Gle, rather than me recommending plants for your area, what do you think would work for the various plants? #1 -- tree #2 -- 8" - 15" groundcover or perennial #3 -- 3' - 3 1/2" height shrub #4 -- color

The photos show now. What is the main door you want visitors to use? If you make the planned changes to the breezeway door, it will likely look more prominent than the front door. As a visitor, I might not be sure which to use. The shrubs flanking the front door appear to be encroaching. I don’t know for sure what they are because the photo is quite small and doesn’t enlarge, but they look like happy dwarf Alberta spruce in an unfortunate spot, chosen when they were small. To make the front entry more welcoming, widen the front walk, the landings at the bottom and top of the steps, and the steps. Right now it looks like two people can’t walk abreast and so visitors have to approach the house single file. For much more in he way of suggestions, post a photo with enough higher resolution that it will enlarge when we click on it.

If the main entry will be via the breezeway, remove the front walk from the public walkway to the front door. Make both doors the same color, but add the sidelights and a large landing in front of the breezeway door. Then add a narrow path that continues past the breezeway door to the front door, skirting a deep (front to back) front bed, but use plantings and pots as well as the path width to convey that the main door is the breezeway door. Remove the fence in front of the breezeway door and perhaps put a gate across the path to the front door. If cars are likely to block the drive and pedestrian access to the breezeway door, put in a walk along the edge of the drive. I would remove what is in the front bed now. All the plants appear to need pruning to stay within a reasonable size which is below the level of the windowsills for this house. It looks like you have a small tree off the right corner of the house? If so, that can stay if it is healthy. Even large rhodies are shallow rooted and relatively easy to put onto a tarp to slide across to a spot along the perimeter of the property where you might want to block a view or just have something green to look at in the winter and flowers in spring. Just prepare the hole ahead of time and water and mulch well. I don’t know that the needled evergreens are worth trying to rescue. To get specific plant suggestions, ask in the New England forum if your Waltham is the one in MA, or the shrub forum or the perennials forum. Look up your zone and tell what state as not all plants are happy in all areas. Also, an indication of how much sun the area gets or the direction the house faces is helpful. https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/neweng https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/peren https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/shrubs

Agree no shutters, and no awnings (unless they are needed due to your location - I would choose a cooler house over looks!). Also no window boxes. This is a rather contemporary house style, so country/colonial/rustic touches aren't the best choices. What I would do: When it is feasible I would change out the country style storm doors to something more contemporary. Try to find one or two (a lighter and a darker, perhaps, or a dark neutral and a bright) colors that complement the stone and roof (that shade of roof can be difficult) and paint everything that is currently white - darker color for the window frames and doors. You might look into adding a bit more trim around the windows- just a half inch or so - to give them a stronger balance. You could Romabio the red brick chimney to a shade close to the stone. Yes to landscaping, clean & simple lines. Look for a couple of evergreen shrubs that won't get huge. There are several varieties of boxwood that could suit, as well as junipers, falsecypress, and others - you want variation like illustrated above. Some planters/urns on the porch or on the side of the house can add winter interest when the other plants are bare.