Could you post a pic of the whole front of the house? We need to see that.

Wow...looks like a lovely setting! I agree the railing should be white with new plantings in front of it.. You might think about placing some large matching pots in the spaces between and to the sides of the garage doors. Possibly fill them with tall-ish topiary plants.

I agree with the above posters. Railing same color as trim, big pots with tall plants, and interesting large stepping stones across the grass from the front door. I would like to see the whole house, though. Congratulations, and have fun making this house your home!

I would bulk up the framing around the window

Heres the rest of the house. Im not a gardener or weed picker for that matter. I will be once i get more time. :) so im trying to stear clear of putting in more plants but i like the planter ideas. Seems simple. I am buying white paint for the railing today! Thank you for all the advice.

Oh, your house is totally different from what I imagined. So forget the stepping stone idea. Three large planters with tall plants -- with seasonal flowers around the bottom -- would be gorgeous in those three spaces by your garage doors. It would be an immediate boost to the exterior of your home!

Something similar to the potted plants in this photo would be nice for your garage spaces. I agree seasonal blooms around the bottom of the pots are an added plus. The pots/plants need to be large since your house is set back a ways from the street...another plus!

Congrats on the new house.

You can buy some small bushes and plant that do not nedd any help as time pases by.

Painting the raling would be a major change to a more calm and clean look. I would definately change the door with some other details for a more modern look.

Painting the house white or grey would also make it seem more like a all-year-around house.

You could add a weider trim arround the window to make it seem more classic

You could also add some brick trim.

Agree with everyone the railing needs to be painted white, and planters between your garage doors would look great. Paint the front door a bright color, green, blue, orange; the door needs to be seen. The front door seems to take second place to the garage doors, and the front door should pop.

You have great bones there to work with so this won't be hard to do. Two things that first caught my eye were, the dinky little step, it needs to be built out to form more of a little landing and paint or stain the same as the porch floor and second, take the house numbers and beef them up somehow, maybe mount them on a plaque, hanging down under the light. Perhaps paint it the same as whatever you paint the door. Shutters would help the window but the trim does need beefing up it looks a bit like a storm window as is. You are doing the railing so that's a start. Great house.

Love your new house. I agree with the window and door paint. Make the door a lighter color, it's kind of dark back there. Increase the little brick porch area a little. It could go all the way across the front and then beautiful pots (match front door) full of colorful flowers in front of white railings. My two cents! Have fun!

Painting the railing will help, but I don't like the plainess of that big window. I'd put some nice trim around that and paint white.

A quick and easy way to bring some color to your porch would be to hang 2 hanging baskets close to your posts to frame your window and pull some color up higher.

Late to the party but paint your front door while you are at it in a complementary color.

Paint the railing white, the porch ceiling and front door light blue, add some hanging baskets of flowers for a quick fix if you don't want to garden, add comfortable seating - maybe a swing parallel to the right side of the porch if it's deep enough. All of that can be done in one weekend.

Ditto! Actually I think you can paint the ceiling any blue you desire and still pick a non blue door color. Blue is so overdone with yellow I think. I like a bittersweet orange door or bright grass green or turquoise deep blue door myself. Ifyou are painting you might as well make a statement!

I would add colour for sure. Maybe change siding on posts to stone and remove railing. Try a side curtain on the end to add colour could also put stone trim around door and window. Skip planters , way to hard to keep and go for bright coloured chairs using 2 colours. A vase on table between chairs with fake flowers.

I agree, paint the rail, the floor, door, and add trim /shutters to the windows on the front of the house (not just on the porch). I would put bigger light fixtures on the garage. Those are tiny for those big spaces. Definitely need some kind of planters there. Evergreens are lower maintenance and color can be added with annuals. I agree about the front step. I would take those pavers up and replace them with flagstone and make the step wider using the flagstone for that too maybe. Give it more appeal by not being so square. I like the idea of replacing the siding around the posts with stone also. Hanging plants, planters (use fake plants if you don't want to have to water them all the time and switch them out with the seasons) and some nice chairs with a table between them right in front of the window. Great place to sit in the morning and read the paper and have coffee. Maybe a small bench along the wall with some interesting things sitting on it, a new light fixture, as someone said different house numbers. You could also paint a rug on the front porch in front of the door. I have done that and it's not difficult. There's all kinds of neat things you could hang on that big blank wall (above a bench) to add some interest.

White railing along the walk to the garage would look good, white shutters on porch window, as well as door and rail painted white, have you considered another step off the porch to the right side could also use white railing there and a path to the shed in the back. Would certainly landscape w/at least mulch around trees, and maybe some sore to white vinal lattes accent off the side of the house on the right, would be a great place for a water barrel off the gutter. I would take the little flower bed out along the front step, replace with white rock raised bead or just fill with white rock and a planter. If you don't have a storm door full glass one would be a good idea to protect your new paint. as well as insulate for winter and a way to be able to leave the door to the porch open on the inside. Looks like a nice place with lots of space. Enjoy the blessing God has provided and plan for a garden next year by making a section ready. :)

Don't forget to pick up a swing with a canopy for a accent under the trees to the rt. to set back in and enjoy your work...The garage doors could also have fake windows painted under the real ones if you like that carriage house look

Eliminate the railing,wrap steps around the porch,tone down the garage door "white".ditto on front door....color and style..in a nut shell...give more visual weight to entry side of house.

Good luck!

Rather then painting the railing I would eliminate it. With on railing you will have a much nicer view for the yard from both the porch and from inside the house. The style of the railing does not add anything to the design of the porch.

I would bring the garden out further in front of the porch. I would talk to a nursery about low maintenance plants for your zone- you need plants w greater height. I see the rail matches the door- if it's not wood- do not paint it. Lovely home!

