Your house is fine - You need to address your landscaping.

Trees and flowers would be nice - some renewed plantings along the left of the house - replacing the plain concrete driveway and front walk with pavers, etc.

Your house looks fine but have you got a better photo - this one is very dark. State what is bothering you the most . And please tell what the colors are - like on the shutters - door etc.

maybe a updated landscaping in the front yard without all those bubbly round shrubs would make a difference. or you can paint the front door a different color.

I agree...You can do a lot here with landscaping. I would take out the current walkway to the door and put in something with a bit more curve to it just to make things a little less symmetrical. You can line the walkway with plants or flowers.

I think a tree or two in the front would do wonders as well.

I think flower boxes under the windows would be lovely

Yes, all of the above, love the window box idea, and maybe the shutters should be a tad larger (they should cover the window if you actually put them on the window). I love the different shingle patterns!

I agree with the wider shutters- you could make them out of cedar easily and paint or stain... also you could widen the sidewalk with pavers on each side to make it much more welcoming.

I love this style of house --- You have the perfect setup to have an entrance court. If you bring out a short fence or stone wall ( about 24 or 30 inches high ) on each side starting a little wider than the open centre part area . Like an "L" shape and the reverse on the other side coming to the center walk. This entrance court could also have a pergola over the center area. Your shutters are too small - one shutter should be the size of half the window . I would paint them black and also the garage doors and the eves trim , then the front door needs a great color - something that will show up . Add to your landscaping - you need some trees. Ask your garden centre for help. Garden lighting helps with curb appeal .

Maybe a little millwork, a walkway, flower boxes, bright door and shutters

OK, a brighter photo would be helpful. Maybe a closer angle, too. That aside, if you don't want to paint the whole house, or if the paint is in good shape, consider just updating the trim.....and not just the shutters, but the fascia by the roof and your garage doors too. Can't advise on colors because the photo is too dark. Now, your bigger issue is landscaping. Lose the tight little orbs in favor of some looser, taller plants, like "silver sheens" on the ends and in between the windows. Beautiful in the sunlight, sort of lacy, blow in the breeze. You can keep them trimmed so they don't overtake your roof. And some COLOR! Sprinkle some lower lying shrubs or flowers in between, like lilies or even daisies. (depending on where you live of course.)

paint the clapboard a light color, say yellow, that would enhance the fieldstone front porch. A low wall to the right of the door would add to the focus. It lacks focus. You could also brighten up the door with a bold color.

agree with all of the above-consider painting the shutters and door a brighter color-add maybe a lampost or a mailbox at the end of the walkway by the street and add some flowering around it-take out the shrubs along the house now and add in some plants such as hydrangeas, or tall grass, or gardenia bushes etc.-depending on ur budget you could replace your walkway with different stone and add flowering on the borders of the walkway with small lamps

My eyes fall sadly on the vast bland spaces on either side of your walkway, which would seem like a daunting walk with little interest. I would suggest planting 2 mature trees, one on either side in the middle of your large patches of grass area. Under the trees, at the base I would suggest mulching circular areas and fill with mulch and ground cover. This would also provide some privacy and make your home seem more mysterious. Plus I would add an architectural light at the the walkway, about 1/4 of the distance from the road. Again with some ground cover interest.

First it looks like your shingles on the roof have stains. You can hire a company that will wash them. I would paint the door a bright color, I like red. Then put some containers with flowers near the front door to draw the eye toward the entrance. I can't tell if the area in front of the door is concrete, If it is, you could have a nice setting area with a couple of chairs and table. You have an evergreen on one end of the house, I would add one to the other end as well.

Add a fountain in the front courtyard. Nothing too big, but the sound of running water bouncing of those stone walls would be very welcoming...not that that helps with the VISUAL at all...

Paint the front door a brighter color... add boxwoods, or other hedge on the sidewalk leading from the street to the door. Change the landscape up close to the house. Layer from small to tall in the back closer to the house. Put something tall like dwarf Italian Cypress in between the windows, with small trees or flowering bushes on the ends...maybe another pine on the opposite side of the house to give balance to the one that is already there by the garage.

Superfluos shutters have to go. Perhaps replace them with a modern corrugated metal overhang or post and beam gables? It all depends on the look you want.

Stone is great but if the style is dated, change what's dated. The brown grout can be stained to something different or you can paint the stone all together another color. But...

Lack of Contrast is what's hurting your eye here. All you have to break up the gray is some sad green shutters. Rip those off and address the windows either darker or lighter.

Landscaping is healthy, lush, and green, but it lacks overall symmetry or design. Arrange the shrubs with purpose and fill in voids with smaller new plantings.

The "mailman" sidewalk should be removed, but that's a BIG job. Replacing it is also a big job, as is a paver driveway or walkway. The easiest thing there would be concrete stain. And you don't have to stain the whole thing, just a frame, or portions. You can also rent a concrete saw and saw out strips which you can fill with belgium blocks or pavers. This isn't as intense as an entire tear-out but stone work is rough and heavy! Kiss your desk-job soft hands goodbye. :D

Also, how old is your roof. When thinking budget, remember to figure in future costs. The mold on the roof is killing the look of your house.

