Your picture is tiny. Can you up load another one in the comments?

Unless there is something structurally wrong with the railing it looks fine. I think a very light tan would look good on the house. I would paint the stucco and the gable the same color. The gable will not be noticeable when it is the same color. It seems the fascia is missing. It need to be added.

The garage door needs to be replaced. I would look at garage doors first and match the siding color to the door.

Replace the Victorian door with a traditional or contemporary one.

It's hard to see your tiny picture. Is the bottom part brick or stone?

I don't think that repainting a medium colour will make the windows look larger. For someone with a small budget, some of these ideas are expensive and I don't think would add value e.g. add transom after removing the octagonal window. Are they doing these renovations for resale or for their own enjoyment to live in ?

I would go very "quiet" on the garage door and have it a similar colour to the stucco, or a bit darker. Not white or natural wood, nothing that stands out.

Improved landscaping would add a lot of curb appeal. Can you plant in front of the house or is there a walkway across the front of the house?

Agree with the posters above, add a photo that can be expanded here in the comment section.

Your proposed changes are expensive and unlikely to bring value to the house upon sale (if that is what you are looking for). In fact, they will cost much more than what will show up in the sales price.

The stucco color is what is objectionable, not the location of it. Right now, from this tiny pic, the color makes the house look like it is unfinished stucco. If you paint the exterior a non-gray color and put in appropriate landscaping along with the other suggestions (garage door and front door) that will increase the curb appeal tremendously at a much lower cost to you and a much better yield on your sales price.

BTW, the best return on sales price is landscaping and paint. All the other changes you are making cost more than will return. You would be lucky to get 50% of the cost to make those other changes. The garage door is an exception.

Sorry I did this with my finger on my phone. I was trying to achieve a balance. Not sure if you could bring the brick or something up further. Maybe a pergola high over the lower windows. A new door to fit the house style. And, landscaping!

Some inspiration pics for you OP

Braes Heights 5 · More Info

^This one has a wood garage door and a warm white stucco. Front door is mainly glass. You could go in the same direction with your Mother's home and appeal to most of the market.

Home, courtyard and carriage house compound, Montclair, NJ · More Info

^Dark blue stucco and wood front door and garage doors :)

50 Inviting Garage Door Ideas | HGTV · More Info

White stucco and modern garage door and dark trim works on this house. Could work on yours too. Maybe celerygirl will come by and mock up a couple of choices for you to see.

I think it's imperative that you change out the front door to something not Victorian in style. Those oval glass doors are Victorian.

IMO you don't need to put a transom over the front door - waste of money. You won't see it back in the sales price. The octagonal window could go with the navy exterior paint but not some of the others so do that if you need to.

To answer your question, remove the tree in front of the home to make the entrance more visible and do low landscaping. Plant a taller tree in front of the stucco area - not too close. Landscaping will go a long way.

Paint all stucco a soft white. Paint garage door and front door (new one) the same color.

My concerns are several simple items:

• Garage door looks to be rather wide for a single car garage. I am assuming 12ft wide? If budget were in structure I would make the door slightly less wide to add just a little wall to either side to help with curb appeal. If not then the color or type of door should be contrasting color and/or texture.
• The porthole windows of the garage suggest it is a single panel flip up door so not a roll up. This changes the dynamics and looks. If a new door and wanting windows consider a 6 panel that has one panel of lites built in.
• A stained wood garage door, with new bold paint on the whole stucco, would be a good blend. Consider the color of the dark brick as a red /brown, the driveway is a tan brown (your neighbours are both grey) so I suggest a bold chocolate brown, perhaps adding in some black trim around the doors and windows.
• Match new front door with garage (panel door w/wo peephole windows)
• Perhaps somefaux shutters to the window over the garage and to the basement window would help with the wide sidewalls (although the brick interferes here). Perhaps a fascia trim to separate the upper from lower level on the right side after painting to break up the surface area.
• The front door and windows are all out of balance due to the renovations done which clearly are visible in the stucco. Is the Stucco a textured or smooth finish can't tell from the photo size? Sand down the texture if it is bold to help transition the new stucco areas. Helps in blending the new paint.

Menu Road Residence · More Info

This is the a good example of driveway color to walls to doors being more in balance.

• The octo window has to go it just has no continuity here. (Especial if the porch cover goes in)
• Porch cover - are you considering a gable or a sloped roof here? I recommend a simple sloped one with perhaps a single wrought iron post to match the railing perhaps a decorative climbing trestle as a support (6in wide). Good for some climbing rose or morning glories in a pot to frame the door. You would be best in a perennial or rose tree here though.
• The other garden aspect would be the short retaining wall at the front of the yard. Suggest cutting out a 12 inch strip of grass and putting in some short 12in high perennial shrubs or plants like mint or such (good for deterring ants) across the front as this can add some much needed color, not too big, and adds simple curb appeal, that is not too strenuous for future upkeep (new or existing owner).

I agree with some of the comments from:

#Renee 👍- It is poor Feng Shui to have a tree blocking your entry door. I find most buyers consider this a big no-no at least in my part of the country. You could move the tree which could be pruned to a nice height in the future to corral that black space.

#Denita - "BTW, the best return on sales price is landscaping and paint. All the other changes you are making cost more than will return. You would be lucky to get 50% of the cost to make those other changes. The garage door is an exception."

Thanks, everyone! Was called back to work the last week so apologies for late response- meting with my brother tomorrow morning and will look more closely at all suggestions this weekend.

I should note the following:

1. We are not selling- we are fixing it up for my 82-year-old mom who is aging in place there. We are trying to give long overdue care to the house.

2. Totally agree about the landscaping-we've been removing all landscaping and will start afresh when we are finished with exterior.

3. We were going to replace the scalloped wood trim above garage w/ cedar siding but can't really see where else we could balance that unless we went above bricks on right side and I think that would look strange.

Running to work but can't wait to show suggestions to my brother tomorrow!

Here are two options for the house.

Since you are fixing up for your mother, not for sale, I suggest new paint and a new garage door with a full row of windows across the top and a garage door opener. Add whatever landscaping your mother wants to care for. Refurbishing the lawn is inexpensive (add compost and fertilizer).

There's nothing wrong with the octagonal window or the front door. it's just that their styles are not in fashion. Updating those features piecemeal is likely to make other features in the house look out of date- when you give a mouse a cookie... and so on.