Why stain your driveway? It's common for us CA folks to see a huge swath of concrete with our houses. It tells us there's extra parking for parties, if nothing else. What appeals to our local markets is very different than what sells in other states. I do think the hedge would look better shorter, as it shows in your "old" picture. I'm not in love with the house color myself, it seems more an Arts & Craft color than MCM. Nonetheless, it is new and not worth doing over. As a gardener who appreciates low-water landscaping - and since Southern CA folks use our water, LOL - I would never suggest lawn ANYWHERE. The hedge adds a big swath of green that is obviously low maintenance/low water, almost as valuable as a mature tree. No flower box. Plant along the house on both sides of the door, instead. Easier to keep alive and tons more impact. A colorful assortment of mini-shrubs for both bloom color and foliage interest (the latter a lot more important than flowers which will fade in a month's time). Some dark reddish-brown and silver-grey mini-shrubs mixed with flowers will give impact, complement the house color, and draw the eye to the front door to look welcoming. Be generous with the number of plants. We are talking mostly quart-size container plants, maybe a couple of 1-gallon mini-shrubs for instant impact. You want a quick sale, so there isn't time to grow the plants. It should look 'filled in' as soon as you pat down the last trowelful of soil. Some inexpensive edging will keep the dirt off the concrete to make it easier to keep things tidy. The windows are small, proportion-wise. Keep the plantings at 2' high max. Balance is "the name of the game" for a house of your design (not symmetry, which is matchy-matchy).

A portico over the porch would be a good idea. It will keep the home from feeling so flat. I don't love the idea of shutters just because the windows aren't all the same style and IMO they're too small. I think investing in landscaping once winters over would make more of an impact.

You could extend the garage roof leftward to a point about midway between the two windows on the left, adding a small forward facing gable in at the front edge of the roof directly in front of the front door. That gives you instant shade and an update on curb appeal. With the new "entrance" to the front door even with the front exterior wall of the garage, the glass in the garage door would be less of a distraction or focal point anyway but, just to be sure, you could create a bolder feature in the gable end of the porch -- perhaps an open arc: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/107171666112536981/  Perhaps an open end with only framing showing. https://onlineroofdesign.blogspot.com/2020/01/gable-roof-front-porch.html A wider/bigger bolder open gable . https://eplan.house/en/house-plans/149-kv-m-3-beds-no-garage-SV-58552-1-3 Enclose all or half the depth of the new front porch as a "sun room" entry of sorts or a more modern and dramatic entry foyer: With this one, you could add a patio door on the side of the new glass room and add a front yard patio on the side for which you could create a "green" privacy wall with a hedge beginning at the front of the sidewalk and extending all across the front of the house to the left front corner of the house. You could keep your existing front doorway but, perhaps, add a new door there, perhaps even a French door. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/543880092475643570/

Thank you, both! I certainly understand and appreciate where you are coming from. Waiting has been our mindset for a long time. We have lived here for ten years mostly focusing on saving, doing infrastructure projects, and tackling smaller landscaping projects (it is on 3+ acres and much has been done in the back). It doesn't look like much now (spring has not really arrived where we are) but the beds will be full with plants soon as it warms and we always plant annuals, planters, pots, and baskets. The greenery always does wonders to make it look more welcoming! We have gone back and forth about waiting. Unfortunately, the paint has been slowly running off the house when it rains since we moved in, some places are down to bare aluminum, and the deck has not been done for three years and is in need of painting anyway. We feel like we need to address it now in order to maintain the house and keep from opening ourselves up to bigger issues down the line. Aside from the painting (which we plan to do ourselves) the other projects should not be impacted when we renovate (patio furniture, trellis, steps, etc.). A good chunk of the funds will go toward furniture and based on our budget estimates. The paint and associated supplies will represent a much smaller portion.