Whatever you do, design you trees, etc from the inside looking out. What do you want to block? What do you want to see? Looks like you have little privacy from those windows so plan accordingly. You did not mention what direction your home is facing nor wind conditions, etc. If you are tight on budget, look into local schools whom have landscape design students who can give you free plans. Looks like getting rid of lawn and those pesky unnaturally sculpted shrubs would be a good start....go for a woodland look with lots of natives and mulched walkways...or leave interesting curves in some of the lawn on both sides and have huge planting areas for the outside of the curves....adding large, gentle berms to both sides would give some depth.

It's not the type of landscaping as much as the location. Locate the landscaping at the property lines and next to the curb cut, almost as if to make a fence around your yard. This will claim your yard as your space, whereas right now it's a psychological no mans land. It's so exposed you'll feel like you're on stage if you're using it... and obviously it's not a public park for others to use. Remedy that inbetween state with plantings that 'capture the yard' and better define the empty field of green.

Once you've decided what changes to make in the landscaping and detailing such as the shutters, concentrate on your entrance. Can't tell from this photo where your house numbers are, but a vertical custom number plaque to the right of your door, lighted from above by a coordinating sconce would add a warm touch and a nice night time focal point.

Besides paving (costly and messy) lampost's @ walkway and driveway entrances (check 1st with local utilities of course) a couple of small independent gardens in front and near sidewalk also I would and have planted two Eastern rosebuds trees either side of walkway(check 1st with local utilities of course), I think you have a great house and a lot of good lawn space to work with.

I believe the fix for your home is a combination of changes on the front of your home and yard. I would remove the too small shutters and add trim around all of the windows. Paint the home, front only if that's all you can afford, to compliment a color within the stone. Pay attention to colors of other homes in your neighborhood and choose a color that is not repeated close to your home. Paint your door a third color. There is no reason to paint your garage doors a trim color because you do not want them to stand out, they are not an architectural feature. Painting them will be a distraction from the overall look of your home so keeping them the same color as the base is a good idea. The landscaping in the front needs to be taken out and replaced. I would pour big offset concrete pads or use the same type of stone that is on the house to widen the entry. I would add plantings and low voltage lighting from the street to the porch. Trees add a great deal to the look of the house and I would use 24 or 35 inch box. If you can only do one thing I would start with the landscaping. However removing shutters, painting the front door and adding trim may not be too costly if those who live in the house are DIYers. Updating a home's look brings a fresh look to the neighborhood and helps to remind us why we chose our homes.

Make a new side walk that is curved and inviting - this one is to linear and direct. A tree on the front lawn would look good.

The front sidewalk..out...curved one towards the drive. Pergola to connect the 2 gables.

I would like to see a curving sidewalk going up to the entrance with a larger tree in the front yard. If you wanted to go to the extra expense of putting shingles in the front dormores along with different colored lower side boards boardering the house it would be better. However the house as it stands is attractive with out going to the extra work. Additional landscaping with bushes in the front would help as well I love the look of the trelis in the upper conversations. I think the idea of a curving side walk gives a friendlier and inviting look to your house.

Cute house. A couple of things immediately stand out. Remove a few of the shrubs to the right - just too many "green globes". Do vary the size, but edit some out and replace with flowers for contrast. Some airy, small trees would help too. Will balance the overall low, solid look of the shrubs and house. Also, tone down your walkway. The concrete is too bright and does not tie into the home. Pave it or apply a darker concrete stain. Have the roof shingles cleaned and brightened, too. Also brighten your front door with a cheerful paint color & a planter or two filled with flowers - the entry is dark & nearly invisible from the street. Your inside window treatments can be changed, too. So the home looks more open & cohesive.

House has great balance. You could create a courtyard entry, a row of small trees on either side of walkway, a glass entry door and better landscape overall.

You have a nice home, it won't take much to make it more inviting. This is the perfect situation for an entry court made with two low L shaped walls that flank the foot path from the street. I would make the walls out of whatever stone or brick was used on the house and would make them 2' to 3' tall and about 16" - 18" thick. I would include a couple of fairly large trees (install around 16' tall and well branched) inside the entry court; I would change the concrete foot path to large slabs of stone with planted joints or lawn between them - same for the path from the driveway to the front door. I woudl use the same stone as used for the footpath for the coping on teh new walls. That will tie the features in your landscape together. I would have much more planting around the path and the new L shaped walls. The would help ground your home and would vastly improve the curb appeal. Also, once they are established, shrub and perennial beds require far less maintenance, water and chemicals than lawns do. Landscape lighting would also be a great addition - path lights for the foot path and some up-lights on the trees. You could add a back-lit number plate to the L-shaped wall to make your home easier to find after dark.

there was a short wall attached to the house to form the court yard originally. He was torn down because the rock began to fall off. The house faces the north and gets very little sun. There is a large tree that is in front, and the landscaping on the (left side of picture) does not grow as well as the right or it dies off. There also is a curved sidewalk to the left that leads to the garage and all the concrete has been stained to look like tile but it has not worn well.