What an awesome house! I'm thinking you should paint the door a brighter color that says "Hey! Enter here!"

Funny...that is exactly was I was going to say as well....Maybe even replace the door if the budget allows. Excellent exterior

Add extra (dramatic) trim that encases door and extends up above door into triangle shape, painted white.

I agree to make the door white. You could also put up something above the door that shouts welcome. I like the idea about the extra trim, or perhaps an archetectural peice mounted above the door, without being part of the door casing.

Thank you for your suggestions! I will definitely look at beefing up the trim and adding some height that way. Now for the door - we're absolutely replacing what is currently there. I'll have to decide between white, a wood tone (fibreglass door) that picks up on the lighter wood tones in the shake, or a pop of color such as the "new teal" I'm seeing on exterior doors...

Thanks again!

How about taking the cedar siding off of the round turret and use a different siding material. Maybe a stone or simple stucco. That would help it stick out from the rest of the house.

I agree with painting the door, it blends too much with the shingles.Changing out the trim around the door is a great idea as well. You could also put an urn with a topiary tree with lights on each side to welcome you.

Depending on your budget, I like the idea of ripping off the cedar shingles and replacing it with rock, however, if you have rock on the turret you need to add it to another part in the front of your house to balance it out. Then painting the door a brighter color with a brass plate on the bottom and a new door knob with a long brass plate behind the knob to make the hardware look more decorative and bigger. Also, adding a thicker decorative molding around the door would help too. If you don't want to spend as much, don't do the rock, but do all the other ideas.

How about adding brick to the turret area, matching the brick in the low wall along your walkway. See this picture:
You could add stone around the door to make it pop like this house as well.

In addition to painting the door and beefing up the trim around it, you should de-emphasis your brilliant white downspout... Its distracting with its starkness and its location is a bit odd ( not sure why they didn't angle it so it was in the corner). Fine to have your gutters and trim white, but the downspout should blend a bit better for its current location.

Very cool house. Consult with a landscape architect to see how to make the entrance more obvious by perhaps changing the hardscape and adding new beds for plants that would lead you to the entrace.

A a white painted overhang over the front door like the roof of your 3-window bump out, but scaled to the door;

Colorful container plantings on either side of your new front door. Probably not glazed ceramic since freeze-thaw destroys it in a few winters. Plant low maintenance tall evergreens that will winter over well (small arbor vitae?). Add some twinkle lights for when you're feeling festive;

Maybe stain the shingles on the turret a slightly lighter red than the roof. Try this in Photoshop first to see if you even want to consider it.

A bright red on the front door will perk this whole thing outside make the place look more alive. It will make the white of the trim seem more brillant then it is, make it pop. You could also look for flowers and shrubs that love the snow and plant them in red boxes or jars = it would bring a wee bit more sparkle to the home.

The color in your foreyer is wrong - a light tan and almost white but not - and no I don't mean off white will give it more light. A small table that fits the curve on the right side with a drawer in it for pens and paper to make last minute notes as you leave the house. On top of the table a bouget of artifical flowers - what ever you like. Also a medium napkin holder to hold the days mail for shifting through when you have had a moment to relax.

Under the light switches on the left I would put a curved bench to make the walls with a stand beneath it to hold boots or shoes - so that on leaving the home you place your house shoes or slippers here and put on your boots or shoes - less mud dragged through the house.

I would put a coat stand to the left of the bench for puttig those drippie coats on.

I think it would be a mistake to replace the glass door. If it is privacy you are looking for add a mirror to the inside of the door - over the glass. So people see themselves when they come to the door through the intricate of the glass, Then put bunched white lace curtains - bunched together on a top and bottom rod to cover the mirror.

I would replace the glass door with a traditional multi-panel door - Painted a Bright Red.

Also invest in some landscaping - More trees and shrubbery that direct your eye toward your front door would be a good thing.

Beefier molding around the door with an eave or decorative piece above. Red door with a chunkier handle. If you keep the glass, get all rectangular panes instead of the arched detail.

... and I don't know how anyone could criticize the color of your foyer when all you can see is the door.

Hi aralph, I am all for dressing up the Turret as suggested by certain people already.

I would just take off the shingles for the Turret and the bay window on the 2nd level and stucco over it. The tower behind could be updated the same way depending on your budget. This might be just enough to make your front entry welcoming.

The downspout, as pointed out by mmonika, being so close to the front door is not very pleasing as well.

Wow, Dytecture, thanks for the mock-up! I'm loving the wood door - it seems to compliment the roof and shake nicely. I like the stucco idea very much but we love stone so I think I would use stone and match it up by facing the red brick wall with the same product, as previously mentioned by ej610 and smasko. All awesome ideas!

That would look so good!! If you do it, I want to see pictures!!! I love cedar with rock, and I think if you get the right rock--like a whitish/taupish rock to go with the brown cedar...it'll look awesome together!! If you do the rock with the brown cedar, I would do a cream colored front door with cream colored trim on the house with brass accents...can't wait to see what you do!!!

Liquidscapes, the work you did on that house is incredible! Landscaping will be key to our 'work in progress' and I think you're right about a good power wash to start with. The house needs brightening. Thanks for the suggestions.

Go to my page and site and check out the project called "Old World Charm". This 100 year old Tudor went through a major renovation and addition, but the goal was to create a seamless marriage between old and new (which transcended into the landscape as well).

If you can find someone locally that has computer modeling capabilities, they can design a model and elevation of your home with various architectural changes, before you commit to the physical changes.

Here is another project we worked on, but I want you to see lighter stained wood shingles, softer trim color with stone as a contrast. Also, notice the color of the door and how it stands out, but is complimentary to the overall color pallet.

Sorry, he is the door and front entry.

Can you power wash the shingles, the brick wall and the walkway? Then paint the door a brighter color and landscape. Pull down that vine growing up the front and maybe some outdoor lighting to uplight the house. Love your weathervane though.

It took me some time to find the pictures that would better show what I was trying to say. Coat trees come in different colors and styles and when using one you'll never have to hunt for your coat again!

The tops of the coat racks that got cut off - look like normal racks that I'm sure you've seen before. If you enlarge the picture their tops show. My favorite is the tree limb one.

I would still paint the frames red - just for the eye popping affect agains the brown shingles.

I couldn't find any benches that woud curve,but still wanted you to see what I was talking about. You could always have a custom one made.

Here is a way of dealing with the turret - It catches the eye

i couldn't resist the door in a color I had never thought of - but actally like!

Here is more ideas and images to draw inspiration from.

I would change the siding material of the turret and the bay window, but add the overhang to the turret as someone else mentioned. This would protect the door from weather, as well as draw attention to the "entrance"
Also agree with others that the shingles should be power washed and stained for longevity and a cared-for appearance

Hmm, what if you did a simpler, beefier version of this rounded pergola off of the turret?

Better yet, just a straight one that comes right off the door leading to the front path? Or, you could do just the area to the right of the turret as a little front patio area...sorry, in a bit of a rush and thinking as I write...you could also use all of those brick pillars as a base for pergola posts and build into what you already have...

I also like Liquidscapes' enormous brackets holding up a short roof over that wood door above. That would be better in keeping with your stately home.

Hi aralph -- Sorry I was thinking out loud in my hurried post above. Did you see this question posted? It sort of has an extention like I was thinking could go forward to your brick wall posts...
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/who-was-the-architect-on-this-project-dsvw-vd~92346

Get rid of the door.. fiberglass is NOT the way to go on any house if possible. A traditional wooden door with maybe some shade or tint of orange. I would also remove the tile floor in the entrance. and go with a wooden one.