I don't know what your zone is, but having large evergreen shrubs against the house around my way (zone 5, 4 seasons), creates problems by holding moisture and debris against the house which harbors insects and causes dust and mold to collect, which some people (like me) are sensitive to. If you want to replace those with a flowery, cottage garden, go for it! But only if you love to fiddle and fuss with the garden. I have a flowering border against a rock wall just like you describe. There are many beautiful dwarf flowering shrubs to choose from, but make sure they are dwarf. A flowery cottage garden doesn't lend itself to big shrubs and evergreens. We have large, hardy clumping perennials as our backdrop, and also trellises, which have a conical shape. Remember, repetition is your friend. You can have a few surprise single elements but too many and it just looks like a hodge podge. Also, perennial gardens looks kinda stark until late summer so plant for some spring interest. If you like to sit on the front porch, you have a great spot for a fountain there too, if you really want to go all out. They are a pain though, particularly in the sun due to algae growth, but if some of that area gets shaded by the house, it could work. Here's a photo, the blue stuff is Russian sage. There are coneflowers in there and rudbeckias and blanket flower and yarrow, and some small knock out roses in other places. No lilies but they would look great there, but where this garden is the deer would have them as their nightly salad. The trees in the background are redbuds but we have crab apples in the front yard in front of this garden. There is a big decorative bird bath off to the right which you can't see in this photo.

Yes those V shaped things at the top of your post should be removed. It shouldn't be difficult. Your hanging baskets need to hang lower. Go to your big box store and have them cut you some heavy chain in about 1 to 1 1/2 ft length to lower the baskets. Most baskets need to be watered at least every 2 days, some times every day depending on the weather. Also once a week submerge the whole basket in a bucket of water and let it sit for a half an hour to an hour to re-dehydrate the soil. I like the idea of a yellow front door and yellow flowers. It is only paint. Tell the hubby if he doesn't like it, it can be repainted. Take him with you when you go pick out the paint and have him pick out 3 yellows he likes and then you choose between them. That way he has a stake in the color. If you don't like any that he picked out just buy the color you like and wait a few week to paint. Then when he says it doesn't look the same just tell him it is hard to visualize a color from a little paint chip. Lucky me my husband lets all the decorating up to me. If it was up to him he would buy a 5 gallon bucket of white paint and paint everything in and out the same.

I am so sorry! Your last sentence breaks my heart for you. :( I just wrote a detailed reply - just to have it deleted. Grr. I have looked into this a little (I am not a builder or anything - just through Google) and it seems that many houses have a small step up (2-4 inches) into their house. Apparently it is to help keep weather from entering when the door is open. You have a porch, so this wouldn't be much of an issue BUT the point is: there can be a "mini" step up without it being a tripping hazard. Our home ( we rent ) has this and I have never even thought about it! The fact that there is a door frame, and usually different flooring, gives our brain the info it needs to understand. Does that make sense? Someone suggested something similar earlier in this conversation: build a step that is the same rise as the others you have (are there others? I can't tell from your photo). Make it wider than your front door (it will look better this way). Then the last inch or so will just be part of the natural step into your home. If you are skeptical, you could build a temporary one out of wood (a couple 2x6s would work), and try it. :) Anyway, I am praying (hope that is okay!) that you will see one thing every day (even if it is little) that you love about living in your new home - to help offset your frustration. Sincerely, C.

I agree with @anj_p re the railing--definitely paint it black or charcoal, a good dark color. That will update it instantly. (You could go for a bright color, actually, a nice red or blue if your tastes run in that direction--Rustoleum makes a really good wide selection of colors for metal.) And whitewashing the brick is a good idea, too. We had a hideous 60s brick on our exterior, as well--really drab "designer" shades of tan and brown, not attractive brick at all--as well as a section of rocks, like big round rocks, which were sort of an ivory/light tan. We had the entire house, brick, rocks, and all, painted gray with white trim. (All paints are Sherwin-Williams. House is "Earl Gray," trim is "Extra White," and the door is "Oceanside." [Which I love and used for my lower cabinets in the kitchen as well.] The light is dim in that last picture, so you can't see just how much the door color pops, but it does--I get compliments on it all the time.) Sorry I don't have better pictures of the Before--I thought I did, but I guess I don't. But you see, hopefully, how much of a difference it makes in terms of making the house look more modern and "clean." There are a sizable number of people who see painting brick as a travesty, no matter what style or color the brick is, and I see their point with a lot of bricks, but not those pukey-looking ones on this house; there was nothing classic about them, they were just a bland veneer (and the rocks photographed MUCH better than they looked in person, trust me! Every house on the street has them, and every neighbor I've talked to about them hates them). Point is, don't be afraid to paint the brick. I think the gray stone siding is fine, though I don't think replacing it would be bad, either--that's really up to you. But I agree the gray with the color on the sides is not a great look. It would drive me nuts, lol. So if you whitewash or paint that brick on the columns on the railing (why did they leave those orange, I wonder?) and the sides of the house, paint the railings a good dark color or a nice bright color, I think you'll have gone a long way just with that. Taking the planters off was a good thing. A quick coat of paint on the trim will make a huge difference--you said you want to replace it ultimately, but if your budget won't stretch to that yet or you're still deciding on styles etc., this is an instant update. I'd paint it darker! Here's an example of a gray house with darker trim. I think it looks really nice (and trim is pretty easy/quick to paint, so if you hate it it's an easy fix--but I think it would look nice): Another quick(ish), easy(ish) update would be to add siding or stone or something to the cement area under the porch, or paint it the same color as the trim. Or plant some shrubbery there, some nice dark greens to give it a classic look and hide that cement. (I actually love cement, but with this house front there are so many different colors and textures and materials I think it would be better to unify/lower the number of them. It's a lovely house, and looks like it has tons of potential. I really, really hope this has been helpful to you!