There are whole neighborhoods of those in our suburbs from post-war. I love to drive through and see the improvements people have made. My favorite is the addition of a gabled overhang over the front door, as wide as the stoop (your stoop is not original, it’s a much nicer size). And then landscaping.

Fun post! I've searched for what you just purchased (congrats) and it seems the house may be called (drum roll), a "war box house".

For character: (ignore the addition, but a possibility down the road?)

Add a pergola and a deck and new front steps. (in reverse, so that the steps lead to the driveway.) Of course, landscaping, but only needs a simple look. You already have a nice lawn area.

I see you have a garage...any plans for it?

Exciting...tell us about the inside, please.

Driving around today I took special notice of the post war cottages. Pretty ones were painted a soft color (a very pale green with creamy white not bright white trim was a favorite), with black hardware, stained wood doors with a window, iron railings on the stoops, all very tidy. And flowers.

A little bit of paver under your hose reel, a trug or watering can, and two pots on your stoop would look nice. It looks like the right side of your stoop is straight, perhaps you can do an iron railing in just that side.

Thank you all for your comments. So it's a war box house, and I probably should have guessed that one. I think the good news is I have a blank slate to work with. The bad news is that it's so blank. I definitely need some sort of dimension on the front. A porch will do wonders especially if it's a front facing gable. I'd been looking at making it into a bungalow by adding a chunky porch and brick vaneer around the foundation. Looks like I can go modern too! And landscape is key so I'll need to look into that too. Thank you!