I would paint the railing white as others suggested to match the pillars. It looks like a small bench is there, maybe trade it out for more visible inviting seating.

Where your white gutter meets the siding- you can have paint matched to your siding- & paint the lower part the siding color.

Widen framing around windows or add shutters to create interest. Lighten/brighten the door and railing. Add a flower box to the railing.

Replace the door if possible to something more in keeping with the feel of the front porch.

I would beef up the window trim, replace the support posts with two columns removing the railing . The way they are is distracting. I don't like the siding on the posts. What is under that layer? Like others I can't see the exact style of the house. Could it have been ginger bread which would be fun to recreate?

I would paint the door a color that pops. Paint the railing to match the trim. Definitely add trim aroud the window. I would add a window box to the porch railing for front interest. I agree with plants containers with tall somethings between the garage doors. Furnish the porch with comfortable wicker chairs (or adirondacks) with colorful cushions to pick up the colors in the window box and a couple of hanging baskets above the side wall of the porch and you're done. All easy to change if you don't like the final result!

I really like the wood door. If is real wood! I would try to make it stand out more, perhaps wood shutters. Love the idea of painting the floor to look like a rug. A nice hanging chair with a bright cushion, red, yellow, blue, or green, That would add a splash of color!

congrats on your new home! :) i'd paint the porch railing white, and the front door in a splash of great color to really define the entrance.....a rich colbalt blue? a ruby red? a kelly green? then add some flowering shubbery in front of it the porch railing to give more substance to the garden. you can never go wrong with beautiful hydrangeas...and they need almost no maintenance and won't grow too big. then perhaps add a pair of adirondak chairs in your pop of color, to the porch area, each with an outdoor fabric made pillow. keep us posted!! :)

I would remove the rail as someone mentioned above. Then I would extend the pavers all the way around the corner of the house same width those already in place. Add two potted plants in front of the posts (like those chloebud pictured above. ) An all weather runner (or painted runner as per tmmiller05) extending from the door down the stairs to the pavers would also make the entrance more inviting. I agree with beefing up the window frames. It's really quite easy to do and will make a big difference. a couple of nice chairs with print cushions and a small table in front of the window, two glasses of champagne and a toast to your beautiful new home. Congratulations!

I would extend the planting bed, and add a curve to it. Possibly the brick too. Does the brick leed to the driveway? If so. How about a walkway for two abreast to the sidewalk. At my house I would add another soft curve

check with Code Enforcement before removing the railing. It might be required.

Wow big lot. With time and $ how about a circular drive

White shutters on either side of the window. Cypress topiary on both sides of window, paint rail white, change to traditional door and paint a vivid color. I might try deep red. Flowers for color in the beds. Great numbers for the house, put them on the middle box pilar on the porch. Agree with others on around garage doors.

If you like the idea of painting your porch ceiling and/or entry door blue, you could do plantings of blue dwarf hydrangeas in your garden bed, whether you enlarge it or not. Lay down a weed barrier, and mulch over it. The hydrangeas will be low maintenance (sometimes you may have to sprinkle a little aluminum to keep them blue....ask a plant nursery) and the dwarf size will not "dwarf" the height of your railing. You may get into the plantings! Then add some yellow flowers or foliage and break up the colors with white and perhaps something purple-eggplant colored for definition.

I like the idea of the pavers around the corner of the house , but if the budget allows, it might be good to take the railing out totally, have larger posts, maybe round down to the paver height. I would raise the height to the floor level and probably change them to brick in a gentle curve to the driveway now where you would step down to the driveway heigh or if the grade allows to gently slope them to the driveway height. Then, add the potted plants as mentioned and a couple more on the brick as well

I love all of these ideas but please consider putting larger lights across the garage face. It would really increase the curb appeal.

Your new photo is a great help. I had been thinking it was a two story. Nice looking property, you are so lucky. The post looks like they were rebuilt around the bottom half and went kind of crazy with the siding. If it were my house I'd replace the post/columns, build up the window trim, take the railing off. Like other have suggested I would consider paving around the front and put plants in big pots. Your going to have fun whatever you decide. Good luck.

Paint all the post and rail same color but front door some striking paint color and step and landing need some curved effect as now there is too many straight lines.

I would go with the gray, paint the porch floor a high gloss medium gray. Brown and yellow (or cream) is dated and these colours seem to tie in with the house colours better. Your roof appears to be black, not brown. Just use long pavers to replace the interlocking brick. The railing should NOT be the same colour as the house. Create interest with the dark gray panel and lose the rails. Pop your front door colour (not red as yellow and red would look pretty gaudy together) and just get rid of the dated oval glass one. The house numbers need to be larger, as well as your porch light (lantern style would suit). If you are going to have a flower bed, make it a substantial one, soft curves and no edging. Add lots of soil, cover in landscape cloth, then cut criss-cross holes and plant your plants. Finish it all off with black mulch and you will have very little weeding all summer. Shutters seem to add, since the frame around the window is too narrow for such a large window. I agree with the comment that the front of the garage begs for tall planters. This design invites you to the front door and I feel is cleaner, brighter and more up-to-date.

Great porch, lots of potential. Changing the column pedestals from siding-covered to something more appealing such as a raised or recessed panel design would go a long way towards the look of this porch. Here are examples of what I'm talking about:

I took the larger view and added planters, larger house numbers, teal door, removed the railing and covered the pillars in stone veneer. I also painted the garage doors a darker gray so the overall image is not so washed out. Again, paint the front porch a dark/medium glossy gray and add the pavers to replace the interlock brick. Chartreuse greenery adds brightness to the landscape and provides colour when nothing is blooming. All you need to add are a couple of comfy chairs and a low table to the porch. Too much time on my hands, but had soooo much fun doing this I couldn't resist.

I love your style. I should post a pic of my plain house! Definitely!