They look like cat ears to me, not eyes!

Without them I think your house will look quite nice facing straight on. I’m wonder if in the space between the front door and the ground if you had a white trellis wall with a large oval window in it if that would be attractive. I like your Tuscan yellow but might paint the upper body with a faded denim blue, and a gray roof.

the view from the side angle is more problematic but, neighborhood vibe permitting, I might paint the steps leading to the house a wonderful rich color.

I would definitely get rid of the shutters and if you can afford functional ones, sounds like a great investment for hurricane prone coastal property. I would go for an unpainted wood garage door without windows.

I think it would be nice to remove the shutters and do a nice wide trim like on your front door. The cat ears would have been ok if they would have been larger/wider. Can you make the portico over the door larger? Then you can have the peak a different color - maybe a cedar shake .

Here is my attempt at photoshop:

I did find some nice inspiration photos:

Good luck!

I’d remove all the shutters.
I like the above suggestion of board and baton. I’d cover the whole house in similar materials.
Board and baton on top and regular siding over the bottom yellow part. In the same color. I think I’d do blues and whites.

You're right, cat eyes!! Thanks for the ideas. What do you see as the big issue with the side of the house?

No shutters. The only two windows that can accommodate properly sized shutters are directly above the garage. It would look awkward to have just two windows shuttered.

My suggestion:

Yes I would remove the cat ears. I prefer the masonry paint to the upper stories. It seems more cheery and in keeping with a beach house. I don’t mind the siding as is and some paint would help. I don’t think shutters work well for the house due to the windows as shutters should look like they could cover the windows. A different roof color would be nice when you redo the roof and if you could extend the overhang for the entry out with a single gable to cover the upper portion of the stair deck I think it would look nice. The current gable there looks off in scale and also because there is no support underneath it. even though I’m sure it is structurally sound the brain sort of expects something to support it so without it looks off. I would suggest corbels as an option, but with the current design there isn’t enough room.

I like the yellow on the bottom. It is not a common color.

I would not spend any money covering the masonry on the ground level with another siding material. If you have another storm surge, it could be damaged. Shakes or a larger clapboard would look good on the upper siding.

I agree - no shutters. Beef up the trim around the windows, if you can.

First, figure out what roof you want. There are fewer roofing choices so always get the toughest done first. Remove the cat ears and the entry door peak too. In my opinion, using all one color with bright white trim is a beautiful look. But again. What is the roof material and color? I would try to do a overhang over the entire front width of second floor. Paint garage floor same color to diminish that “front door garage” look. Make sure your new contractor understands any codes or hurricane situations to ensure best possible survivability. Here are some inspirational photos.

“Garage door” same color. Not floor! Auto correct has gone rogue!

These are all great ideas: remove shutters, replace roof (right now it's a weird reddish brown), remove cat ears, create a portico over the front door. We like the grey with white trim, which is pretty popular in our area. Also love the classic brown Cape Cod look with a green door. Decisions decisions. Raising the house was 100% the thing to do but it did result in a somewhat awkward look. I think these suggestions will make it much nicer.

Oh yes, raising up is very important. We live 56 miles in from Galveston so we understand that!

I think the garage floor the same color would look good too.