Fluffeebiskits1, you are a genius. I'm back from the paint store with a large sample board of Mascarpone and I think I am in love. It's great with all the colors and light enough to work with the fixed whites. And now I know what color I'll use next time I repaint my living room! :-)

I would make friends with your local nursery, take photos of the house with you and simply be honest with them. Tell them you are an very happy new home owner, overwhelmed, don't know anything about gardening/landscaping but you really could use some help to come up with a 3/5 year landscaping plan. A lot of nursery owners will come to your house free as long as you purchase a plant or two. (huge help) Start with a tree in between garage windows. Plant it at least 5 feet from house. (make it an anniversary gift so it starts memories/roots for the two of you) Plant other trees or more expensive special plants on important dates as they come, children, promotions, birthdays... Definitely go slow, but you will be amazed at how far a couple hundred dollars can go. Hang some plants on the porch it will fill in and soften the porch area. Don't forget winter color too, like red twig dogwoods, willows, --- Lastly, paint that front door a fun color that you love! ;-) Enjoy & Good luck!!

Please post a pic.

The cedar and craftsman-style door and trim aren’t consistent with this house, as-is, which has more colonial elements than anything else. As for the shutters, if you’re intent on keeping them, replace them with ones that are appropriately sized for the windows, even if they’re non-functioning. (If you really like the craftsman look, then the shutters MUST go!) Alternatively, remove them altogether and beef up the window trim. And while I normally am not a fan of snap-in window grilles, I think they would give the windows some much-needed detail. Plus, depending on the configuration you choose, they’ll help to define whichever style you do decide to steer this house in, whether it be colonial or craftsman. In regards to color, with the pale yellow as the body color, a crisp white for the trim, black shutters should you choose to keep them and a charcoal roof, you’ll have infinite choices when it comes to door color, including the beautiful blues posted above and that gorgeous red jalarse used!