforcing the style of what you already have would be the simplest most appropriate "updating" to undertake. That might include more attention to porch details such as stair and porch railings, which, btw, would be required to pass OBC if this were a new build. And, please no fake add-on dormers!

Thank you everyone for your input! I greatly appreciate your keen eyes. My husband will be especially pleased to read these comments as he is in the “keep the pillars” camp. We will move ahead with the suggestions of removing the shutters from the larger windows as it is something we have discussed.
A second question, if I may; the upper, centre window is original to the house and needs to be replaced. What would be most aesthetically pleasing? At one point we talked about putting some sort of balcony with French doors but not sure if that would be appropriate.
Thank you again! Take care

I was originally looking at these homes for inspiration if we were to get rid of the pillars.

Something to think about - I’m not sure the pitch of your roof is steep enough to aesthetically support dormers. Pushing the pediment back and adding dormers-my hunch is the proportions would be all wonky.

Wrt the window, you could probably fit a pair of double hungs to match the existing windows on 2nd floor, install a simple picture window, or go back with the double casement w/ center fixed panel. My inclination is a single picture window.

You still have pillars with everyone of those designs you just posted. None look any better than what you already have. Keep what you have, its a very nice looking house.

The columns are appropriate for the home. I think the biggest improvement would be if you replaced the windows over the front door. What's there right now are casement windows and the rest of your windows are double hung. Remove the shutters on the large windows and I think those changes will change your feelings about the look. You could also look into replacing the siding on the porch gable with a wider board.

Trying to modernize a traditional style home like yours could end up looking like a muddled mess. Play up the strengths of your home.

If you're interested in seeing some virtual makeovers of your home check out my website, Creative Visual Concepts.

Leave it alone

It's perfect