I do not find it disconcerting in the least that the door is not centered. Having it off-center in the porch area is as common as air. It might seem more noticeable now because the house has an unfinished look and a certain "emptiness" about it, which will all change as you add landscaping and the finishing touches. The black shutters seem okay ... like black eyeliner making the window features look larger. But the black posts remind me of black lipstick or fingernail polish. They look ghoulish. So I'd paint those white and another thing that would make the porch seem stronger visually is the addition of filigree trim at the top (at both front and sides.) I've used this before and it makes a huges difference. The trim I'm speaking of is made to go at the top of cabinets so it's a ready-made, big-box item. Or you could make something if you're handy with simple carpentry. One more thing I'd do there is add full length shutters along each side of the door to expand its size and importance. (This, again, is along the lines of how eyeliner makes eyes look larger.) If the door seemed larger, the porch area it would seem less "empty" looking. If ready-made shutters won't clear the utilities, make a pair of simulated shutters that will. They don't have to match existing shutters. And I'd paint the door and door frame white, too. (The darker grey adds a gloomy, instead of cheery, touch, I think.) A bench or seat of some time below the porch window would be a nice touch, too. You stated that everything was now paved, so it's probably too late for my walk suggestion. However, if not, I'd create a walk that acts as a landing for the entire front of the porch so as to make entering it seem like a spacious, unconfined experience. It would also leave some space for planting at the left side of the garage. Since that's blank wall space, a pair of matching small trees could flank the garage. (Such trees would be made of shrubs that only get 9'-10' height so as to minimize maintenance. One would pick the shrub that adds the particular personality they are looking for.) The rest of the plant suggestions are more or less self explanatory as to heights you might consider and the placement of foliage masses. This post was edited by Yardvaark on Tue, May 28, 13 at 10:38

If you want to eat healthier stuff, don't forget about mashed veggies...rutabaga mashed with butter and nutmeg is a favorite of mine. Mashed cauliflower with butter and parsley is delish. Of course mashed white potatoes, but I love mashed sweet potatoes with maple syrup and nutmeg. And you can mash up butternut squash and acorn squash too. What a great excuse to have something like cream of rice cereal...haven't had it in years, but loved it as a kid, esp with chocolate sprinkles on it. I have a fruit smoothie every a.m. with kale in it for health along with whey protein powder, chia seeds, coconut oil, a half of a banana, and a passel of frozen fruit. Very tasty and satisfying, even without chewing. Also, can you do plain yogurt and small curd cottage cheese? I mix my yogurt with vanilla and honey....delish. And who can forget ice cream? As long as it doesn't have nuts or other crunchies.... And there are all kinds of cream soups you can make...haven't had cream of carrot soup with ginger in awhile, but it's sweet and delish. Or cream of mushroom soup. Yum! Man, I'm getting hungry!

I don't have mine hung up yet, but I just finished making my own message board. I used a piece of foam insulation board that we had leftover from construction. I then covered it in quilt batting, using spray adhesive to join them. Then I covered it in a fabric I found, again using the spray adhesive. I took my glue gun and used that to attach the edges of the fabric to the back of the board, wrapping and pulling it as neatly as I could. Using my glue gun again, I applied two different colors of ribbons , crossing them in x patterns across the board. Each place where the ribbons crossed each other, I glued a decorative button on. Push pins easily go into the foam, or I can just tuck notes under the ribbons. The entire project only took just over an hour and I spent a little over $15 for the fabric and ribbons. I already had the foam (which is fairly inexpensive at Lowes, Home Depot, etc.) quilt batting, buttons and glue. I wanted a large board to hold all the school papers, calendar, and such, so we made it 40 inches by 68 inches. However, the foam is easily cut to any size you want. Here is a picture of it sitting in my kitchen, waiting to be hung by DH!

Here are a few pictures of my "command center." This is the mudroom/office/pantry/garage hallway... it connects the garage with the kitchen/rest of the house. I did an upclose picture of one of the smaller frames - I printed out a "dinner menu" template and put it in the frame... the vis-a-vis markers have a fine point. The dry erase markers were too clunky. (my other framed areas are a to-do list and a general idea for a bi-weekly schedule... clip area for receipts and a yellow pad clipped for shopping list.... the bulletin board area for kid info (schedules etc)... I also have a wall bin underneath for each of the kids...) I've had this area in use for a few years - but about a month ago I thought it was looking too cluttery, so I cleaned it up with the black frames and the green contact paper from Target. The large green area on the right of the bulletin board WAS a whiteboard that would no longer clean. hope this helps.