It's just stark right now. I wouldn't go white with the house being right on the sidewalk, but a buff the color of grasscloth would be awesome. I LOVE the idea of the dutch door and was going to suggest something similar. How awesome! Don't worry about low water. ALLLLLLLLLLL container plants have to be watered regularly, so what you need is a drip irrigation system on a timer going to everything (which you can do yourself) rather than chasing a vain hope that these plants won't need regular supplemental watering. Drip irrigation is extremely efficient and uses very little water at a go, but keep in mind that your plants have a very limited area to get water from. 1. You'll have to lose the lights for my plan. Can you put new ones int he soffits? 2. Fabulous house numbers down R side of door--also black. 3. Decorative brackets for eaves and a prettier fascia. 4. Lose the screen for a concealed one. 5. Paint the door aqua! Add a black kick-plate and door hardware--a touch of class without the fussiness of bronze here. 7. Add more substantial trim around the door using the Home Depot foam stuff. It works greant and is super-easy to install. 8. Normally, I love windowboxes, but under yours would be...concrete. Ew. So I'm going to vote for big planters--2' deep and coming up to 18" beneath your windows, and 1' wider than the windows, total (6" on each side). You must, must raise them! And paint them aqua, too (the surface should be smooth, like stucco)! In these, plant sedums, spurge, pennyroyal, potato vine, guara (trim!), blue flax, thyme, variegated monkey grass, etc. Get a good foundation of evergreen plants, then go for chartruese foliage with a solid combination of "spillers, thrillers, and fillers"--google that! Stick to pink/mauve/blue for your palette for you blooms, and with that little space, ALWAYS leave a spot for annuals! You need their punch. Grow stuff that's supposed to reach 24-30", for the tall accents. The tall planter will be more visible from the street, and the overlap with the window (there'll be less than you think ) will provide real charm and life. 9. A big white pot should sit between the garage doors and the window planter. And in it--bougainvillea! Pink bouganvillea! Whack it back regularly, but train it over the garage on a pergola-like lattice. 10. Get another large pot for the other corner of the house and put really vertical grass in it--Jose Select Tall Wheatgrass, for instance, with some great bright annuals planted around it. (It'll look interesting in winter, even dead.) 11. Buy a retractable awning to stretch from 6" to the left of the L window to 6 inches to the R of the R window. When retracted, it should look something like a valence for the house--and should include a your house colors in a vertical stripe--the vertical stripe is CRUCIAL, as the horizontal stripes make your car look like an RV. This will make your entire front yard into an entertaining space--AND will give you a bright and cheerful "inside/out" kind of punch, too, when retracted. 12. When you get those carriage doors, get black hardware and paint them aqua, too! 13. Stain the concrete with a casual pattern. Don't try to do irregular flagstones--that always looks fake--but use painter's tape to mark out a simple block pattern, working with the slabs that are there. IF you are allowed and can afford it, actually making a patio of stone or brick would be even better, but if you have to not touch part as the "sidewalk", you're better off staining, which will make the space seem bigger. Do the whole "yard," not just under the awning. 14. Get a big coconut husk doormat. Make it as wide as will fit. 15. Get a patio set with two chairs and a sofa in a palatte-harmonizing color--buff, preferably, with accent pillows of aqua patterned indoor/outdoor fabric. Chairs have their back to the driveway, sofa has its back to the yard of the yellow house next door. Skip the coffee table that comes in with the set, as it'd block the front door. Instead, get small teak/ipe side tables in a dark stain--one between the chairs and one next to the sofa. Add some big planters with tall plants to give dimension and shade. 16. The driveway is now the place for your outdoor dinner table! Get a set that seats 6--not one with the pivoting chairs on a circular base but a more classic design. Back-bolsters in an accent fabric can do wonders. Classic: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Braddock-Heights-Woven-Patio-Dining-Set/10899373 http://www.walmart.com/ip/Braddock-Heights-4-Piece-Patio-Conversation-Set/10574359 I particularly like the black metal for this design and how it coordinates with the hardware accents. 17. You can even add a rug! Yes, there are now attractive indoor/outdoor rugs to put under your conversational grouping. 18. Finally, place groupings of LARGE pots around, filled with (drip-irrigated) plants. If you can move a pot easily by yourself, it's too small! Put them alone (very large) or in groups of 3 or 5. Range the heights of the plants from 6' down to creeping plants that spill over the edge, and design each group of pots together, staying strictly to your palette. Somewhere between 3 and 5 of these groupings, total, will "finish" the front yard. I don't know about your side setbacks, but you can probably find a way to attach a grill semi-permanently to the L side of the house, too. How much fun! HTH!

very small photo, but looks to be a split level.

Landscaping will do a lot to improve the curb appeal. The beds by the front door aren't very deep, but you could do some beautiful accents in front of the garage windows and to the right of the home. I feel like the windows could use some trim or modern style shutters. Nice all brick home. Landscaping is the key.

I knew they'd chime in...listen to them, they're golden!