I think your house looks fine, but the shrubs need to be taken out as they're overwhelming it. Put in a nice flower garden, and see if that doesn't change the look of the front of the house.

The other problem I see is that you could have problems with the roots from your trees cracking your foundation or growing into your sewer pipes as they're so close to the house. It shouldn't be a problem yet, but keep an eye on them in the coming years as it's a very common problem in our area. My husband won't allow me to put in certain types of trees because the roots branch out, and he's concerned about that.

Love your white flowering bush. I would relocate or severely prune. I would like to see AC screened but be careful not to plant too close and impede air flow. I would also like the meter to be obscured. Perhaps a curved raised stone path with a landing to take care of steep stair issue. You need to see a landscape architect in your area and discuss what kind of soil, light and drainage you have. What zone are you in? Looks southern.

Sunnydrew is quite right , trim all the bushes ,formally IE rounds and squares, paint house silver grey , with brilliant white trims on windows, dark stone painted steps and Black/Navy or Graphite gloss shiny painted door. Add traditional hanging lantern under entrance or either side. You must advertise a sense of arrival Tah Dah so to speak. you may consider some formal all year round planting , best wishes and good luck, regards Malcolm

I like your ideas for stone and landscape replacement, and will offer something like this as an alternative to iron railings on a steep entrance[houzz=]:

Here are a few thoughts, building on what other Houzzers offer. I am not wild about the color, but that is primarily because the home, other than the trim is so monochromatic. Try a darker base and adding some of these details and I think that will be a move in the right direction. Happy Houzzing.

You will want to keep the foundation plantings intermittent to show off the stone/ darker base. I suggest concentrating on evergreens with a max. of 3', interspersed w 2' selections of either evergreen or perennial. Your trees look like appropriate understory choices, and if mature, might remain.

New color scheme, maybe gray with the stone (good idea), bright pop of color on the door, manicure landscaping, paint stairs, maybe new railings = a happy makeover! Might be worth a Photoshop restyle/recolor by a designer, clients LOVE this service. Takes the fear out... Good luck!

Paint the door a brighter color and add a hanging fixture for light.

The looks fine in the color it is in. I don't see any point in going through finding a better color which can be such a crapshoot. You can't just say, gray- there are a hundred shades and tones most of which will look awful.

The simplest change is to paint the whole portico and columns a lighter value of the body color so that it it steps out and adds some visual interest to the too plain house. Spending money adding columns or whatever is not really going to garner you any more interest.

The entry/door is quite elegant but it will look even better if the sidelights are painted in the trim color. See the difference in the the studio 10001 photo above. And of course an interesting door color will make it all pop. The color can be fun or sedate matching the mood of your interior but make the color darker than the body color. Again refer to above photo.

Lastlly paint the top riser, just below the porch floor, in the trim color and paint the rest of the steps in a little darker value of the body color. These changes in color value will give you a lot of definition and since it is a small house you don't need a lot going on.

Oh, and course trim the shrubbery

I think curved stairs like this would be beautiful on your hose and complement stone you want to add, and then a walkway to the street or where guests would park. Cedar or redwood colour door.