May be this way?

Maybe you could salvage the foundation fence trim by adding plants in front of it, or adding flat figures to it? Is it wood or iron? Something like this maybe..

Item # 813956 Model # 3956

LiteStone Flat Himalaya 8-sq ft Mixture of Brown, Beige And Gray Colors Faux Stone Veneer

IMO, it already looks very cottage-y-cabin-y and I wouldn't necessarily expend the effort to do many exterior upgrades, other than beefing up the front columns, as Babs suggested. Too much floofing will just detract from the setting and the cottage-y feel you are going for, not add to it :-) And since the primary lake view seems to be at the back of the house, not sure I'd bother with enlarging the front windows, either. Is this a weekend or vacation property or your permanent residence? That would have an impact on what I'd be inclined to do.

But I do agree about widening and defining the walkway and the need for some more significant landscaping, The cottage looks ungrounded as it is now, with nothing tying it to the site. Have you considered an area for a firepit or somewhere other than the porch to sit out and admire the view? Maybe grill or have a meal?

Depending on budget, I would prioritize like this

1. more defined landscaping first since you already have mulch and just need to fill it in.

2. paint job. Ifor a cozy cabin type feel, darker colors I think are best. Like a dark green

3. If you still want more, you can add stone veneer wainscot from the bottom of the windows down

4. I would avoid adding formers or any substantive construction. Usually more trouble than it's worth financially speaking

If you replace the lattice with brick or rock, you are going to change the air circulation under the porch (and possibly under the house, if you don't have a basement). If you put some brick in, it might change the proportions of the lower part. And if you put in decent landscaping, all that will be covered up with shrubs.

To my mind, the house looks good as it is. Faux stone is not going to improve it. It looks like you have a fantastic view from the deck, I'd concentrate on furnishing it to take advantage of the view. We live on our porch overlooking a lake in the summer.

Put in dormers if you want to use your attic. Don't do it just for looks.

My experience is a little love, a little color and great landscaping make nice houses look great. Fiddling with the siding and the roof doesn't do much, unless your house is a real mess, which yours isn't. Widening the walkway and flanking it with plants really makes a place look great.

You don't want the planter boxes someone recommended. The roots of what you plant get hot, try and constricted in boxes. It's much easier to put in shrubs suitable for your yard. If you pick the right ones, you won't have to do much watering after the first year or two.

Clamshell Alley · More Info

Thank you guys already for all of the comments, very helpful!

This is for a weekend/vacation home and I probably should have mentioned that I am as beginner as it gets. I have lots of ideas but no idea what these things cost. I liked this house because it had a great floorplan inside and was below my budget.

For landscaping and exterior work I have $25,000 budgeted. I would like to spend most of that on the back where friends and family will be most of the time.

Celery- thank you very much for those photos, it helps big time visualizing! Couple more photos of the back and side yard.

Pulling a lot of the weeds and brush out front the left side of the first photo will open up for awesome lake views similar to the second photo:

Around here, the only summer “cottages” with stone or brick work are actually lakeside mansions. The actual cottage sized summer places like yours are clapboard or shingled with the only masonry being perhaps a brick chimney. So I think adding stone or brick would actually make it look more suburban and reduce the cottage vibe.

Landscaping shouldn’t be fussy, with a tree off each side of the house to frame it from the road side. Beds in front should be at least 5’-6’ deep with either undyed mulch or a groundcover dense enough to suppress weeds. There should be only a very few types of relatively easy care plants such as shrubs that flower during the time you will be visiting, unless you plan to live here for long periods of time in the summer and don’t mind puttering in the garden. Around here, spirea, smaller red-twigged dogwoods, and panicled hydrangeas like Little Lime would work well. An untended flower garden advertises that no one is currently living there full time, but there are a few easy care perennials that could be tended just on weekends. Perhaps a few large pots with Geraniums or another annual that doesn’t mind occasional dry soil to provide some cheerful color on the deck out back, but on that side of the house, you want the lake view to be the star and so I would generally keep it simple.

To get plant ideas, you need to either visit a bunch of nurseries in the area to see what looks good in summer or give us some info on your location and growing zone, as well as indication as to how much sun and shade, soil pH, and sandy vs clay vs loamy soil texture you have in areas where you want to plant.

And since it is only a vacation or weekend residence, I'd focus on very tough, low maintenance plants that do not require any pampering.

Usually I advise beefing up post like yours, but in this case, I might not do it. My first impression with those skinny posts was of a Caribbean beach house. So maybe a bright white trim and pastel color on the body.

maxresdefault.jpg (JPEG Image, 1280 × 720 pixels) · More Info

I didn't paint this side because I was too busy installing a Nanawall...