The landscaping is actually fairly nice. I would add window boxes and something of interest int he center.

Big budget: build a true porch cover in colonial style.

low budget: add fake window above existing porch cover. https://www.vandykes.com/restorers-architectural-round-urethane-functional-gable-vent-with-keystones/p/228567/s/02124629/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwvezZBRDkARIsADKQyPkoqetVpB-_mZek-JL8GqoJE8ZYwVecQg-vcOOq14erCK7IpvmGX34aAr9-EALw_wcB&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ppc_google_pla&gdffi=ca3aee009e5c415da0d9c81a9ff6e5d9&gdfms=B032E3D75DF34F97A28F7E76AB098E47&ef_id=We4WVgAAAHQH9RyY:20180703162420:s

Make the front door a bright red so that it pops and is inviting.

Too many oversized arborvitae burying the house. I would remove some of those.

The arborvitaes will swallow the front of the house. They would be first to go. Then I would loosen up the other plants to look more natural and not like disconnected pieces of hedge. Farther from the house a small airy tree (your nursery can help with a choice for your area) would look good. If symmetry is your thing then do two, toward the corners but not too close to the house.

I live in a neighborhood similar to what you describe, with houses similar to yours, but over the years people have managed to individualize many of the houses through landscaping, trees, adding or enlarging porches (which I would suggest for you), even just through better color choices for the siding, shutters and doors.

It is a nice, classic house design!

What I don't like about the house as it is currently: the porch overhang, metal supports and handrails; the black shutters with yellow siding, the smothering arborvitae by the door, the too-symmetrical, too formal landscaping (just doesn't add any charm).

If you want to keep the pale yellow color, I would say choose a different color for the shutters (pale grey to go with the roof, maybe white or cream, or blue, or green perhaps). If you can afford a new front or at least storm door, that can go a long way toward making the entry more attractive -- I wouldn't do red with the yellow siding, though. Maybe some beefier trim around the door, also, and larger lights

Yes, eliminate the arborvitae next to the door. Maybe build stacked stone or brick raised bed planters next to the porch, if you don't want to enlarge the porch.

Sativa McGee Designs, your suggestion to add a fake window is intriguing. My house is similar to the OP's, a 1990s colonial with a distracting (to me) blank space above the door. You link to a gable vent--are you recommending that particular component over the OP's existing porch cover? I would be interested in a faux window but can't find one on that site, and hadn't considered a faux vent. Many thanks.

No fake window. You could, however, put a window or an attic vent in the top of a new forward facing gable.

Know what you are allowed to do per building codes -- government and per any private subdivision/association agreements (if the house is in that kind of subdivision).

If permissible, build yourself a full width front porch -- or at least covering the door and all front windows and shutters.

You could use a shed roof with hip corners on each end and a forward facing gable over the center entry.

Thereafter, building your sidewalk from the center of the porch toward the driveway will give you an opportunity to create a planting area with plenty of curb appeal.

Another area of importance is CPTED(pronounced septed)' Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. Many police departments will do a CPTED analysis of a home to pinpoint landscaping situation that allow potential criminals cover and concealment. Also included is lighting and other design features that tend to discourage criminals.

Those trees are perfect cover, for instance. Shrubs 3' to 4' tall would be a better choice.

I like Beverly's second pic with the canopy/stairs and railing. Beverly, can you photo shop that?That would look great! I would actually suggest taking all of the Arborvitae out and put a flowering tree away from the foundation on the right side of the house.